To celebrate our industry and highlight our education programme, we decided to contact our Authorised Instructors and ask them a few questions.
Name: Masako Yamamoto
Company: Atomic Coffee Roasters
First taste of coffee: Age 11, an americano with runny cream made by my dad.
How you brewing at home now? During the couple of lockdowns I’ve been lucky enough to have a ‘training room’ at home and I’ve been using a Rocket Espresso machine and a Mythos grinder lol.
What inspires you to teach? The terrible coffee trainings I had when I was young, I was taught to mimic but I barely understood anything. I would ask ‘experts’ about what I was doing wrong, they always fobbed me off with bland reassurances that I was fine when I wanted to improve.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Set the appropriate level of expectation on the student, most people expect too much too soon, even of themselves. Have plenty of patience, learning to make great coffee takes repetition of the correct techniques. Learn to read and test your students comprehension (probably the hardest skill) and know your subject, never stop learning yourself.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” : I don’t really have any but others have been known to say to me that “Conditions must be optimum”. Optimum conditions ARE conducive to excellent coffee drinking and making. Work space must be immaculate, music must be on point, ambient temperature must be perfect, hunger and thirst need to be taken care of.
Favourite tool for teaching: Old parts of machinery from the workshop that Uncle Dave has given me, much easier than crouching to see under the group head and inside a grinder.
How do you keep training fresh? Constantly trying new things and changing the classes I take, it can definitely get repetitive if you don’t mix it up! Although teaching new people all of the time keeps it fresh because each student brings their own personality and experience.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: I love talking about flavour, teaching people how to taste and exposing people to really unique flavours in coffee but teaching milk and latte art is easy for me and gets instant results so can be quite rewarding to see the students sense of accomplishment after a session.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Workflow and speed. Not everyone responds well to pressure.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? Understanding what their areas of interest are, where their talents are and developing them. It’s easy for baristas to plateau and get stuck in a rut of the day to day but there are so many ways to keep learning. I tell baristas to pick one thing a day to master, it could be your tamp, your milk texture, recording the tasting notes when dialing in your espresso, recording your filter brewing adjustments. Thinking about and articulating flavour is an endless skill/muscle to develop and that just takes a lot of practise!
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? Defensiveness, closed minds and teaching old dogs new tricks. Coffee making is so habitual and some people have habits that are hard to kick.
Most influential person in coffee to you: No one person really, I like learning tidbits from everyone. You know what, some of the most unassuming people have taught me a lot just by mentioning one thing that’s made me think differently. Often customer/student feedback has informed my growth, in training and in coffee making.
What did they teach you? I learnt to teach in ways that are preventative rather than reactive, it’s a harder slog but definitely gets better results.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: This onsite, speed training at the end of a work day in cafes where staff are distracted and tired needs to change. It’s okay in some instances but it’s fairly shallow. I’d love for more baristas and café owners to invest in the profession. I also wish that prices reflected quality, I hate that a cup of coffee is pretty much the same in most cafes around the country despite the fact that barista skill level varies so much and so does coffee quality.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Visiting beautiful gardens.
Instagram? company & personal: @atomiccoffeeroasters & @masakoyamamoto
Name: Bonnie Lam
Company: The Coffee Dojo Wanaka and The Coffee Shack Wanaka.
First taste of coffee: Mocha – the gateway
How you brewing at home now? Aeropress
What inspires you to teach? To share the passion and the make speciality coffee apporachable
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Chill out and be yourself.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” : Clean coffee is a good coffee
Favourite tool for teaching: Coffee machine?!
How do you keep training fresh? Keep up to date with the industry, reading, listening and following the right ppl on social media.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Coffee for sure!
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? Be a GC, if you treat them well and fair they will have no reason to leave.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? patience.
Most influential person in coffee to you: AGNIESZKA ROJEWSKA
What did they teach you? That you can still be a rooted, modest human even as a barista champion.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: Make coffee approachable!
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: snowboarding, longboarding, tennis, garden (lots and lots of plants) and my all time favourite – sleeping.
Instagram? company & personal: @thecoffeeshackwanaka @thecoffeedojowanaka
Name: Sue Denton
Company: Beverage Services Ltd
First taste of coffee: Ripe old age of 13 as a ½ strength mocha LOL
How you brewing at home now? Drip Filter
What inspires you to teach? The people… finding people who you hold that common thread with & geeking out with them.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Be confident in what you know & make sure you have fun with the people you’re teaching.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean”: Stressed, blessed & coffee obsessed!
