Winning the Australian AeroPress Championship was both surreal and rewarding. In this post, I (Nemo Pop) want to share my preparation, methodology, and experience — and how APAX LAB and Waved water helped shape my journey to the title.
My Preparation
We approached the AAC with a simple idea: no defects. The winning cup is rarely the loudest or most expressive — it’s usually the most balanced, the cleanest, the one with nothing distracting from the coffee itself.
The competition coffee was a blend of two Colombian lots from Juan David Builes:
- A washed component roasted by Fieldworks.
- An anaerobic natural component roasted by Proud Mary.
The blend was already delicious, with funky red/orange notes and delicate florals. Simon and I worked hand in hand to calibrate our recipes. Our preferences differ — I lean towards delicate, floral, tea-like profiles, while Simon enjoys thicker body and sweetness. For my cup, I aimed for the best of both worlds: syrupy sweetness with clean, delicate flavours. To get there, I even did a very thorough sorting of the beans.
My Methodology
We prepared meticulously, knowing not every parameter has equal weight. In what we call the “dialling in wheel of importance” (thanks Kirk Pearson 😉):
- 70% impact comes from water
- 20% from equipment (grinders, filters, etc.)
- 10% from the base recipe
The recipe was simple: a bypass brew with 1 minute immersion + gentle press. Done.
The grinder decision came next. We tested the Comandante C40, Kinu, and the brand new Millab M01. The Comandante was out quickly — too much acidity and it didn’t cool well. Between Kinu and Millab, both were round and sweet, improving as they cooled. But Millab had the edge: subtle florals, great acidity, and the innovative “Pineapple burrs”, which gave bigger, easier-to-remove chaff — reducing dryness in the cup.
Once the bases were set, it was time to refine the water. For me, that meant two goals:
- A clean, floral cup true to my style
- Something unique enough to stand out in competition
That’s where Waved Technology came in. Developed in Singapore, Waved energises water molecules and has game-changing effects on coffee. At APAX, I’ve been researching its impact, and for AeroPress it was the missing piece. Waved water consistently gave more sweetness, roundness, and zero dryness. In training, we never once encountered dryness when using it.
I then refined the texture with APAX LAB concentrates. Unlike dosing single minerals, APAX works with profiles. For florality? Lylac. For sweetness and structure? Konflux. I ended up using:
- A prototype Lylac-inspired profile (developed for washed Geshas) for florals + delicacy
- 50% Konflux for balance and sweetness
- A touch of the April Denmark profile to add crisp, malic acidity
The result: clean, floral, sweet, and memorable!
My Experience on Stage
AeroPress is a funny competition — once prep is done, nothing can go wrong unless you mess it up. Yet the nerves always creep in.
One memorable mistake nearly changed everything: just before the first round, I accidentally added two extra drops of Konflux into one of my three water bottles. With no backups, I knew I’d have to use that “wrong” water if I made finals.
In round one, we played it safe. But when the feedback wasn’t as unanimous as we expected, we leaned into risk. For the next round, I used the over-mineralised water. To my surprise, the extra Konflux pushed sweetness and roundness even further, without downsides. That risky decision might have been what secured me the win — proof that sometimes mistakes open the door to victory.
My Tips for Others
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Learn the profiles. The easiest way to understand APAX is to brew with low PPM water, split the brew into four cups, and add Tonik, Jamm, and Lylac separately. Taste, compare, and you’ll quickly grasp how each profile transforms a coffee.
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Experiment with Waved. The technology is still new and complex, even for us at APAX LAB. Try different styles of water, wave times, and recipes. Just don’t make the mistake Simon did a couple days before with a water that smelled something like “concentrated pool water” (haha iykyk). Most importantly, share your findings!
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Choose your battles. Not every variable matters equally. Focus your energy where it counts (water and equipment) and don’t waste coffee tweaking the 10% details that barely move the needle.
Closing Thoughts
Winning the Australian AeroPress Championship was an incredible experience, and I couldn’t have done it without APAX LAB minerals and the Waved machine. Together, they gave me the precision and sweetness I needed to bring my coffee to life on stage.
Now, it’s on to the World AeroPress Championship in Seoul — and I’m excited to push the boundaries even further.
