Meet one of our newest members who’s been in the business for over twenty years
What is your earliest coffee related experience?
Checking out the freshly roasted coffee aromas waffling out of Tea & Coffee World roaster back in the 80’s
When / why did you first get working in coffee?
In 1993 we had an espresso cart designed by Athfield Architects and pumped out streams of lattes to hundreds of students!
What led you to becoming a barista?
I have always been intrigued espresso and wanted to be able produce a shot that tasted as good as the intoxicating aroma itself.
What is the best part of your job?
When I had Galleria Barista Café, it was all about giving our customers a fantastic coffee experience that help them get through their day.
As a tutor, it’s about inspiring the next generation to love and respect the art of the barista and having the opportunity to impart experience and coffee knowledge.
Talk us through a typical work day
Every day brings a fresh challenge from developing interactive lesson plans on all facets of hospitality to organizing field trips and running café day productions for our students, and huge amounts of assessments and marking!
What are your roles outside of making coffee?
I also mentor staff across two other programmes who teach coffee. In addition to this I work on continuously improving our coffee resources and assessments.
What is your favourite brew method and/or coffee origin and why?
I love drinking espresso daily but am also a fan of v60, the most memorable being an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe brewed by Mr Nick Cark which was so limey & citrus like.
Tulip or Rosetta?
The Tulip is gorgeous & the Rosetta a classic…. Both winners!
What would be your dream ‘coffee experience’?
I would love to work a busy day at The League of Honest Coffee in Melbourne slammin’ out endless coffees from their TWO Slayers. They have a great team of professionals.
Do you have a ‘coffee crush’ (person you most respect in the business)?
Several people come to mind- Heath & Justin of Coffee Supreme Melbourne who have worked so hard from humble beginnings to their current positions and Matt Lamason of People’s and Nick Clark of Flight for bringing a huge awareness of Fair Trade and Ethical Specialty Coffees of the world to NZ.
