It’s been a week since my performance in Seoul. Recovering from the jet-lag, sipping on a coffee back home I already miss the rush of calling “time” and beginning another set. The feeling is bittersweet. My final ranking not going as well as planned, considering all the support and backing I have had by so […]

The past few weeks have been awfully busy. Other than the usual working schedule at Origin I have also been preparing for the WBC. Although I cannot reveal too much before I compete, I would like to share some experiences leading up to the competition. Working under pressure I’ve never been one to start a […]

My overseas travel seems to have coincided with my coffee career. I embarked on my first trip abroad not long after starting my job as a barista at Origin in 2014. Since then I have been on 3 more trips, the most recent a trip to London UK. This was by far my most insightful. […]

I began imagining my first Origin coffee farm trip during my Barista Course at Origin in 2013. I was so surprised to hear that this bean we use to make coffee is in fact the seed of a fruit. All along I had imagined the “brown coffee beans” dug up from under the ground one […]

There has been a lot of talk about Barista Competitions in the industry lately. Some complaining that it is outdated, not relevant to a working environment and that there are no longer any real baristas competing in the modern competition. Then there are others who still believe that it has relevance in terms of setting […]

“The journey is more important than the destination. The challenges and lessons learnt during the build up to competition is what it’s really about.” I’ve repeated this to so many people since winning. And it is true, I find value in the competition because of this but I have to admit it does feel damn […]

What goes into competition preparation? I cannot blame people for being puzzled when they stroll past the barista competition stage. As outsiders to the coffee industry attending the yearly homemakers expo in Cape Town, they must wonder what the fuss is about as the crowd applauds the rounds of espressos served. Even industry folk who […]