Favourite tool for teaching: My WOC 2019 Sanremo Café Racer 😊
How do you keep training fresh? By constantly learning and challenging myself in what I know and how to be a better trainer. It’s also so important to get the trainee’s attention so find out what drives them and why they want to make coffee.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Barista Basics – the fun stuff is always the hands on part of the business!
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Cupping – still have lots to learn myself around this.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? By acknowledging the skill and knowledge that a barista holds & uses daily which is also shown in their pay packet. Also providing the correct tools to do their job well.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? We always get that one person who’s had training elsewhere & learnt something different. My aim is to maintain focus on what we’re doing and not discourage things may have been learnt in the past but more about adapting to new ideas.
Most influential person in coffee to you: EMW The Queen of coffee in NZ!
What did they teach you? SO MUCH – Emma helped re-ignite my love for coffee with just her knowledge & passion alone. When you have been in the industry long enough its easy to get comfortable with what you know or don’t know for that matter & doing the NZSCA training course refreshed things I had learnt a long time a go and then learn a new skill set that I haven’t tapped into before.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: I would like people to respect the word ‘Barista’ more and the power that the title holds in itself.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: If I’m honest… playing COD Warzone lol
Instagram? company & personal: @romacoffeenz and @suey_d27
Name: Emma Jean McDougall
Company: NZSCA
First taste of coffee: I was eight. It was Dad’s fancy percolated stuff ground with the electric blade grinder and percolated for 20 minutes topped with whipped cream and an after dinner mint on the side. We were so fancy in the ’80’s. It was probably more the ritual that stayed with me, the atmosphere of the endless summer bbq’s and being able to turn them into Irish Coffees when I got older!
How you brewing at home now? Anything and everything, except espresso. I’d rather go out so someone else can clean the machine and put love in the cup. My partner is building a coffee bench on wheels for me with inbuilt spaces for the kettle, grinder and paraphernalia. It will be like having my own cafe at home. Ideally I’m going to train my children to make us coffee in bed on the weekends.
What inspires you to teach? The joy when someone tastes coffee and gets the milk right for the first time
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Try and find a common ground, make it fun, be prepared. Make learning as interactive as possible.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean”: Ah, I wrote some of these questions, so I put that one in! I also love saying “messy people make messy coffee, clean people make clean coffee” “Water is lazy, barista’s are not” “Competition standards at all times” “That coffee you make at 7.01am for the first customer of the day needs the same love and cleanliness as the coffee you make at 2.59pm” “Who pays your wages?” “Metal shouldn’t be scrapped along metal unless you’re keying someones car” “The coffee machine is bulimic, it needs to purge” “You need to 45 degrees to stretch the milk, angle and Celcius” “Blue cloth for the sky (milk wand), green cloth for the bench” “Drop your screens, not your standards” “no spooning at work” “What’s going in and what’s going out?”
Favourite tool for teaching: You Tube VCR Verve Coffee Roasters latte art video #14. It’s an oldie but a goodie.
How do you keep training fresh? Remember how scared I was making coffee for the first time! Knowing that I have amazing knowledge to pass the seed to cup journey to people who are just learning.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: ergonomics
Hardest thing/subject to teach: confidence
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? Make them be customers. Peter Dore-Smith from Kaffeine in London used to take us out on “team trips” to different hospitality places concentrating on service, differences, what worked, what didn’t. I’ve worked for some amazing people. Shoe budgets, education opportunities, a good team, left over staff lunches. Train them to understand why the customer is paying their hard earned money to sit and enjoy the coffee. Show that it can be a career and that coffee can take you all round the world.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? People who don’t want to learn.
Most influential person in coffee to you: this is such a hard question. If I go back to the very first time I went to a course with Ryan at Vittoria in North Ryde, Sydney in the year 2000. Now there are soo many people and I’m so grateful to all of them.
What did they teach you? Right from my first ever training, Ryan taught me cleanliness. His training room was spotless for every session, and every coffee was perfect for each customer.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: This is a hard one. I’m probably being a bit too subjective here. There are a lot of coffee roasters out there, which is great, but there are a lot of coffee roasters out there and I worry about their intentions.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: eat, try and garden, play Gardenscapes, take the kids to the library, park, beach and lego shows.
