Sometimes, finding direction in coffee means learning to trust what you taste.
After around four months of preparation, Han Lee entered the 2026 New Zealand AeroPress Championship with a simple question: would the coffee he personally considered delicious resonate with judges too?
Working with a White Honey Geisha from Sebastian Ramirez in Colombia, roasted by Coffee Embassy, Han pursued a soft, sweet and balanced cup with a clear expression of orange blossom.
His preparation involved everything from separating different bean shapes within the lot to designing his competition water with APAX LAB. But when the coffee behaved differently on competition day, Han had to adapt quickly and trust his palate.
We spoke with Han about the experiments behind his winning cup, his APAX LAB water recipe, and what he learned on his way to becoming the 2026 New Zealand AeroPress Champion.
1. Tell us about your journey with the AeroPress. How long have you been practising, and what made you decide to compete in the New Zealand AeroPress Championship this year?
I had been preparing for AeroPress competitions for about four months, experimenting with different recipes and different coffees.
Fortunately, the character of this year’s competition coffee matched very well with the direction I wanted to take with my extraction.
The biggest reason I decided to compete was because coffee can sometimes feel like a journey where you lose your way.
I wanted to find out whether the coffee I personally considered delicious would also be perceived as delicious by judges and other coffee professionals.
2. What coffee did you work with at the championship, and what did you learn about it while developing your recipe?
All competitors in New Zealand were given the same coffee: a White Honey Geisha from producer Sebastian Ramirez in Colombia, roasted by Coffee Embassy.
For me, this coffee showed flavours of pineapple, orange, orange blossom, and honey.
I wanted the orange and orange blossom characters to be really clear while keeping the overall cup soft, sweet, and balanced.
3. What was your approach going into the competition? Was there a particular flavour profile or cup experience you were trying to achieve?
While preparing for the competition, I noticed different physical forms of beans within the lot, even though it was a single-variety coffee.
Some were longer and had a straighter centre cut, while others were more rounded and curled.
I separated these two types of beans and cupped them individually.
The longer beans showed a softer and more distinct floral character, while the rounder beans had a fruitier and more savoury character.
Since I wanted a soft, sweet cup with a clear orange blossom character, I decided to strictly sort the beans and use only the longer-shaped beans for the competition.
4. How did APAX LAB help you shape the final cup?
APAX LAB really expanded the possibilities of how I could build the cup I wanted.
I designed a relatively low extraction to achieve a clean and clear cup. However, with that approach, I naturally risked losing some body, mouthfeel, and flavour intensity.
APAX LAB gave me another way to support those elements while maintaining the clarity I was looking for.
I could also experiment with how different mineral combinations could emphasise specific flavours.
5. What was your winning AeroPress water recipe with APAX LAB?
For 500 ml of 0 ppm distilled water, I used:
The final water was 140 ppm.
TONIK helped boost the overall flavour intensity of the coffee and the orange character.
JAMM helped build the body, sweetness, and overall balance.
LYLAC and KONFLUX helped enhance the floral character while creating the beautiful mouthfeel I was looking for.
6. AeroPress competitions involve a lot of experimentation and quick decision-making. Was there anything you changed or discovered close to competition day that ended up making a difference?
Yes, there was one important change on competition day.
The coffee I was getting during the competition tasted relatively brighter and lighter compared to what I had experienced during my practice sessions.
I also noticed that the judges seemed to favour cups with strong flavour intensity and good body.
My original recipe used a relatively high amount of bypass water, so I reduced the amount of bypass. That gave me a cup with more intensity and allowed my intended flavour profile to communicate more clearly to the judges.
I kept that adjustment through each round and eventually won the championship.
Looking back, I think making that decision quickly on the day made a real difference.
7. Now that you’ll be representing New Zealand at the World AeroPress Championship, what are you most excited about, and how are you approaching the next stage?
First of all, I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to experience the world stage.
I’m especially looking forward to meeting coffee professionals from all around the world, seeing their different approaches and talents, and learning as much as I can from them.
In terms of preparation, rather than trying to completely change what I’ve been doing, I want to trust the palate I’ve developed and the things I’m capable of, and simply do my best.
That was the approach I took at the national championship, and it worked out well for me.
So I want to carry the same mindset into the World Championship.
8. For someone looking to compete in AeroPress for the first time, what advice would you give them?
I’d recommend starting by looking through the recipes shared on the WAC website.
There are recipes from many different champions, so you can try them out and find a starting point that works for you.
In my own case, the recipe from 2025 World AeroPress Champion Nemo Pop had a huge influence on my preparation for this national championship.
I think one of the most interesting parts of AeroPress competitions is learning from other people’s recipes, then adapting what you learn to your own coffee and developing it in your own way.
That process of learning, experimenting, and making something your own is what makes AeroPress competitions so exciting to me.
Final Thoughts
Han entered the New Zealand AeroPress Championship wanting to find out whether the coffee he considered delicious would resonate with others.
Four months later, the answer came not from following one fixed recipe, but from learning when to experiment and when to trust his own palate.
There is something fitting about Nemo Pop's 2025 World Championship recipe helping give Han a starting point. Han took those ideas, adapted them to his own coffee and sensory goals, and developed an approach that ultimately became his own.
Now, as the 2026 New Zealand AeroPress Champion, he heads to the World AeroPress Championship with the same mindset: ready to learn from the people around him while trusting what brought him this far.
Congratulations to Han on the win! We are proud to have APAX LAB play a supporting role in your journey and look forward to seeing you represent New Zealand on the world stage.
