Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
S4E3: Danny Toro: Brewing Community from 80°C Glory
305 Plays23 days ago
Welcome back to I’M NOT A BARISTA, where we give a voice to coffee people! We’re thrilled to return with our latest episode, featuring Danny Toro (they/them), the 2024 US AeroPress Champion. From brewing at 80°C to win in Portugal, Danny shares their inspiring journey—from a biology student in Texas to a Brooklyn coffee consultant.
Hear how their global roots (Netherlands, Korea, US) and mentors like Chelsea Walker shaped their love for community, plus insights from Brooklyn’s vibrant coffee scene and their work with Brewing Guides. Tune in for Danny’s tips on brewing and connecting—coffee that unites us all!
As a coffee trainer, Danny is open to coaching aspiring baristas—looking for guidance? Give them a shout out via DM!
Read Danny's story here
https://notabarista.org/danny-toro/
Follow Danny on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/weekndbrew/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'I'm Not A Barista' Podcast
00:00:04
Speaker
Welcome to the I'm Not A Barista podcast. We're here to talk about all things coffee, from industry careers, brewing tips, community support, and more. We hope their stories inspire you, because humanity runs on coffee, and together, we can empower all the people behind every cup.
Exploring Barista Recipes and Brewing Guides
00:00:26
Speaker
Wow, I couldn't believe that, actually, you bought one of our brewing guides, right? I did. Yeah. Yeah, I was getting into coffee and I like saw that you had all these recipes from all these different baristas and i was like, ooh, let me try this out. Yeah, that's like 2021. It feels like forever.
00:00:45
Speaker
Yeah, it does. i just, yeah, so much has happened since then, so...
Dani's Journey from Biology to Coffee
00:00:53
Speaker
Good morning. So welcome to I'm not a barista. And I'm so happy to have you here. um so to get started, maybe would you like to tell us a bit more about who you are and how you feel a lot with coffee?
00:01:05
Speaker
Yeah, of course. um So my name is Dani and I've been in coffee for about seven years. um I was born in the Netherlands and ah raised in Texas.
00:01:18
Speaker
of all places. And now I'm currently living in Brooklyn, New York. So um I was studying in school ah for biology and I basically fell in love with like science and learning.
00:01:33
Speaker
And I decided to take up my specialty poppy shop in town.
Transition to Coffee Career and Teaching Passion
00:01:38
Speaker
um And i kind of just fell in love with coffee then and there because they were like teaching me all the science and stuff like extraction theory and then how to like do latte art. And I was like, wow, this is really cool. Like similarities in like what I'm studying, but also in coffee.
00:01:55
Speaker
And so I think that's when I kind of knew that i wanted to do this more of a career than like something that was like part time. And then ever since then, I kind of just been working in coffee I worked as like a manager, um but mainly mostly a focus more on the education and training part of coffee world. um I really do love teaching people.
00:02:17
Speaker
And I feel like it's really great to kind of give back to the community and like all the things I've learned. So yeah, that's kind of my journey and how I got here. Oh, awesome. So what do you do now?
Freelancing as a Barista in Brooklyn
00:02:28
Speaker
Yeah, um so I guess you could say this term, I guess I'm a freelance barista. So I kind of just do like a bunch of contract work with other coffee companies. um I also pick up shifts here and there with any of the stores around Brooklyn.
00:02:44
Speaker
um But yeah, it's just kind of like whatever anyone needs, I'm here to help consulting. um I guess you have a lot of free time here and there since you control your old schedule, right?
00:02:56
Speaker
Yes. Yes. So yeah what is a typical day like for you right now? Yeah. So i would say it's a typical day for me is I usually kind of um kind of pop around to all the coffee shops.
00:03:10
Speaker
um I just kind of stay connected with the community. So there's like weekly ah weekly coffee meetups that I do. i sometimes hang out with ah Coffee Clatch. um They're really great.
00:03:22
Speaker
um And then just kind of being part of, you know, any of the throwdowns that are happening in town, just kind of being there. like a community leader and just kind of like being a part of that.
00:03:32
Speaker
um But I eventually want to like start kind of teaching like classes just to kind of give back to the community. That sounds fun. So you know the coffee community so well, right? So I never been to Brooklyn.