Instagram? company @nzspeccoffee and personal: @naenaejamme
Name: Emma Markland Webster
Company: Monster Trucks Coffee ltd, AMC Roastery Supply NZ, New Zealand School of Coffee & NZSCA 🙂
First taste of coffee: Aged 17 drank two pots of filter coffee on my day off in the hotel I worked in as a chef… Couldn’t quite work out what this caffeine thing was doing to me…
How you brewing at home now? Err I don’t, tea at home.
What inspires you to teach? When someone gets it! I enjoy the connection and learning from others no matter what their industry or background is.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Remember the 6 P’s. Preparation and planning, prevents, piss poor performance.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” Ohh so many. ‘If you get the angle of your dangle right to start with you’ll be sweet as a nut’ ‘nobody likes a crusty knob’ ‘handle! the trick is in the name…’ ‘Espresso: a custom made creation made especially for you, to order’
Favourite tool for teaching: Pressure tamp with a long spring & a sense of humour.
How do you keep training fresh? Never think that you will ever know it all, always learn more and be open to change.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Acids & sensory skills.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Someone who has decided or knows everything already, usually someone that has been told by another/boss to learn.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? Teach them more, if they are baristas they need to be knowledgeable, give them the skills/tools to excel or grow their career in coffee.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? The mindset that most people have, that you can get a certificate or be a ‘qualified’ barista in 2.5 hours. Soooo much more 🙁
Most influential person in coffee to you: Sunalini Menon “Asia’s first lady of coffee”
What did they teach you? To believe in myself and my ability to taste without caring about others opinions or thoughts on me.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: More focus on the customer experience this is very poor in most cases in NZ and particularly so in low end and high end coffee establishments.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: mmm eat… & sleep
Instagram? company & personal: @amcroasterysupply @truckeeeemmmma
Name: Claire “the coffee fairy” Matheson
Company: Coffee Educators, IAMHOPEcoffee
First taste of coffee: Bridget’s Cafe, Merivale, Chch circa 1989 (Bridget and her Mum also made the best Bacon & Egg sanga)
How you brewing at home now? Depends what is on hand, espresso or plunger usually.
What inspires you to teach? Knowing that through coffee we can create positive societal change around inclusion for our diverse colleagues and customers.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: I guess it’s being able to have a wide range of analogies to ensure full understanding for the learners. From toilets to cars and everything in between.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” Love the Dept of Brewology “Filter Coffee not People” & “The best coffee of all is coffee for all”
Favourite tool for teaching: White board pen! You can practically write on anything with one of those bad boys!
How do you keep training fresh? By trying to improve and adapt my teaching style as much as I can, looking at the learners and seeing what works best to provide more accessible training, watching and talking to other trainers and educators.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: I love teaching about espresso machines and their function. Seeing learners understand the combination of science, creativity and engineering that goes into the equipment they use every day.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: A good attitude!
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? I think that continued education and sense of our community work to make baristas feel valued and challenged. The development of the NZSCA Barista Qualifications will go a long way to providing a sense of achievement and vocational pathways for those in the industry.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? Being on time, but that’s just my own personal challenge full stop.
Most influential person in coffee to you: Well I have two, Jeremy Torz and Steven Macatonia from Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, UK
What did they teach you? Compassion, the true extent that coffee touches the lives of so many, that we should never rest when looking to create more ethical and inclusive processes, how freakin delicious Laphroaig Whisky is!!!
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: I think we have a pretty awesome industry here in NZ. I’d love to see us continue to create more inclusion for those with diversity and disability. Every day we move closer to this and show how our industry can be truly accepting of all people.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Sleep.
Instagram? company & personal: @coffeeeducatorsnz & @iamhopecoffee
Name: David Green, Dave, DG, Greenie
Company: L’affare
First taste of coffee: grand parents percolator – topped with whipped cream and cinnamon.
How you brewing at home now? Wilfa brewer – or the trusty plunger.
What inspires you to teach? A passion for coffee and that weird sense of achievement when the person your teaching ‘gets it’
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: keep it flowing… don’t let your student get stuck, move on to change their focus and they’ll get it when they are not focusing on it.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” – it’s all about the angle of dangle. Followed closely by “no one likes a crusty knob’
Favourite tool for teaching: “a hot spoon” always helpful for the bad habit correction. 😂 An espresso machine and a whiteboard- drawing pictures and diagrams helps to bring your words to life.
