The World Barista Championship is well under way. Here are the results after the preliminary round:

The top 16 semi-finalists will compete tomorrow, at the Seoul Café Show, starting at 02:52am (GMT +2). Live Streaming is available at: https://worldbaristachampionship.org/2017-world-barista-championship-seoul/

Unfortunately, SA Barista Champion did not make it to the semi-finals but he gave a great performance. If you missed his performance live you can watch it here: https://worldbaristachampionship.org/2017-world-barista-championship-seoul/ (Streams and Past Performances -> Station 1 -> South Africa Winston Thomas).

Two members of  Winston’s Team, Team Espresso, have advanced to the semi-finals:

6 United Kingdom (Dale Harris)

14 Taiwan (Melody Lu)

We, at Origin, wish all of the competitors the best of luck and are excited to see who takes the gold this year.

Ishan Natalie got his start in coffee 16 years ago, “I was in my first year of University on a journey to become an accountant and grew up in my dad’s business. Growing up in the business and getting out more into the general world, I wanted independence from the family business and to avoid strain on my relationship with my dad, looked for a new way to earn cash for daily expenses on campus. I was hired as a waiter for the Woolworths Café in Gateway, Durban. I wasn’t the best of waiters and was pulled off the floor from time to time by my manager at the time to assist behind the bar. The manager at the time was actually the co-founder and director of TriBeCa, Dale Mazon, who had immense experience and skill as a barista growing up in Seattle and working for Starbucks. He taught me and inspired me to be the best barista. I fell completely in love with the craft and chose to make this a career rather than an accountant.” The change from accounting to coffee was the right choice for Ishan, to date he has been crowned SA Barista Champion three times. From Barista to Ops Services Manager, from TriBeCa to Starbucks Ishan has definitely made his mark on SA’s coffee industry.

Ishan’s first represented SA at World Barista Championships (WBC) in 2009 in the USA. As he recalls “[I was] very inexperienced and young. The championship was in Atlanta so it was my first trip to the US which was great to experience. The competition was tough being so young and inexperienced, but it started my journey into understanding the expectation of a barista champion. I loved the comradery of all the baristas – everyone is ready and available to assist in any way.” Fast forward 6 years, Ishan travelled back to the USA to represent SA again at the WBC. This time with a few more years or experience and his third SA Barista Championship win under his belt Ishan was more prepared to take on the competition.

“WBC 2015 in Seattle was a totally different ball game! I was a lot more mature as a person and barista competitor. My outlook on everything was very different to the past WBCs. This time, I didn’t feel intimidated by anyone and I felt like a World Champion. I worked much harder towards this championship and believed I was in the prime of my championship career. I also had a much better and stronger support structure in place. I also travelled with a team of SA coffee ambassadors and friends this time, building more confidence in me – Craig Charity, Matt Carter, Donovan McLagan and Melanie Winter. By this time, I also had a lot of coffee friendships that I developed internationally and on the trip, as well as some local coffee friend and industry people that travelled separately to the show that supported me from the crowd. This boosted my confidence more as well. The coffee I took this time was quite expensive and rare, with an amazing story/ history and for the first time, I had a direct link to the farmer and a presentation centred around a rolling theme rather than a coffee story from bean to cup. In my head I believed I had everything to win and I believe I could have, however my coffee did not react the same in Seattle as it did back home. So, everything had to change every day up until the last moments before stage – grind, dose, extraction and signature beverage as a whole. That was stressful, but I went on stage confident and with the belief that I had a power set and coffee. The feedback from 2015 was invaluable. I was recognised by a lot of international coffee ambassadors and judges as a worthy competitor and this made this the best experience for me.”

The USA are one of the powerhouses when it comes to coffee culture. In SA we are able to source, roast and cup great coffee now and we are on par with the USA in term of quality. In terms of quantity, according to Ishan, the sheer number of coffee spots and diversity of brands in the USA sets them apart from SA. From his experience Ishan explains that “In terms of coffee quality, I was ‘wowed’ by only a few and most made me realise that we are on par with skills and cup profiles.” He went on to explain that “Sometimes it’s the romance of where we are that determines our experiences and perceptions, sometimes it’s that extra care and attention to every aspect that leads to the cup you savour.”

Ishan traveled to many coffee spots in the USA on his way to the WBC. “My favourites were Intelligentsia, Blue Bottle, Café Grumpy, Slate Coffee Roasters, Stumptown and the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. Every brand with its own unique personality, baristas personalities and coffee personalities. I would recommend all of them.” Like Origin all of these roasteries pride themselves on the quality of their coffee, from sourcing the best green beans to skilfully roasting every batch to perfection to each of the professional baristas that pour perfect cups.