00:03:48
Speaker
um Maybe you can tell us more about the coffee community there. How is it like? Yeah.
Brooklyn's Supportive Coffee Community
00:03:52
Speaker
I honestly, um just just moving here, I felt like I was kind of welcomed in with open arms.
00:03:59
Speaker
And I haven't i experienced that before and coffee. um So it was really like a huge change for me. And um everyone has been very helpful. Everyone helps each other out.
00:04:10
Speaker
We're all like learning from each other, um like teaching each other latte art or like... trying to help us like with um running like pop-ups or anything.
00:04:21
Speaker
But I say that we're very community-oriented, and um it's really cool in Brooklyn because like we have such a really niche coffee shop section.
00:04:35
Speaker
um You could see like on the map, there's like this whole like zigzag of like all these coffee shops or like that are lined up all against each other and so i think it's really cool when you go to brooklyn you could just hit up like five or six shops and basically do like a coffee crawl and you'll just like see everyone just like say hi it's really it's really great it's really fun like close-knit like coffee community all right so there there are many do you know the number exact number or a number of the coffee shops here
00:05:07
Speaker
Let's see. I would i had to guess maybe seven. um If we start from the top, there's Drift Away Coffee. There's Three Leg Cat. um I want to say either there's Dayglo, Loveless.
00:05:23
Speaker
Obscure Coffee is a new coffee. Most of that just started opening up in that area. Say is out there. i hope I'm not forgetting anybody.
00:05:34
Speaker
But all of them are just kind of like in a line and you could just like walk down the road and just like hit all of them up. So it's really cool. It's nice. It's easy for tourists, right? It is easy. One day, just go there. All the coffee shops are there.
00:05:49
Speaker
Exactly.
Highlighting Unique Coffee Shops and Expos
00:05:50
Speaker
Because hopefully you don't get too overcaffetate, you know, so there are some decaf into it. Yes. So um if anyone asks you, like, what is the best coffee shop?
00:06:02
Speaker
you're not going to hurt anybody's feeling, what is the number one? Ooh, best coffee shop. um That is a tough question. um Well, I think for me, personally, i really like what's going on at like Obscure Coffee. um They are a Latin based coffee roaster and they're doing some really cool things. They only source from Latin America.
00:06:29
Speaker
And that's something that you don't really see as often, but it's starting to come more quickly. It's starting to arise more. I i started to see it at Coffee Expo, but they're doing some really cool things out there. So I do want to shout out Obscure Coffee. Norberto is truly amazing. Putting like Puerto Rican coffee, roasting Puerto Rican coffee, having it like available to serve, that's truly awesome. And I had a really, really good anaerobic natural Puerto Rican coffee like literally yesterday. It was so good. What was the coffee you had yesterday at? It was a iced pour over. Yeah, it was super good.
00:07:08
Speaker
And they also have this like tambourine espresso drink, like espresso, like sparkling espresso with like tamarind. It was so good. ah it was just, yeah, it's been like my new favorite shop to go to these days.
00:07:22
Speaker
Awesome. Sounds very yummy. And have been to any coffee expo lately, like the Houston? just Oh, yes. Yeah. um I went to the Houston one. It was great. It was great to be back in Texas.
00:07:35
Speaker
Don't miss the humidity that much, but... um It was great to kind of see like friends. There were so many people. oh my gosh. Like by the end expo, I just like wanted to sleep because we're just all just chatting and like catching up. It was such a great time.
00:07:50
Speaker
And also really cool to see like new like roasters from roasters like that, you know, and like roasters from like September, like brewing and being able to like talk to them directly and just like try their coffee. That was really cool.
00:08:05
Speaker
um But yeah. Were you there? Unfortunately, no. No, yeah. It seems there are so many expos, events everywhere nowadays, like this week in Jakarta, Indonesia. A lot of people there.
00:08:19
Speaker
Yeah, I really wish to go there. Do you have any plans this year to visit some, I don't know, other countries?
Global Coffee Culture Exploration
00:08:25
Speaker
or you know um I really want to go to Mexico City.