How do you keep training fresh? Keep it fun… even the serious stuff should be enjoyable, people learn better when they are relaxed and having fun.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Espresso technique and technical aspects.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Latte art
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? Give them knowledge to inspire passion (and pay them more)
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? Having unmotivated or uninterested students. People that don’t understand the value good coffee brings to their business.
Most influential person in coffee to you: the list is long but locally – EMW
What did they teach you? “It’s all about the angle of the dangle 😂 “ But in all honesty she’s taught me to be humble with your knowledge, to share what you can when you can and when all else fails make it taste good.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: A collective desire to improve consumer appreciation of coffee and it’s true value. Be it barista made or a bag on a shelf.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Spending time with family and friends wining and dining.
Instagram? company & personal: @coffeeguydave or @laffare
Name: Michael Stevens
Company: Ozone Coffee Roasters
First taste of coffee: My mother and her extra strength Greggs instant was my first “coffee” but it was Jayren Dixon who introduced me to the complexity of roasted coffee and how to enjoy espresso.
How are you brewing at home now? I would like to say I am ashamed, but the brews from our Delonghi Superautomatic are tasting BANGING! Just means my trusty stovetop is slowly turning to rust. However, as I am on the road with a good chunk of my time how can I go past the illustrious Aeropress!!!
What inspires you to teach? To pass on the skills, tips, and techniques that I have been gifted from others that have refined my own coffee making. I want to be able to experience great coffee everywhere I go!
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Make it fun and engaging, find out what the individual wants to get out of it.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean”: “Basket to the gasket, finger to the ringer” orrrrrr “Brown ring of confidence.”
Favourite tool for teaching: My Casio wristwatch, purely for its stopwatch (and it is a damn cool, timeless work of art!)
How do you keep training fresh? With awkward humour.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Flavour and tasting. I love to see students understand the difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ coffee after breaking down flavour components, it creates that reassurance of why we aim for consistency when making coffee.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Efficiency and speed of service.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? Show them the respect that they deserve, listen to their wants, needs, and concerns. Reward them for loyalty, hard work, and professionalism. Give them support! And of course get together for a drink and share good times 😊
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? With established Barista’s breaking old habits can be extremely challenging, broaching the “But this is what I was told by…” statement is something that I approach cautiously. I mean, honestly, I am learning something new in coffee each and every day. Also, for those new to coffee, it can be challenging to not make it seem like information overload and to make them feel out of their depth, take it slow and reiterate the key points.
Most influential person in coffee to you: Just one?! For me it was Jayren Dixon that set me on the path of discovery within coffee and I have consistently been inspired by the entire Ozone crew…my extended and super talented family 😊
What did they teach you? Humility, we are all just one cog in the part of this giant wonderful machine. It is only when we all work together and pay that respect that is deserved that we function seamlessly.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: Communication to the customer about where their coffee “comes from”, the producer, the farm and the ethics involved, the roaster, and every hand in between. More often than not this story begins and ends at the Barista for the consumer, let’s share these incredible stories that extend further than the product. People love to hear these stories, just watch their eyes light up with wonderment when you relay these stories.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Rave!
Instagram? company & personal: @ozonecoffeenz @masteves @krp_fd
Name: Chiara
Company: Switch Espresso
First taste of coffee: 12-year-old
How you brewing at home now? My Bialetti Moka express 3 cups (Italian stovetop)
What inspires you to teach? Teaching someone something which many think is so simple but that has a world of knowledge behind it. So much influences through from the farm to the coffee cup that I feel a duty to share that depth of knowledge with Baristas.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: I always like to introduce a bit of coffee history and to talk about the different blends and single origins we offer at our roastery to make people feeling more relaxed. Never judging them but let them understand that they slowly will achieve it.