Intelligentsia, Blue Bottle, Café Grumpy, Slate Coffee Roasters, Stumptown and the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room

In 2012 Ishan competed at the WBC in London, “My London WBC experience was very similar to Atlanta, I was still too inexperienced as an international competitor.” He explained that “my feelings about the UK are identical to the US, except I felt that I had and enjoyed more experiences in the UK. The UK has the largest coffee culture and growth per capita if I am not mistaken. I also felt that there was more humility in more UK coffee professionals and coffee spots.” Again, while on his way to the championship Ishan immersed himself in UK coffee shops. “My recommendations and best experiences were: Prufrock, Tap, Ozone (my favourite space in the world of coffee) and Starbucks Reserve.” 2017 SA Barista Champion Winston Thomas made his way to the UK earlier this month, in preparation for WBC 2017.  He too immersed himself in UK’s coffee culture, also visiting Prufrock and Ozone.

Prufrock, Tap, Ozone and Starbucks Reserve

Looking back on his three WBC experiences, Ishan gained experience and confidence in his own abilities from each competition. “The more I did competitions, the more I learnt from every experience, learning from each missed opportunities and working harder on my celebrations to grow. It’s a matter of time, awareness of areas of opportunity and humility to accept criticism towards improving one’s self. It’s also above sometimes moving out of your comfort zone to challenge yourself. With every competition came, gained experience, maturity, more confidence, more belief and stronger relationships.  It just got better and somewhat easier, yet always challenging as I progressed from one competition to another. My goal has always been to beat myself, looking back at past performances and scores, and working hard to better them with each competition.”

After 16 years in the SA coffee industry Ishan is considered by many to be a great influence and inspiration. He has made his way from barista behind the machine to a business savvy coffee professional. His experience in both the WBC and the coffee industry makes his a great source for a few words of wisdom for this year’s champ Winston:

“Winston came to see me a few months ago, shortly after his win to chat. My advice to him was and will always be that there is something special about him; a humility and respectable demeanour that he must never change. He must just be himself, take the advice from whoever offers but not to change to what someone else believes. He must remain himself and true to his beliefs, and filter what can benefit him to succeed.”

Craig got his start in coffee about 9 years, “A friend got me into making coffee in a Moka pot, I loved the process of it and started experimenting with various ways of making it to get a better coffee”. From there Craig repaired a 1 group commercial coffee machine and together with a friend started the coffee company Go Coffee. Looking back now “I would never had guessed that coffee could be this complex 9 years ago” says Craig.

In 2014 Craig won SA Barista Champs and his journey to WBC began. According to Craig the journey was “the craziest time of my life”. He went on to explain “Although winning the SA champs was a dream of mine, I did not think further than the actual competition. The road to WBC Rimini was the most eventful time of my life. I went to Burundi for the African Champs and pawned it, I went over 17 Minutes and got disqualified. I think that at that point I realized that I needed a team around me and that I was only as strong as the team”.

Craig explains that the coffee culture in Italy is very similar to the coffee culture in SA, the difference being that Italy has a lot more coffee drinkers. He believes that with more coffee drinkers the industry can change quicker. “I enjoyed the coffee there, it is different, darker roasted, most of it has Robusta in it but you cannot judge suit on what we consider a ‘good’ coffee. I appreciated it for what is was” says Craig.

The best cup Craig drank in Italy was from Ditta Artigianale, a café in Florence. The café was opened in 2013 by Francesco Sanapo, who was Italy’s 2013 Barista Champ. He competed at the WBC and placed 6^th in the world finals. Ditta Artigianale focuses on quality, craftmanship and the coffee culture. Like Origin, Ditta Artigianale travel to various coffee farms and build direct relationships with coffee farmers.

Ditta Artigianale in Florence Italy (image from http://www.dittaartigianale.it/en/catalogo.aspx)

The day that Craig has been preparing for, WBC 2014, arrived and he remembers “I had an amazing team with me and even through my stuff did not arrive till 4 hours before I had to be on stage the people around me picked up the slack and I was able to go on stage and do well”. Craig placed 15^th, higher than any SA competitor before or after him. Currently, Craig is part of Winston Thomas’ (2017 SA Barista Champ) WBC team, he is one of Winston’s coaches. The two just returned from London, where they spent two weeks exploring the coffee culture and coffee industry.

A message from one SA Barista Champion to another:

“Practice as if this is the last time you will ever be able to be on stage, when on stage perform as if you have never practiced.”

In Travis Scott’s words, he’s “always been a coffee guy”. He got his start in coffee 9 years ago at a coffee shop where he soon learnt “I knew nothing”. In the past 9 years Travis has gained immense coffee knowledge and made a significant impact on the industry. In 2011 he was crowned SA‘s Barista Champion and travelled to Colombia for the World Barista Championship (WBC).