00:08:30
Speaker
i feel like there's a good coffee scene out there. Um, I know they're really good for like cocktails, but I think there might be some like hidden gems there. Um, and also mixing coffee is really great. So, um, I definitely want to go to Mexico. i would really love to go to Japan.
00:08:49
Speaker
Um, I think it'd be kind of cool to see how the coffee culture there is. um I heard it's like very, very different, like, people are are like waiting in line and then like they're okay but they're okay to wait in line versus like here in New York, everyone's like, give me that coffee like right now.
00:09:06
Speaker
So I would like to see... Yeah, yeah. So I think those are like the top two. Oh, Japan, definitely. Especially the tea culture. A good place to visit, yeah. Yeah. Oh, you like tea? I do like tea, yeah. um I want to like start taking like a tea training class just to kind of like understand. Tea training class? Yeah. That's interesting. Yeah. What is it like?
00:09:30
Speaker
um So there's this ah person called Suze. She does um being tea and she has a bunch of like tea workshops and stuff so um basically there's like courses to learn about like green tea black tea you know how to properly steep it also like tasting notes and I believe that she sends those teas to you to kind of like talk over Zoom with other people about like what you're tasting. um Yeah, I think it'd be really cool. I think it's, I think for me as like a coffee hurt professional, I feel like it's really important for me to like have like a good palate. So I'm always trying to look for something like tea or maybe like learning about cocktails or maybe like, you know, something, maybe taking like a cooking class to kind of like improve like my sensory skills. So
00:10:20
Speaker
yeah Sounds awesome. But there's nothing to do with your study, right? You mentioned that you studied biology ah her before.
Switch from Medical School to Coffee
00:10:27
Speaker
and Why did you choose that? um um Well, actually, I was ah going to medical school.
00:10:34
Speaker
um I decided that I didn't really want to do that. um long Long nights, long hours, and long time. So I just like felt like I didn't really...
00:10:47
Speaker
really prefer that type of lifestyle. Um, and also think for me, what really shifted was like meeting the people in the coffee industry. Um, just like, I felt like I had this sort of like belonging, um, when I worked at like the shops at around at my university, um,
00:11:06
Speaker
I think for me, that's like where it like connected for me was just like the people. And then also just like bring this like delicious beverage. um Not so serious. Not so serious.
00:11:16
Speaker
like Sounds like AeroPress championship. Some people say it's not serious enough, right? um But a lot of people say
AeroPress Competition Experiences and Insights
00:11:23
Speaker
it's fun. So maybe you can tell us more about your experience about yeah absolutely um so aero press was definitely would probably say like but one of the funnest competitions i've done um i just felt like i was invited to a party just to brew coffee and so um it was held in portugal and so the first day they had like a boat party and i was just like this is crazy um and so we just like went toured around
00:11:53
Speaker
um just kind of like the coast and then got to meet like the other competitors. It was really cool. And then the next day it was like competition day. And so like we went to the venue and it was like,
00:12:05
Speaker
the probably a really like a beautiful venue was overlooking like the water and it was top of the hill and I don't know you've ever been to Portugal but Portugal was just like looks like a postcard like you know it's like so pretty and it's just I don't know unbelievable um but were just kind of hanging out in the competitor room and we had this like garden that was like open for us to kind of just like hang out so a lot of me and the competitors were like sorting our beans out there and it was like it just felt very peaceful and calm. i was like, are in a competition or like what? I feel like I'm in camp or something.
00:12:43
Speaker
I don't know. It just felt really like nice. And um yeah, it was very fun. And then we had our competition happening as well. And we all were just like cheering each other on like, yeah.
00:12:55
Speaker
Yeah. um So yeah, it was very supportive, um fun, and it was honestly like a great time. And a lot of us like went and hung out afterwards anyway. Sounds so cool that um you can you can just go there and party in Portugal and have a good time, right? It's not like a champion or championship but at all. If it was like a huge party. um Wow.
00:13:19
Speaker
Yeah, I would say though... Would you compete again? Would I compete again? ah i think right now I'm like more into like, um, kind of taking whatever I learned and kind of just giving back.