Favourite coffee saying: Every customer deserves an awesome cup of coffee, so make sure you do your best every time. Always freshly ground. The grinder is your best friend 😉
Favourite tool for teaching: Grinder and cupping session
How do you keep training fresh? I always try to keep on track with coffee news, learning from everyone, try to stay open minded, sharing and listening, feedback from trainee.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: I love “Seed to cup” and ‘Cupping” subject.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Changing bad habits and customer service. It’s hard if you have people that have been in the industry for a looong time and they believe they know everything and that no more learning is required.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? A nice work environment with the potentail to develop over the years more skills and deserved fair pay.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? Let people understand that as a Barista you need to deliver an experience to your customers, and to do it you need to build up skills over the years: it is not just adding coffee and steamed milk into a cup. Presentation, service, attention to detail have to be part of the Barista skills.
Most influential person in coffee to you: Every single person that crossed my coffee life
What did they teach you? Confidence, caring, attention to detail, to be part of a wider coffee community, dealing with different people and in different environments.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: More sharing and collaboaration within the coffee community. I work in Christchurch and I would like more events to be hosted in the South Island. Better pay for Baristas, more open mind people, and for café owners to trust and listen more to the coffee company and their trainer as what we want is the best for them and the customers.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Travel around the world, but COVID put it in the corner… for now.
Instagram? company & personal: @switchespresso @chiais89
Name: India Curtis
Company: Prima Roastery
First taste of coffee: 13. I was going to be way too tall anyway…
How you brewing at home now? A Moccamaster was added to the family over lockdown and now I couldn’t live without it.
What inspires you to teach? Knowing how many doors have been opened to me in this industry, I feel inspired to give people the tools to open their own doors. Whether or not someone stays in this industry is irrelevant. They will always have a great skill to retreat too.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: I love coffee. People vibe instantly off my passion and can’t help but get excited about learning more. (A couple of espresso helps raise the enthusiasm too)
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” – When someone say’s “Oh that’s pretty” I shamelessly reply “Thanks, the coffees not bad either eh?”.
Favourite tool for teaching: Our senses. We are blessed with tastes buds so in a training I make sure they get used. We learn so much about the aroma and flavours by experiencing the taste at different stages of the coffee making process.
How do you keep training fresh? Normally when I train people, it’s their first time on a machine so I make sure I keep that bit really consistent. The people I train are the ones to keep it fresh. Each with their own questions or ideas. I love being kept on my toes by coffee nerds.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Extraction. It’s the part that most people assume is the easy bit so it’s fun to blow their minds with tiny variables.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Latte Art. It’s not something I explored in my time as a Barista.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? A lot of time and effort goes into becoming a good Barista and I think the pay needs to reflect that. Living wage is a must but it’s important to remember how important someone amazing behind the machine is. Personality, capability and skill should all be a factor.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? It’s a transient industry. A lot of people I train for café’s don’t stick around for longer then 6months. Not necessarily a bad thing for them personally but hard for the owners, managers and trainers involved in getting someone up to scratch.
Most influential person in coffee to you: There are so many. Mark Rogers of Reid’s Store. I worked there over summers from the age of 13/14.
What did they teach you? The power of observation. I watched the way he made coffee for what felt like years before I was allowed on the machine but by the time I jumped on, I felt like I had it down.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: Sustainable everything. To think about the process from seed to cup from all aspects. Our farmers, distributors, roasters, baristas and customers all have a part to play in making sure coffee is sustainably sourced and made.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Beer. Just kidding- there is no life outside of coffee.
Instagram? company: @primaroastery
Name: Jack Burton
Company: Jack’s Coffee (Named after Grandad)
First taste of coffee: sneaking a sip of mum’s stovetop espresso with plenty of cream before intermediate
How are you brewing at home now? Tea at home! With the occasional plunger.
What inspires you to teach? People have so much passion for learning about coffee and I love sharing.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Ask the trainee questions to find out what’s missing or what needs to go!
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean”: “When you walk into a cafe and you hear this, *furiously and excessively knocks milk jug on bench* what do you order?” “Tea”
Favourite tool for teaching: Analogies work wonders.
How do you keep training fresh? Humour.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Seed to cup.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Anything over the phone.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? Communicate your appreciation of them. Not only verbally. Find out what they aspire to do and be.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? Attitudes.
Most influential person in coffee to you: David Burton. Trainer, Coach, Roaster, Dad.
What did they teach you? Pretty much everything.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: Not sure. But something I wouldn’t ever want to change is the friendly, and collaborative attitudes that permeate the industry.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Quality time with quality people. Food and drink preferably included.
Instagram? company & personal: @jackscoffeenz & @jglburton
Name: Sophia Yang
Company: The Great Café Sunnynook
First taste of coffee: Just bitter!
