Barista Story: SA’s 1st Barista Champ Willem Pienaar & Coffee in Japan
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 […]
The AeroPress Competition
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 Some complaining that it is outdated, not relevant to a working environment and that there are no longer any real baristas competing in the modern competition.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 […]
Reflections of an Origin National Barista Champion
“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
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 […]