00:13:32
Speaker
Um, I think I want to help encourage someone else, you know, um and kind of give them like the opportunity. So I think right now i would like to kind of just teach classes and just like, here, here's how, like, here are my methods and here's how I like, you know, got my recipe to like um,
00:13:49
Speaker
um in 2024. So yeah i think for me, but maybe, you know, maybe a couple years, and I'll maybe compete again. um i kind of like to switch from like different competitions and just like whatever time period I am in my life.
00:14:05
Speaker
So that's a nice plan. ah You're saying that you want to share knowledge and help others, right? Motivate others. You mean this in the specific AeroPress field or in general, like barista, I don't know, WBC or other things?
Mentorship and Multicultural Influences in Coffee
00:14:19
Speaker
Um, honestly, anything like I will kind of want to just help whoever um I feel like when I first was a barista, I didn't know where to start. So I felt like having someone a mentor, like um I found a mentor. um Her name is Chelsea Walker and she is incredible. And she has how like helped me a along along the ways with like um competition stuff because she also competed in Brewers Cup. So having like someone so to like to help you support you and kind of like coach you is really important. So I kind of want to do the same for someone who might not have like access to that, especially...
00:15:02
Speaker
Being here in Brooklyn, like I want to see more people like doing brain competitions, like barista. think a lot of us hear a lot of us is like lots of air throw downs, but I kind of want to see more of like more competitions, maybe AeroPress now that I'm here, you know, like teach the next AeroPress. Actually, there's two AeroPress champions here.
00:15:21
Speaker
So maybe the next one can be in New York. So we'll see. Yeah, you definitely could do a lot of good and and share experience with them, right? Help them to be the next champion. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:15:32
Speaker
Exactly. That sounds like a good good thing to do. um You mentioned that you were born in Netherlands before, and then you moved to US, right? When was that? Yes. Um, so I moved to the U.S. around, I would say like 2008.
00:15:50
Speaker
Um, I have, I come from like military parents. So we were, was born there and then we lived moved to Korea for like three years. And then, then we moved to like the States. So, yeah.
00:16:03
Speaker
It's kind of nice to kind of, guess, like see how different, like how different like the environments are. i feel like I remember a lot like of of Korea. um I will say like my favorite foods are Korean food.
00:16:17
Speaker
um I can, love like kimchi. bulgogi. Yes. So yeah, I say that I feel like something happened there that I just like love all the food there.
00:16:30
Speaker
So it's all I want to eat. Kimchi is nice. You can cook it with noodles, beef and barbecue. Yeah. I love it too. So you're like a world traveler.
00:16:41
Speaker
ah You've been to many countries, I guess. Yeah. i even Yeah. I guess you could say Which country do you like the most? Which country do I like the most? I mean, maybe because like...
00:16:56
Speaker
I would say most recently I went to the Netherlands again. And I would say because of the transportation was really nice and everything was easy. I didn't know. I just kind of like booked a random flight and I didn't know anything about like Amsterdam. And I was like, this is really actually super easy to follow.
00:17:16
Speaker
And I appreciate the the transportation system. It's just a small, right? It's convenient. You can buy everywhere. Exactly. Yeah.
00:17:27
Speaker
The Vikings fun. They say not to do that when you first visit. um I definitely did but I was okay. I did have some people kind of yell at me, but I was like, I just want to like have this experience.
00:17:39
Speaker
You speak some Dutch, I guess. just do um I don't speak Dutch. No. um I definitely want to learn eventually. It's on my list.
00:17:52
Speaker
I remember people tell me that Dutch is a very difficult language. Yeah. It's very difficult. I'm not sure, but yeah. I speak a bit Danish and that's how Danes told me that. and Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, cool.
00:18:06
Speaker
That's awesome. Yeah.
Preparing and Competing in AeroPress
00:18:09
Speaker
Well, a funny thing just came up. A friend just texted me. He said, the AeroPress Competition 2025 is open. The application is open now today. They sent me a link.
00:18:19
Speaker
That's awesome. We're having this podcast now. so So I just think if I join a competition, if I want to try, I'm not a barista, you know, not a barista, never working a coffee shop, just a home brewer.
00:18:34
Speaker
ah If you are my coach, how is this process like? how how wait where Where were you starting? Great question. So um if you're a new barista and you had no idea where to start, i would say kind of start with a recipe.