How you brewing at home now? Just a simple easy pour over
What inspires you to teach? Seeing the improvements of students and their passion to learn
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Always be organised and prepared and most importantly have fun
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” “Life happens, Coffee helps”
Favourite tool for teaching: My machine, my grinder, clean hands and a nice smile.
How do you keep training fresh? I try to bring in different and new materials to class
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Making coffee! extraction and pouring milk
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Seed to Cup
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment?Creating a good work atmosphere, getting feedback, more training opportunities, organising work events even if it is just drinks after work.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? Having to train people that have no interest in coffee.
Most influential person in coffee to you: My Barista trainer
What did they teach you? Always stick to the basics! Practice makes perfect!
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry:
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Chilling at home watching Netflix and taking my dog for a walk.
Instagram? company & personal: @Socaffeinated_y @Thegreatcafesunnynook
Name: Daisy Dong
Company: Aoraki Coffee
First taste of coffee: 1980s, Aunty Yan who works in the only coffee roasters in Shanghai/China, gave us some fresh grounded dark roast coffee and a coffee percolator. First taste coffee is bitter…
How you brewing at home now? Plunger
What inspires you to teach? To help the new blood in industry to start right to go further.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: My checklist, to make sure I got everything every time!
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” Humanity runs on Coffee.
Favourite tool for teaching: Tamper
How do you keep training fresh? Team up and do some tasks, looking for things to improve on if possible.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Seed to Cup
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Customer Service. We all have lots of stories to share.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? Uptrain to upskill. Possibly participate in competitions to challenge yourself. From being inspired by all coffee legends to be an inspiring figure.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? To do a latte art in front of an experienced barista for retraining sessions.
Most influential person in coffee to you: Ken Shi
What did they teach you? Everything about Coffee, starting from making a cup of coffee, to how to taste coffee, coffee machines, etc. Actually, I wonder when he’s going to teach me how to fix coffee machines.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: More new faces in industry.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Reading and gardening
Instagram? company & personal: @aorakicoffeeroaster
Name: Jenna Phillips
Company: Sacred Grounds Ltd
First taste of coffee: Instant coffee with a ton of sugar! Eeek
How you brewing at home now? At work is a good ol’ long black, at home all I drink is coke 🙂
What inspires you to teach? Honestly the people that don’t like coffee. Because then you train them how to make good coffee, and then realize how goood it is. Oh and also my Mum, because she needs to learn to make me coffee for once.. hahah
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Always bring chocolate 😉
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” “Drink coffee, and grab life by the beans”
Favourite tool for teaching: Showing how to do things is easier than telling, so a coffee machine and a grinder is a good place to start.
How do you keep training fresh? I’m always learning new things, so I like to visit my students and show them all the new things I’ve learnt.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: I love teaching Seed to Cup, especially to people that have never seen green beans.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: The hardest thing to teach is somebody that doesn’t want to learn
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? People tend to think that because of my age I don’t know what I’m talking about.
Most influential person in coffee to you: My Dad
What did they teach you? Introduced me to coffee, and taught me how to make it, rookie mistake because now I’m better than him. Don’t tell him that though lol.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: I would love to see more young people in the industry.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: I love spending time with friends and family, until they ask me to make them coffee.
Instagram? company & personal: @sacredgroundsnz @jennaaaa_82
Name: Rob Hooper
Company: Laroma Coffee Co.
First taste of coffee: Milk two sugars, thanks. Though I’ll never forget my first natural Yirgacheffe, on the table the first time I cupped coffee at John Burtons. Life has never quite been the same…
How you brewing at home now?: Either the Domobar/Mazzer Mini combo, or the trusty French Press.
What inspires you to teach?: The Holy Grail for me is when someone I have taught dives down the rabbit hole and develops a real passion for coffee. The same goes for customers.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Encourage students to ask lots of questions, it’s a really good way to gauge if your approach is working for them, or you need to frame things differently.
Favourite coffee saying e.g. “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean”: Anything about consistency. I love me some consistency. Emma has provided me with some absolute rippers though, which will be used liberally from here on in.
Favourite tool for teaching: Poorly drawn diagrams.
How do you keep training fresh?: I always try to keep learning/challenging my own ideas.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Seed to Cup.
