Category

Coffee Stories

Paul Istrate Coffee Stories

Paul Istrate

Paul Istrate’s coffee story started in 2014 when he began working in the breakfast bar of a hotel in Brasov, Romania. A colleague asked him to take on the responsibility of making the bosses’ morning coffees. After getting the hang of it, he started to experiment with different styles of…
Chloe Lovatt
January 1, 2021
Sulaiman Alalawi Coffee Stories

Sulaiman Alalawi

“My name is Sulaiman, I'm a normal guy with big dreams and a strong passion for coffee. In the beginning, I was calling myself a barista, until I realized that a person who can make coffee is more than just a barista! All that pressure and the nonstop ideas happen…
IMNAB
December 21, 2020
Şahin Demirbaş Barista StoryCoffee Stories

Şahin Demirbaş

Everyone has a particular object in their lives that holds a lot of meaning for them. For some, it may be something that a loved one gave them, or a special item that commemorates a special day.For Şahin Demirbaş, it was a French press. Şahin Demirbaş is preparing coffee latte…
Paul Wong
December 18, 2020
Josef Mott Coffee Stories

Josef Mott

At the ripe age of 24, Josef and his friend from Business school paired up to take over a coffee shop in Hemel Hampstead, with absolutely no previous experience within the coffee industry. 10 years on, Josef is now a top roaster and SCA trainer with international barista experience. Josef…
Talia Goury
December 14, 2020
Sarah Hanaway Sarah HanawayCoffee Stories

Sarah Hanaway

My name is Sarah Hanaway, and this is my coffee story. “Every year that I have competed, I set myself the simple goal of doing better than last time and to have come away learning something.” Sarah Hanaway, photo by Harris Competing can be an invaluable learning experience and Sarah…
Vasileia Fanarioti
December 7, 2020
Anish Kale Coffee Stories

Anish Kale

Not everyone holds a special, fond memory over their first cup of coffee. For some of us, it was just another cup of 'alright. However, this was not the case for Anish Kale. Anish Kale Coffee Art by Anish Kale. However, even during these difficult times where things aren’t what…
Katie Rees
December 7, 2020
Ahmed Hawi Coffee Stories

Ahmed Hawi

Growing up in a village 100 km away from Beirut, Lebanon, coffee was considered an essential, in Ahmed Hawi’s family home. No matter the hour, coffee was always what gathered the family together. Ahmed Hawi Ahmed Hawi’s coffee journey finds its roots in Africa. Having travelled to Sierra Leone to…
Talia Goury
December 1, 2020
Orkun Üstel Orkun UstelCoffee Stories

Orkun Üstel

Award winning Turkish barista, Orkun Ustel tells us how he fell into the coffee industry by happy accident. Two-time winner of the Brewers Cup Champion of Turkey and professional barista trainer, Orkun Üstel always loved coffee. He is always experimenting and willing to learn more about coffee. To him, specialist…
Chloe Lovatt
November 27, 2020
Berenice Cortés Coffee Stories

Berenice Cortés

Having studied administration at high school,  Berenice Cortés turned away from following a career in her field of study after taking inspiration from her mother, who had been working with coffee for many years. “At first I did not know what she was doing at work but when I saw her…
Josef Mott
November 25, 2020
Evgeny Starikov Coffee Stories

Evgeny Starikov

Evgeny Starikov's stepping-stone to the coffee industry was when he began working for Simple Coffee, a Russian coffee chain in Yekaterinburg. Evgeny wasn’t particularly fond of coffee at the time, but found himself in awe of the nice shirts the Simple Coffee baristas were wearing whenever he walked by cafe windows.…
Talia Goury
November 23, 2020