Cole Torode, Canada

2018-06-12T11:29:45-04:00

Canada
Cole Torode
Rosso Coffee Roasters

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I’m 26 years old and have been a part of the coffee industry for nearly 10 years. Together with my brother and our amazing team we’ve turned one cafe into seven, with a roastery and direct green sourcing company.  I’m born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, where our business is based. With that, I’m passionate about this city and truly believe it should be on peoples list to travel to.  In my spare time, I enjoy wine, gardening, cycling, yoga, camping or hiking, or generally spending time outdoors and I’m a big NBA geek.

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

Really just to be there. Exploring cafés, museums, and perhaps some time on the canals.

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

2011 Prairie Regional Competition – 6th
2012 Prairie Regional Competition – 5th
2012 Canadian National Barista Competition Finals
2013 Prairie Regional Competition – 3rd
2013 Canadian National Barista Competition – 2nd
2014 Prairie Regional Competition – 3rd
2014 Canadian National Barista Competition – 10th (?)
2015 Prairie Regional Competition – 2nd
2015 Canadian National Barista Competition – DQ
2017 Western Regional Qualifier – 5th
2017 Canadian National Barista Competition – 1st
2018 Eastern Regional Qualifier – 1st
2018 Coffee Masters London – Semi-finalist
2018 Canadian National Barista Competition – 1st

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize, or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?:

My support team at Rosso, including my brother who is my coach and business partner, and all of our team that have helped me take work off my plate to prepare. The team at La Palma y El Tucan has been amazing to work with. Our head roaster at Rosso, Paul Stephens is amazing at what he does. Many friends and family who have supported me as well as the tremendous support from the entire Canadian Coffee Community.

How do you see the coffee industry changing in the future?:

I think a bigger shift will happen toward catering sensory experiences on the barista side of things. In the last five years, I think there has been a huge shift to focus on the producers and to empower their aspects of the supply chain to lift our potential as baristas and roasters.  In the future, I believe you’ll find more baristas creating these fully submersive sensory experiences like we’d find in top end restaraunts.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?:

I would love to focus to create deeper and more meaningful relationships on the sourcing side – this is something I’m very passionate about. In the future, owning a farm would be unbelievable for experimentation and learning.  Other than that, I can’t imagine what I would do without specialty coffee as my day to day. Growing our business and creating more measurable social-economic metrics and helping our communities grow and thrive would be fantastic to see and participate in.

What are your interests outside of coffee?:

In my spare time, I enjoy wine, gardening, cycling, spending time outdoors and I’m a big NBA geek. I love learning and am working on my Spanish to best facilitate our relationships. I’m also studying wine and have my WSET Level 3 and considering enrolling in the Level 4 program.

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Deybis Rodriguez, Nicaragua

2018-06-12T11:29:07-04:00

Nicaragua
Deybis Rodriguez
Las Marias

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

Since I was little I liked coffee, I started working in it when I was 16 years old. I do not see myself working in anything other than coffee. Since I was young I dreamed of being a champion barista and in a short time I proposed it and I got it thanks to God. My first job was in a coffee shop as a waiter and that’s when I fell in love with coffee.

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

Visit espresso bars, and make many friends, and the main thing is to bring many ideas for next year.

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

2016 National Barista Competition
2018 National Barista Champion

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize, or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?:

Firstly to God. Then to Denis Chow, who is my main sponsor for the World Barista Championship. To Cafe las Marias for their immense support, from the beginning at the National Championship. Thank you to Economart for opening their doors for me to train for the WBC. A big greeting to my girlfriend Judith, who has been supporting me from the beginning.

How do you see the coffee industry changing in the future?:

In addition to being the second most widely consumed beverage after water, I think the producers will focus even more on doing an excellent job and bring something out of the box in their flavors and preparations.

What are your interests outside of coffee?:

Do some exercise, watch series, sleep, listen to music, visit cafes, and obviously always spend time with my girlfriend 🙂

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Jonas Gehl, Denmark

2018-05-29T06:02:23-04:00

Denmark
Jonas Gehl
Prolog Coffee

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I have worked in coffee for 9 years. I started in a chain, then moved to specialty coffee and now run a coffee bar and roastery in Copenhagen, Prolog Coffee. My main mission is to give people a nice experience when they drink our coffee in Prolog Coffee Bar. The taste of our coffee has to be welcoming while at the same time have character and hopefully open up our guests senses.  This idea applies to how we source, roast, brew and serve our coffee.  While you have a lot of jobs a a business owner in coffee, none of those can really compete with brewing coffee for a guest.  My hope is that I can inspire my coworkers with my love of making coffee for people.