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Giving a shit.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? A good workplace culture is important, though that’s not particularly specific to the coffee industry.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer?: People who don’t give a shit.
Most influential person in coffee to you: Juan Valdez
What did they teach you?: Jokes, I honestly think that every single person working in this industry has something to teach me. I have mad respect for anyone who’s willing to put forward their own honest ideas and opinions.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: I think the NZ coffee industry is travelling on a pretty exciting trajectory; I’m just excited to see where it takes us.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: Hang with my kids.
Instagram? company & personal: @laromacoffeeco
Name: Andrew Payne
Company: Suntory
First taste of coffee: My mum bought me an alarm / auto brew percolator aged 14 because I would never get up for school on time. It worked for about a week then I was back in detention. I kept the percolator.
How you brewing at home now? I generally brew off an Oscar home espresso machine or otherwise I will have a plunger these days.
What inspires you to teach? My mum is a teacher (incidentally at the school I was always late for, to her embarrassment) and I always vowed I would never be a teacher. I guess somethings can’t be changed.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: I find that attention levels tend to drop off at around 30 minutes. Ask questions, mix it up with different activities and keep the message clear.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean”: “We are looking for that brown colour all around the rim”
Favourite tool for teaching: Nothing comes close to the functionality of a McDonalds sundae lid as a way to capture, weigh and funnel the coffee into the basket. Next time you’re in ask for one and you’ll see!
How do you keep training fresh? By being around my peers in the industry and getting feedback from our customers. Always keeping yourself open to constructive criticism.
Favourite thing/subject to teach: Sensory Development
Hardest thing/subject to teach: Bean to cup – I find the lecture style challenging to keep everyone actively engaged.
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? By paying them a living wage with clear pathways for development.
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? To be agile to changes in the industry and adapting to ever increasing automation.
Most influential person in coffee to you: Got to be James Hoffman. Massive influence on my coffee knowledge back when it all began for me (2009ish)
What did they teach you? Objective > Subjective. Also the best plunger technique IMO.
What changes would you like to see in the NZ coffee industry: Seeing more baristas getting paid a liveable wage by paying a bit more for our coffee as the consumer. The $5 price point has been stagnant for a few years now.
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: DJing and playing video games.
Instagram? company & personal: @ap_payne & @theroasteryattwentythree
Name: Del Lowther
Company: Ritual Coffee Company
First taste of coffee: my mother always had the peculator on when people came for dinner, I adored the aroma but was never allowed to taste it, so I finally was allowed an instant coffee aged nine. I still remember it was Greggs coffee
How are you brewing at home now? Well I can’t live without my two group Wega commercial espresso machine it’s tucked in my kitchen
What inspires you to teach? Being able to share a passion with the hope it becomes infectious.
Top tips or hacks for smooth training: Plan! Plan! Plan! Failing to plan is planning to fail. Keep it fun, keep it fresh.
Favourite coffee saying eg “if it’s time to lean, it’s time to clean” cleanliness is next to godliness, make that machine sparkle like a new car
Favourite tool for teaching: lots of tactile and visual objects that relate to each subject, oh and lollies…aye Emma?
How do you keep training fresh? Think of being in the learner’s shoes – what would I want to know/learn and understand
Favourite thing/subject to teach: aromas and tasting coffee helping them to understand tasting coffee, what’s good and bad
Hardest thing/subject to teach: latte art, as students always want to run before they can walk
What do you think is the best way to retain baristas in employment? Get to know your baristas personally, what drives them, what are their passions in life, acknowledge what an asset they are, nurture them, make them feel as valuable as they are, always have the right tools, discuss and identify any operational issues that cause them unnecessary stress it could be as simple as ordering more demitasse cups!
What are your biggest challenges as a trainer? Training seasonal workers, usually Europeans as they think we make coffee wrong and getting them to see our New Zealand ways
Most influential person in coffee to you: Geoff Marsland – Havana I adore what he created and achieve
What did they teach you? You can make it happen
What changes would you like to see in the New Zealand coffee industry: people supporting the boutique-sized coffee roasters, the local roasters, so they don’t disappear and get gobbled up by the big guys
Favourite thing to do outside of coffee: spend time drinking wine with my dogs, brewing beer, and cooking and trying lots of new recipes and gastronomic delights.
instagram? Company & personal @del.lowther.1
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