Category

Coffee Stories

Echo Hu Echo Hu, TIMEMORE ManagerCoffee Stories

Echo Hu

Standing for 8 to 10 hours straight, legs swelling like balloons, collapsing onto the bed at night too exhausted to move—that's the raw reality Echo Hu faced in her early days as a barista. With only one day off a week and shifts flipping between early mornings and late nights,…
IMNAB
February 5, 2026
Lonika Tay Lonika Tay Cup Taster IndonesiaCoffee Stories

Lonika Tay

Lonika Tay didn’t begin her coffee journey behind an espresso machine, nor did she imagine herself competing on an international stage. She started by packing coffee. Lonika Tay  At a roastery in Indonesia, her days were spent weighing beans, sealing bags, and packing orders. She wasn’t part of the core…
IMNAB
January 22, 2026
Angel Kotsifakis Angel KotsifakisCoffee Stories

Angel Kotsifakis

The lab is a sanctuary of focus, but today, it’s a beautiful chaos. The air, thick with the aroma of coffee, is punctuated by the gleeful shouts of a child. “Daddy, daddy, daddy!” Behind the bar, amidst gleaming equipment and bags of beans, sits a small bicycle and a baby…
IMNAB
January 16, 2026
Bryant Toh Bryant TohCoffee Stories

Bryant Toh

“I’m a social worker, but I work directly with youth.” How Bryant Toh uses coffee as a bridge to connection, trust, and youth mental health in Singapore.
IMNAB
December 16, 2025
Sandro Roth Sandro RothCoffee Stories

Sandro Roth

Sandro Roth never expected coffee to change his life. He was an industrial designer, leading a design team, holding the kind of position many people spend years working toward. From the outside, it looked ideal. But inside, he felt a quiet heaviness — a feeling that the life he had…
IMNAB
December 4, 2025
Johana Alvarez Johana AlvarezCoffee Stories

Johana Alvarez

"I want to keep teaching, and keep learning—because we can only share what we understand. And now, I understand coffee a little more.” These were the words Johana Alvarez shared after two days at the GCAG coffee training course in Bucaramanga, Colombia. A math teacher by profession and a coffee…
IMNAB
November 28, 2025
Steve Moloney Steve Moloney The Barista LeagueCoffee Stories

Steve Moloney

Steve Moloney never set out to build a movement. He wasn’t chasing activism, prestige, or any grand idea of “saving the industry.” He was just trying to breathe again. Steve Moloney The Barista League Before coffee competitions, before The Barista League, before the crowds and the chaotic energy we now…
IMNAB
November 25, 2025
Shunichi Nakagawa Shunichi NakagawaCoffee Stories

Shunichi Nakagawa

“It started with a single coin. And somehow, that tiny moment kept echoing through my life.” This is the story of Shunichi Nakagawa.   Shunichi Nakagawa I still remember standing in front of a vending machine during my university internship, holding a single coin in my hand. I wasn’t a…
IMNAB
November 18, 2025
Isabel Ng Grind and ShineCoffee Stories

Isabel Ng

At the end of our 2025 Asia trip, in the vibrant hum of Singapore, I met Isabel Ng at a spot called Bettr Coffee.  As we sat down, her voice carrying the weight of reflection, the conversation flowed like a slow pour-over: deliberate, layered, and revealing. For I’M NOT A…
IMNAB
November 11, 2025
Freddy Rojas Freddy RojasCoffee Stories

Freddy Rojas

“We’ve been living in a bubble. Colombia produces some of the best coffee in the world, but we grow up drinking the lowest quality... We grow up surrounded by coffee, but we only ever use it as a drink. What if it could be more?” Freddy Rojas isn’t your typical…
IMNAB
November 7, 2025