00:18:51
Speaker
So doesn't have to be anything crazy. It could just be like a standard like one to 16 ratio. um Have like your water temperature set. I would read the rules for sure. That's going to kind of help give you a guideline.
00:19:06
Speaker
um I think in the past previous years, AeroPress, we had like 20 grams before, but they dropped it to 18 grams. So um you you can use ah either use like 18 grams or anything lower than that. But I think this past year, I've seen a lot of people have used like a higher dose. But, you know, experiment, play around with different recipes.
00:19:28
Speaker
um i would say to bre coffee in the morning and try to like um tweak it to your recipe.
00:19:38
Speaker
I think that's going to really help you a lot. um And then also kind of, i think as well, there's like a grinder specific one as well. So you might have to use ah the sponsor grinder there, or you could use a hand grinder.
00:19:57
Speaker
um I personally like a hand grinder because you you can just use it wherever. um You don't have to worry about that. But yeah, so start with the recipe, read the rules, and then practice. um i When I was training, I practiced.
00:20:12
Speaker
I was working as a barista, and I would practice like in the mornings every day and just kind of like fit it into my schedule. so um This part doesn't sound much too much fun.
00:20:25
Speaker
A lot of practice, right? You have to practice the morning and then work during the day as a barista. Yeah, but just a little at of a time. you know you know If you're not feeling it that day and that morning, um just know that like you don't have to like take rest and just kind of listen to your body. i think that's really important.
00:20:43
Speaker
um and if you're like really excited and you're like ready to brew just like go at it and like also make sure to like don't drink too much that you're like over caffeinated you can't taste the coffee anymore so maybe drink some beer i remember i had this chat with the vandaline you know um she's dutch yeah yeah and she's world champion or breast champion and she told me that once she competed and She thought was just fun. And she drank some beer before competition to have lots of fun. And then she won.
00:21:12
Speaker
i don't know if that's the fun part you mentioned. Oh my gosh. That is so incredible. I love that. Yeah. I think another one, I think green tea also helps to like combat.
00:21:24
Speaker
um Okay. So yeah. Green tea. Drink some green tea. Oh, since you're training the the tea part, what have you learned from a tea training that can benefit you, and let's say in the future competition?
00:21:37
Speaker
I think green tea might ah like be a really great for like um kind of as a palate cleanser. and You can kind of use it to like taste again.
00:21:48
Speaker
um and then also to kind of help counteract like the caffeine that you're tasting. So I would say green tea is like probably the best thing to drink. Green tea. What is favorite green tea or tea? I like jasmine.
00:22:02
Speaker
Jasmine is really good. You can find jasmine tea almost everywhere, right? Jasmine or Sensha. Those are good. Yeah. I recently, I tried one of coffee from Ethiopia is with the Jasmine flavor.
00:22:15
Speaker
don't know how to did it. It's a double washed. Interesting. It's all like Jasmine tea. Let's talk about your champion recipe. 18 grams, right? Yeah. Do you use that often in your daily life? I do, actually. Yeah. I think it's just programmed in my brain for so many like mornings that this is like go to like ah starting dose.
00:22:34
Speaker
You really do 18 grams and 72 grams water for blooming. And now that I try a recipe. Yeah. How was it? I couldn't control it. It was good. It was good, but I didn't have present coffee, so I used Ethiopian.
00:22:47
Speaker
um Anyway, but the the cup turned out to be very nice, very smooth, and then I liked the cup. But I couldn't control that 72 grams of water. I poured a little bit more.
00:22:59
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that's okay. um I think also my recipe is like, um I did like a one to 10 ratio, so really short. um And then I also did a really, really, really, I did a couple of things.
00:23:12
Speaker
I think that most people are kind of like, kind confused, I guess, because I use a really, really short time. And then use a really, really low temperature. So I think a lot of people are like, what are you extracting? So um I think this recipe is really, really great for experimental coffees.
00:23:28
Speaker
um I definitely feel like hit like that sweet spot. So I found that like using 18 grams and just using a little bit of water with a bit of stirring and then to like pour it 120, I felt that that coffee was like the most sweetest cup I've ever had. Actually, the most sweetest cup.