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

I love the sea. I’m very much looking forward to hanging by the canals while not drinking coffee.

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

Danish Barista Championship 2015 (6th)
Danish Barista Championship 2017 (4th)
Danish Barista Championship 2018 (1st)

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize, or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?:

My business partner, Sebastian Quistorff. My coffee teacher, Nobuaki Matsui. My girlfriend, Marie

How do you see the coffee industry changing in the future?:

I think (and hope) that with more and more technology, there will be even more focus on real craftmanship and service from people.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?:

I see myself working in Prolog Coffee with a lot of cool coffee people who all keep pusing for even better coffee, even better service and in an even better atmosphere. By this time, the company have grown to a size where we can offer even better possibilities for our employees and ourselves.

What are your interests outside of coffee?:

Music, food, wine, art, architecture, craftmanships, nature.

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Andre Osthues, Germany

2018-05-29T05:54:51-04:00

Germany
Andre Osthues
Reflector Coffee

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I‘m a barista and the founder & CEO of Reflector Coffee. My core business is to serve specialty coffee at events or trade shows. I’ve worked in coffee industry for four years now and there is a lot more to discover! Looking forward to it…

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

Serving Coffee 😉

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

I participated the 2018 German Barista Championship and took the 2nd place.

How do you see the coffee industry changing in the future?:

One thing is to educate our customers. Right now the big players in coffee business are launching old fashioned roasts as “light roast” or “barista edition”. In my opinion one of the biggest challenges for baristas and roasters in the following years is to explain to their customers that this has nothing to do with specialty coffee. If they don’t get this, it will be hard to help farmers to develop their lots.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?:

Reflector Coffee is a really young start-up at the moment. But who knows…maybe I can create jobs in the specialty coffee industry one day. That would be great! And hopefully I’m a better barista than today 😀

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CP Wong, Hong Kong

2018-05-29T05:38:05-04:00

Hong Kong
CP Wong
Knockbox Coffee I hope i can still share my coffees to any coffee lovers.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

Exploring knowledge is the driving force of my coffee.

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

Photography.

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

2018 Hong Kong Barista Championship – 1st Place

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize, or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?:

My Knockbox team, and my girl friend.

How do you see the coffee industry changing in the future?:

Coffee varietals and processing will become more important.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?:

I hope I am still sharing my coffee with all coffee lovers.

What are your interests outside of coffee?:

Drawing and photography.

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Lukas Podbehly, Slovakia

2018-05-29T05:08:56-04:00

Slovakia
Lukas Podbehly
Cafe Monolok

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I’m a young man, who loves to make coffee, work with people, and I also like all the coulture around it. I love to spend my free time with my lovely girlfriend, who is also a barista.

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

I’ve never been there, so I’m really excited to just walk through the city, enjoy the atmosphere and visit some cafés and coffee shops.

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

2012 WLAC Seoul, 2014 WLAC Melbourne,  and many others in Slovakia.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize, or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?:

I would like to thank whole team of Doubleshot and my girlfriend and family for all the support they gave me.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?:

In my own café with my family.

What are your interests outside of coffee?:

Sport, tourism, spending time with my friends, traveling.

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Diego Mejía, Ecuador

2018-05-22T05:32:37-04:00

Ecuador
Diego Mejía
Sinfonía

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I never thought that coffee could be capable of capturing me the way it does. As a cook, I used to always wonder about the whys and hows of every ingredient. But I never expected to end up spending every minute of my professional life to try to undestand the complexity and beauty of this product. Happily, it just happened.

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

To visit lots of places like the Van Gogh museum, Anne Frank’s house, Vondelpark, and to eat local food.

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

Ecuador National Championships 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2017-2018. WBC 2015, WBC 2016.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize, or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?:

My sponsors: Hacienda La Papaya, Sinfonía and Diners Club. My family, girlfriend and friends.

