The Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) is one of the driving forces behind the Australian specialty coffee industry. Formed in 2001, ASCA began with a group of people passionate about specialty coffee, at a time when the Australian specialty coffee industry was not was prevalent as it is today. ASCA is dedicated to the development and promotion of the specialty coffee industry all over the country. Education plays a large role in this development, with ASCA running various events throughout the year including the Symposium and the Barista Guild Camp. You likely recognise ASCA from the competitions we each year with the ASCA Australian Coffee Championships taking place at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), including the PURA, Dairy Farmers and Vitasoy Barista Championship, TCX Cup Tasting Championship, AMC Roasting Championship, Brewers Cup and Latte Art Championship. ASCA’s Coffee Championships are the only sanctioned Australian events that feed into the world’s most prestigious coffee competitions, organised by World Coffee Events and supported by specialty coffee associations across the planet. Everyone on the ASCA Board and Competitions Committee is from the specialty coffee industry, and all work full-time while contributing their unpaid spare time to advancing the quality of specialty coffee in Australia.