00:23:49
Speaker
I think I've ever, yeah, basically I've ever had. And i was like, I kind of second guessed myself because I wasn't sure if this was like the right, I didn't know if this was like correct. was like, this is like a spoof. This isn isn't real, you know, kind of thing. I kind of doubted myself a little bit.
00:24:06
Speaker
um And then i would say actually towards that, once I found that recipe, I kind of just ignored it and just kept messing around with different recipes. And even on the day of competition, i still wasn't sure what my recipe was.
00:24:19
Speaker
And then I just kind of stuck with the first recipe, the sweet spot recipe, and just kind of like went with that. And it turned out it was really great. So trust your intuition. Trust yourself.
00:24:31
Speaker
So when you were competing before, did you have a coach or a mentor? um No, I did not. This, yeah, this was solely just out of fun. I just wanted to do Aeropress competition because I, it's always been on my radar.
00:24:47
Speaker
So yeah. It's just Danny and her coffee. Wow. um I thought you had a mentor, or someone who can help you to develop your recipe. So tell us more about how your recipe, 18 grams, that one.
00:24:59
Speaker
um How did you develop that recipe from the very beginning? like Where did you start? And how did you know, just this step by step? Yeah, of course. So um we were given some beans, which was very helpful.
00:25:12
Speaker
um And so I kind of started with... kind of looking at there were the roles. So 18 grams was ah what was required. And so I started with 18 grams and then I kind of just worked with different, um tested different ratios.
00:25:30
Speaker
um So like maybe try like a one to 12, a one to 16. um Then I kind of just started testing, ah I would say maybe like Grind size, maybe if grind size might help improve it if I'm getting more like complexity.
00:25:48
Speaker
um And then starting to work with te like water temperature a little bit. but Water temperature for me was very like the last step. I kind of started like 195. I also kind of left agitation as well. Agitation and water temperature like the two things I left to last because I felt like they were kind of minimal, I guess, in terms of like extraction for me.
00:26:09
Speaker
So grind size, brew ratio, and then time are the two, like three things that I kind of focused on. And then after I found like a place where the coffee was tasting good, I started adjusting um water temperature and seeing if like that, if any of like the coffee like improved.
00:26:30
Speaker
um And so I definitely found like using water, like 80 degrees Celsius was like perfect for me. And it's something that I've like have used in brewing pour words that I'll just kind of like trying to keep those like delicate like floral notes.
00:26:46
Speaker
um That's what I've noticed using with lower temperature. 80 degrees seems very low for, i mean, most coffee lovers who brought home 90, 92, 88, but 80, I 80. Except yesterday, I checked your recipe.
00:27:00
Speaker
I printed out like, wait, this is 80. It's a mistake, right? and never used 80 degrees. But it turned out to be very good. Yeah. I will also say it's like the perfect time to like drink coffee, you know, like you don't want a coffee that's too scorching hot, you know, yeah just like ready to go and ready to drink.
Innovations and Challenges in Coffee Industry
00:27:20
Speaker
So if I compete, i want to know what I'm supposed to do on a stage. Maybe you can tell us how you remember your stage in 2024. Yeah. um So I would say the stage was very intimidating. was scary.
00:27:35
Speaker
um You only have like seven minutes to brew this coffee. um So you really have to like practice, I would say, like the routine.
00:27:45
Speaker
um Because if you don't, you know, things can like happen. Like maybe end up flipping your press and then something happens. So, um, so have seven minutes, so you kind of just start working on like what your workflow is. So, um, are you going to do your, are you going to grind your coffee first?
00:28:07
Speaker
Um, are you going to, pre what, like your filters, um, and then just kind of working on, Basically, i like to put it kind of like you're making coffee order for like your customer or something. So like the ticket came in and now you're just like trying to make the coffee in under like seven minutes kind of type of thing. And so um I say like I like to have headphones.
00:28:34
Speaker
Headphones is good. It kind of blocks everything out. um That way you're just kind of focused on like what you're doing. And then, yeah just try to be, like, efficient. Try to, like, multitask if you can. And then get those cups out, like, out of, like...
00:28:49
Speaker
like seven minutes and you're good and solid. um I will say the most scariest part though is like when they're taking your cup away and then you're like waiting for the results.
00:29:00
Speaker
But um it's all fun. You know, it's all fun. You're just bringing coffee for like friends, friends of friends. a And we're just like playing this like little game.