Colombia is currently the third highest producer of coffee in the world and has been one of the top coffee producing countries for many years. On his visit to Colombia, Travis went to El Grado Coffee Farm where he learnt about the production of Colombian coffee from planting, to picking, washing and drying, all the way down to composting. Travis also had the chance to visit a small coffee farm, experience coffee farming with an old local couple and even plant his own coffee trees. In addition to the coffee farms Colombia offers some other unique coffee experiences. The Finca San Alberto speciality coffee shop is one that stands out for Travis and all their other visitors. After a jeep drive up a steep mountain, you reach the speciality coffee shop with, according to Travis “a view like no other in the world”.

Finca San Alberto Speciality Coffee Shop (image from http://www.cafesanalberto.com/)

Moving back into Bogotá city Azahar Café, located in Parque 93, offers a choice of coffees from the Nariño, Antioquia, Huila and Quindío departments of Colombia. Like Origin, they offer alternative brew methods and pride themselves on their direct associating with coffee farms and their knowledge on the journey of a bean from the farm to your cup. A few kilometres south, in the busy Chapinero neighbourhood, Bourbon Coffee Roasters offer great coffee and a roasting experience.

Colombian culture and their coffee culture are inseparable. In 1995 the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, founded the National Coffee Park, a non-profit initiative for the preservation of the cultural and coffee heritage of Colombia. It is a theme park dedicated to the culture and history of coffee. It is the only one of its kind in the world. Travis visited the park in 2011 and attended the Show del Café (Coffee Show), a must-see in the park. The show uses traditional Colombian music, sing and dance to take you through the entire history of this grain, cultural traditions and coffee producing regions.

The Colombian coffee industry started decades before anyone in South Africa even knew what quality coffee was. Today however, SA’s coffee industry is catching up quickly. Travis says “the SA coffee industry has come a long way in my 9 years of being a part of it. The future of coffee in SA will be mind blowing”. All of us at Origin and, I am sure, the rest of the coffee industry in SA cannot wait to see what the future holds.

What we all do know is that the 2017 WBC in Seoul Korea is fast approaching. SA’s 2017 Barista Champ Winston Thomas (Origin’s Lead Barista), is currently working on his prep for the competition. Could he be the first South African competitor to break into the top 12?

A message from one SA Barista Champion to another:

“Do your best! Have fun and use this WBC as training, you will be there again!!!” – Travis Scott

Willem Pienaar got his start in coffee 11 year ago at Origin. As he explains, “I was doing work on site installing the alarm in Origin HQ back before there even was a shop, met Joel and asked to take some coffee home. It was so different from what I had known before that I just kept asking questions about what they do until they had no choice but to hire me.”

Fast forward a year later, in 2007, South Africa sent their first competitor, Willem Pienaar, to the World Barista Championships (WBC) held in Japan. For Willem, this was the start because he got to see how big the world of coffee really was. He revealed that “being the first in something leaves you unprepared for reality when it comes around. I learned an incredible amount of lessons in a very short period of time”. At that time the coffee culture in Japan (and the world) was ahead of SA but Willem thinks “we have almost caught up and we are on the verge of making our own breakthrough into the world coffee scene. We are in the big leagues and we’re showing the world that SA is no longer a minor power in the coffee world.” From his experience with coffee in Japan Willem saw their immense pride, dedication to and passion for speciality and single origin coffees. This is mirrored in speciality coffee shops in South Africa.

Some of Japan’s must-visit coffee shops include About Life Coffee Brewers, Switch Coffee and The Roastery by Nozy Coffee. These 3 shops have something other than coffee in common. They are passionate about sharing their knowledge and are on the same mission as Origin – to grow everyone’s coffee knowledge and help people gain an appreciation for fine and speciality coffees. The best coffee roasters around the world, whether in South Africa or Japan, are obsessed with quality: from the farms around the world to green beans and finally the cup.

About Life Coffee Brewers in Tokyo Japan

When Origin opened its doors there was no such thing as coffee culture in South Africa back then. Willem believes that we (Origin) greatly assisted in establishing the specialty coffee culture in South Africa. The whole notion of what coffee was and is has been flipped on its head and according to Willem “if you still don’t know what specialty coffee should taste like, you must be living under a rock”. The coffee industry in South Africa is growing at a rapid rate, with speciality stores popping up every month.

Willem went on to say that “The SA coffee culture has greatly matured in the last 10 years and we are very quickly coming to the point where SA will be a competitor to be reckoned with in the world champs, I’m looking at you Winston”. Winston Thomas will be representing both Origin and South Africa at the WBC this year in Seoul Korea as SA 2017 National Barista Champion. With the evolution of coffee culture in SA, competitors now have access to more than ever before. From roasters to former world champions the coffee industry is always ready to lend a hand and coach one of their own.

A message from one SA Barista Champion to another:

“Winston, you already have what it takes to go all the way. You are currently the single best barista, showman, professional that I know. I would wish you good luck, but you don’t need luck. You are going to kick some serious a** and I am proud to call you a colleague.” – Willem Pienaar