How do you see the coffee industry changing in the future?:

I count on having more people willing to pay a fair price for coffee in the future, including buyers and consumers. Sometimes we might take daily coffee for granted but, as it is a product with several limitations along the supply chain, it faces difficulties that will worsen in the future. As professionals of this industry, we must create awareness about the economic, social and environmental situation the production has been and will still be facing worldwide. The future of coffee is in our hands.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?:

Happily working hard in my company, Sinfonía, and seeing good results out of it.

What are your interests outside of coffee?:

Food chemistry, cooking, biology, football, and movies.

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Adrian Avasilcai, Romania

2018-05-22T05:24:34-04:00

Romania
Adrian Avasilcai
Origo

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

My passion for coffee was inspired by Origo Coffee Shop, three years ago. I am a curious, independent and hard working person, always ready for new experiences. After 1 year of working as a barista, inspired by the international coffee scene, I’ve settled in Germany with the desire to travel and to learn as much as I could. In 2018 I’ve came back to Romania, to continue my passion together with Origo team.

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

I am really looking forward to make new friends, to meet the other competitors and to learn from them.

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

Barmaniada 2016  – Third Place
Romanian Cup Tasting Championship 2017 – Third Place
Romanian Barista Championship 2017 – Sixth Place
Romanian Barista Championship 2018 – First Place

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize, or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?:

I am truly happy for everything that Mihai Panfil and the Origo team did for me. They are the ones that gave me a lot of feedback and based on that, I managed to work on it and to improve myself everyday.

How do you see the coffee industry changing in the future?:

I would like to see more engagement between the baristas and the customers, everywhere, not just in a few places. I think the customers will learn more and more about our industry and they will appreciate their cup of coffee more and the work behind it. I think new technologies will help the baristas to be more consistent and to have more time for spending with their guests.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?:

For the next years I will still compete, because I am learning so much through this. When I will stop competing, I want to open my own coffee shop, but I don’t know if it will be in less than 5 years or more.

What are your interests outside of coffee?:

When I am not busy with coffee, I like to travel as much as I can. I love going on city breaks or even for more time depends on my schedule. When I’m home, I love to ride my bike all day and to find different spots in the city that I never see them before. When I’m doing both of these, I carry my camera with me to capture different moments. Photography is another passion of mine.

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Danil Kapeluykhovskiy, Spain

2018-05-22T05:18:10-04:00

Spain
Danil Kapeluykhovskiy
Cafe de Finca Coffee Roasters

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Danil. I am 20 years old and I came to specialty coffee at the age of 16, and for half a year helped my brother with the analysis of green coffee. I’ve worked as a Barista for 3 and a half years in the coffee shop “Cafe de Finca”. I like to communicate with guests, make delicious coffee and learn new things about it.

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

Discover local culture

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

2018 Spain Barista Championship – 1st Place

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize, or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?:

I want to thank the team of the Café de Finca, the IECAFE – Spanish Coffee Institute, and my brother and trainer Timur Dudkin, my girlfriend and personal manager, Rut. And thank you to all those who helped me, worried about me, believed in me.

How do you see the coffee industry changing in the future?:

I have not yet seen the coffee world outside of Spain, but we definitely have something to change. There is a huge amount of work and ideas, Spain is definitely moving forward, we will try to bring the future closer!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?:

I do not know exactly, but I will definitely continue to study and enjoy life.

What are your interests outside of coffee?:

I like snowboarding, cycling, and I like to eat, and sleep for over 7 hours 🙂

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Matt Winton, Sweden

2018-05-22T05:09:48-04:00

Sweden
Matt Winton
Drop Coffee

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

Half Aussie/half Swede passionate about coffee! I started working full time in coffee 2 years ago and fell in love with it! I love serving people, and constantly improving!

What are you excited to do while you are in Amsterdam?:

Share my coffee with people!

Please list the coffee competitions you have participated in, what year they took place, and your results:

Swedish Barista Competition 2018 – 1st Place

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize, or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?:

Literally everyone who has helped me out by being inspirational/listening to my problems/giving me advice/tasting my coffee/being amazing. In particular, the team at Drop Coffee, Has Bean, the local Swedish scene, and MAME coffee shop in Zurich.

How do you see the coffee industry changing in the future?:

More focus on guest happiness.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?:

I can’t see myself in 5 minutes, let alone 5 years!

What are your interests outside of coffee?:

Yoga/meditation, touch footy, food, puns.

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