00:29:11
Speaker
So seven minutes, there's no, um like the special part, like other coffee competition have introduced yourself, your coffee, who roasted, where'd it been from? ah Nothing like that, right? and No, no. I think that's like the fun part of it. You don't even have to like say anything.
00:29:26
Speaker
Like you don't have to talk, you don't have to talk to people, but you should, um but you can just go up there and just like brew your coffee and then that's it. What do you think if they add that part as a, to the room that you have to do that?
00:29:41
Speaker
Do you think would be more fun? I think, honestly, would be really fun. um And I feel like that would add another um level to it.
00:29:55
Speaker
um I'm pretty sure Origami Cup did something similar like that, where you brew your coffees and then you had to present them. I think it adds like a level of touch, you know, to it. Especially cut two coffees are like very similar tasting. I think it'd be kind of cool to like maybe distinguish that with like a presentation or something.
00:30:14
Speaker
but Otherwise you have to tell your story after the competition, right? Yeah. You you got your grade already. And then um people don't know the coffee, don't know the or or your recipe, how how you came out with this recipe and why you like it I think storytelling is powerful.
00:30:29
Speaker
Yeah, I think so too. I think that's pretty cool. Is that in the rules? The new rule? As it is, I'm here. I'm going to sign up. I'm just kidding. That sounds so fun. Maybe that's in your rule for 2025. that would it.
00:30:42
Speaker
wow that' um that would but so A lot of people say like everybody can participate the AeroPress competition because it's just fun and it's easier to to to get into the game instead of the others that you have to practice years and you have to be a professional.
00:30:58
Speaker
I remember last year, the champion was a a guy from um an IT guy, right? From Romania Lisbon. and what I don't remember what's his name. I checked his social media and he has his private account.
00:31:12
Speaker
So I couldn't stop him to learn more about him. Maybe, do did you have a conversation with him? competition that you know i did. Yes, we kind of crossed paths a little bit. um I think he like his recipe is like very incredible. um I'm sure he was like maybe like 30 or 40.
00:31:33
Speaker
and don't know. Like was a huge amount of clicks. um Like I think they're also using red clicks and stuff. And so i was like reading his recipe and I was like, whoa, this is like so different. I think that it's really important to kind of talk to like the other competitors there because I feel like I think sometimes we get stuck into like the competition mode that we forget like we're all just like coffee people.
00:31:56
Speaker
um And then also we can learn a lot from each other just like having a conversation. Yeah. I feel like when I wasn't competing, I was just talking people like, it was your recipe and how did you do to this? Or like, I think for me personally, i actually did.
00:32:10
Speaker
I actually practiced a lot of the other competitors recipes. And then I was like, I tried your recipe. That was so cool. And like, it was, yeah, it was just so cool to like, dirt out with other like coffee people. yeah.
00:32:23
Speaker
That's cool. People are open-minded, right? Instead of saying, oh, you're stealing my recipe. Come on. I'm not going to talk to you. Maybe after the competition, but not now. no, no. It can be like that in some competitions. But I think this one, we're all just like, yeah, we're so excited to be here.
00:32:40
Speaker
Right, and AeroPress, fun. Remember we had so many events before with AeroPress during a pandemic time, ah you know, um we couldn't get out. So we organized online events like Zoom meetings, invite champions to share their recipes and stuff, share their experiences. that was That was a good time.
00:32:58
Speaker
um Do you still remember the time, pandemic? and I mean, that was 2020, 2021. You bought the Brewing Guide. That's how we got the idea to make a Brewing Guide and share with others.
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah, I i remember a lot of it I feel like we, you know, it was really hard because like, I would say a lot of many of us are like daily drivers, like going to coffee shops and just like getting our coffee and that was taking away. So um I think we just try to find creative ways to like connect with each other.
00:33:31
Speaker
And I think that, you know, brain guides really helped that because you could just like look and see um you have like all their like socials and you can just connect with them and just like talk to them and tag them. It kind of created this like huge, like online community that we're just like still talking about coffee and still like sharing knowledge.
