Celebrating the life of Brent Williams – BeanScene

The Australian and New Zealand coffee community is mourning the passing of Brent Williams.

Born in New Zealand, Brent’s first job in the Australian coffee industry was at Vittoria Coffee in Sydney as a coffee trainer. He progressed through various roles including Head Coffee Trainer at FoodCo for Jamaica Blue and Muffin Break, Sales Manager at DaVinci Ingredients and Somage Tea, Head of Coffee at Coffee Club, and other Senior Operations Manager and Training Manager positions in the foodservice sector across the Asia-Pacific.

“Brent wanted growth and more out of the jobs he had. He was uncompromising, which is something I really loved about him,” says Lance Brown, Director of Melbourne Coffee Group.

“We were certified World Latte Art Judges together in 2010 and judged coffee together for nine years. Brent was methodical. He played by the rules, and we wrote the current latte art scoresheet still used in competition today, 15 years later.”

A respected figure across the specialty coffee industry, Brent served on the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) Board for five years, including four years as President from 2014 to 2018 where he introduced the #ASCA Top 12 ranking system, upheld high-quality regional competitions, and elevated the Australian Coffee Championships to world standards. He was also instrumental in the introduction of the Eleonora Genovese Award, celebrating women in coffee.

“The Australian coffee industry owes Brent plenty,” Lance says. “During his reign as president of ASCA we saw a World Champion Barista in Sasa Sestic and World Champion Latte Artist in Caleb Cha. We were at the top of the world under Brent’s reign, which shows the passion he had, and his strive for excellence.”

John Murphy, Prime Creative Media Chairman, remembers Brent as a passionate advocate and early ambassador for the Australian specialty coffee industry.

“Brent was a great support through the developmental years of BeanScene magazine and championed the establishment of the Melbourne International Coffee Expo. Beyond his many industry contributions, Brent was a wonderful person who will be missed by many,” John says.

Brent will be remembered for wearing his heart on his sleeve, and being an absolute lover of coffee.

“His home coffee setup was incredible, with every device and gadget you could imagine,” Lance recalls. “Brent just lived good coffee. And beyond that, he was a terrific guy, and a terrific friend.”