00:33:53
Speaker
um And I think that we kind of started growing more like virtually and we had like like coffee, like tastings together over Zoom and stuff. And I really think that we came more as like a community through all of that. um So yeah, um I think now, i think we still kind of like carry that. um And we still like are trying to like either for each other, especially like with everything kind of going around, especially with like coffee, like the tariffs, all that.
00:34:26
Speaker
We're all just trying to like, help each other out. So, yeah. Since you mentioned tariff, um just want to know if that really affects your life or it's just, you know, it's on the news, but that nothing to do with me.
00:34:39
Speaker
I would say, like, you know, affects pretty much anyone that I talk to, um like barista or anyone, because, like, you know, the coffee is impacted.
00:34:51
Speaker
um were The pricing is, like, going... is increasing. And I feel like, I feel like coffee is something that should be priced that high, but we aren't, we haven't like, I think that the, there's like a little bit pushback from like the other side um in terms like coffee. Cause I think, especially here, i think people don't really want to pay for like,
00:35:15
Speaker
I don't know, $30 a cup um because I think the culture here, we're just kind of like grab and go like coffee, et cetera. But um I think that we're going to kind of, I think it's too early for, to tell, I guess here.
00:35:30
Speaker
um But I think that we'll see over the time, like the months, like how, how this will like affect like everyone and And also tariffs, they change a lot. I mean, one day is this number, another day increased to 100 or 64.
00:35:45
Speaker
Yeah, it's annoying. yeah there I have um friends who have roasteries and they're like, it didn't really give them like enough time to prepare for like ordering coffee because it happens so sudden. so it's just like a lot of...
00:36:03
Speaker
things to like, you know, a lot of stress that comes with it and everything. Yeah, that's true. So what is your plan for today? It's 10 a.m. there almost. So you have a full day ahead.
00:36:19
Speaker
um Yes. So i think today I'm just going to probably just going to probably just like head to a coffee shop. I'm thinking maybe head to like Three Lake Cat um and just kind of hang out there for a bit.
00:36:34
Speaker
um But yeah, you know, i just like to kind of talk and chat, keep up, stay connected, like with the community. um And like for Tuesday, I feel like There's not really much going on for me right now besides just like going visiting coffee shops and just like saying hello to friends.
00:36:54
Speaker
You mentioned that um you have this coffee consultant, coffee trainer role nowadays, right? So how how can people find you? Yeah. um So right now I just have a social on Instagram, just weekend brew and um kind of just going to start working on doing more like classes for the public, like community.
00:37:19
Speaker
um i have one kind of in the works uh with a few shops so that should be coming in the next couple months um but yeah if you're looking for any help with like training um you want like maybe to do like a pop-up i would love to do that too as well you know do a bar takeover um yeah you can just find me like at weekend brew on instagram yeah That's lovely. Thank you so much.
00:37:46
Speaker
One last question. So um you've been in the coffee industry for seven years. What is the number one lesson that I want to share with people? Let's say professional baristas or someone who wants to make a mark in the coffee industry.
00:38:01
Speaker
Great question. I think in all of my years that I've been in the coffee industry, one thing that was really important, you know, is just kind of reaching out to people when you like need support or help.
00:38:14
Speaker
You know, I think a lot of times that I've had a hard time asking people for like, Like, oh, can you help me with your like recipe or like I want get into like coffee competitions. How do I do it? I kind of just delayed that.
00:38:29
Speaker
But then over time, I kind of started reaching out to people and I realized like people were very, very like helpful. um I know I reached out to a bunch of like um I reached out to like barista champions and And also old like AeroPress champions too. And like, I was like, Oh, they're messaging me right now. I, I didn't think that you would like even get like, talk to me. So like, just know that we're here to help you. We've done it. We've, you know, we're willing to like help you and like, um, with like competition stuff or like, if you also need help, just trying to figure out where you want to go and like coffee career wise.
00:39:11
Speaker
Um, yeah, this is just like some, a winding road of coffee. You never know like where you're going to end up. So we're all just kind of, you know, brewing coffee, having a good time. Thanks for tuning in to this. I'm not a barista episode.
00:39:25
Speaker
Subscribe to this podcast and follow us on Instagram at I am not a barista for more empowering vibes and true coffee stories that connect you with coffee lovers around the world.