Switzerland
Panagiotis Megalessis
Stadtrösterei

Please tell us a little about yourself: 
I am a passionate Coffee Roaster who always seeks the best roasting profile and coffee beans.

How long have you been roasting for?:
3 years.

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
Probatone 5

What is your coffee of choice:
Ethiopian Heirlooms

How did you learn to roast? Did you have a coach or trainer:
SCA Roasting Intermediate, Scott Rao’s book, internet classes, and more.

Who is your roasting hero?:
Scott Rao

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
Winter

What music do you listen to when roasting?:
Rock

What is your secret weapon when roasting?:
Cropster

What is your BEST roasting memory?:
Swiss Roasting Championships

What is your WORST roasting memory?:
They are all good. 🙂

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Sweden
Joanna Alm
Drop Coffee

Please tell us a little about yourself: 
Joanna is the managing director at the roastery and café Drop Coffee based in Stockholm, Sweden. This is the 4th time Joanna is competing in the WCRC.

How long have you been roasting for?:
10 years

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
Diedrich IR 25

What is your coffee of choice:
Washed Yirgacheffe

Who is your roasting hero?:
Kaetlyn Hatch, production roaster at Drop Coffee, nailing the curves like none else

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
Steady weather, not too cold or hot. Living in a country with four strong seasons you truly appreciate roasting on an early spring day.

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Russia
Vladimir Nenashev
Mosaic Coffee

Please tell us a little about yourself: 
Hello! My name is Vladimir. I am a roastmaster from Samara, Russia. My passion for coffee started out as a hobby: I was preparing espresso at home and wanted to study further. My work is my hobby now.

How long have you been roasting for?:
About 4 years

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
My equipment for roasting is Trobrat 20 kg. This is the first Russian roaster, which can compete with global brands.

What is your coffee of choice:
Ethiopia.

How did you learn to roast? Did you have a coach or trainer:
Empirically, through a lot of experiments. Not long ago I finished 3 levels of SCA courses. My coach is Timur Dudkin.

Who is your roasting hero?:
Dmitry Boroday

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
It’s rain, of course.

What music do you listen to when roasting?:
Electronic or alternative rock

What is your secret weapon when roasting?:
Second crack

What is your BEST roasting memory?:
Roasting coffee for a barista championship where my friends were competing.

What is your WORST roasting memory?:
Maybe on an electrician’s day off when a short circuit happened, and you need to roast!

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Romania
Oprisan Andrei
SC Mister Tosh Cafe SRL

Please tell us a little about yourself: 
I am a 31 years old, married and have one beautiful daughter. I have been in the coffee industry for about 7 years now, moving from barista to coffee roasting in the past 2 years.

How long have you been roasting for?:
2 years.

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
Giesen W60A

How did you learn to roast? Did you have a coach or trainer:
Patrick O’Malley & Alexandru Niculae

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
Definitely autumn

What music do you listen to when roasting?:
None

What is your secret weapon when roasting?:
My senses

What is your BEST roasting memory?:
The first batch I roasted

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Italy
Emanuele Tomassi
Tomassi Coffee Roaster

Please tell us a little about yourself: 
My family has had a cafeteria for 50 years. I decided to open a roaster after meeting Klaus Thomasen of The Coffee Collective at Roskilde in 2008. Coffee roasting has become my mission and I try to improve on it every day.

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
Probattone 5

What is your coffee of choice:
Ethiopia naturals

How did you learn to roast? Did you have a coach or trainer:
I attended roasting courses with the master Marco Cremonese. To prepare the world championship I created a team of people headed by my coach Paolo Scimone.

Who is your roasting hero?:
Each roaster creates a unique product that identifies them. I admire many people for the a variety of reasons.

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
Winter.

What music do you listen to when roasting?:
James Taylor and Italian singer-songwriters.

What is your BEST roasting memory?:
At the first selection for the championship in 2014, I met many people who had my same passion. It was great!

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Poland
Rafal Kaniewski
Java Coffee Poland

Please tell us a little about yourself: 

How long have you been roasting for?:
Five years

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
Diedrich CR-25, and Loring 35 Kestrel.

What is your coffee of choice:
My choice will be always Kenyans. I love love, love, love them!

How did you learn to roast? Did you have a coach or trainer:
Before I joined Java I learned from other unexperienced roasters and one day I decided to forge my own path and went for it. I read a lot of articles accross the web like Scott Rao, and did a lot of roast analyzing. When I joined Java I went for a two days training with Joanna Alm. It was really incredible experience. She helped me a lot with theory and practical knowledge.

Who is your roasting hero?:
Joanna Alm. I like her style!

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
Any weather!

What music do you listen to when roasting?:
The sound of the crack. I really like just listening to the coffee.

What is your secret weapon when roasting?:
Olfaction

What is your BEST roasting memory?:
My first batch of Kenya. I still remember this Kagongo from Bero Polska, in October 2013.

What is your WORST roasting memory?:
Have you ever forgotten about your roast while you are doing one hundred things at a time ? I have… I have.

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Norway
Simo Christidi
Solberg & Hansen

Please tell us a little about yourself: 
I have been in the coffee industry since 2003.  Currently I am the Head Roaster at Solberg & Hansen in Norway. I enjoy my job and I love exploring new roasting methods and the evolution of the coffee industry generally.

How long have you been roasting for?:
15 years.

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
Probat and Loring.

What is your coffee of choice:
Kenya and Ethiopia.

How did you learn to roast? Did you have a coach or trainer:
I learned at Solberg & Hansen. Probably the best place to learn how to roast.

Who is your roasting hero?:
Tim Wendelbow and Audun Sørbotten by far.

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
Norwegian summer.

What music do you listen to when roasting?:
Hellbillies.

What is your secret weapon when roasting?:
Being humble and enjoying what I do.

What is your BEST roasting memory?:
When Audun Sørbotten won the World Coffee Roasting Championship.

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Mexico
Salvador Benítez
Passmar

Please tell us a little about yourself: 
I started out helping my dad at the house with a small drum roast. I remember approaching a table to do my task while the coffee was taken. I did not know the impact and the care would be so important. It is something that lived with me, and today I am responsible for quality in our business.

How long have you been roasting for?:
32 years.

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
Currently we have 4 roasters—a Giesen W6, and a 30, 15, and, 10 kg air roaster built in Mexico.

What is your coffee of choice:
Atoyac de Álvarez, a natural coffee producer was at one point a favourite. Today mostly washed coffee, mainly from Finca la Vequia (Huatusco, Veracruz). Both are delicate, and my approach to roasting them has changed from 3 years ago.

How did you learn to roast? Did you have a coach or trainer:
I learned to roast with my father, with drum and air equipment. He is my main judge, he always speaks the truth. I was my own coach at the WCRC in Shanghai, but after using a Giesen, I decided to think again about competing. My wife Alelí always boosts me and is the reason I’ve returned to the worlds today.  This time I wanted to involve people who could give me their experience. I’d like to thank Arturo Hernández and Team Ghibli for your space, the Etrusca team, Sylvia Gutiérrez, Santiago Sota, Manuel Díaz and Haniel García.

Who is your roasting hero?:
My father.

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
Low temperatures.

What music do you listen to when roasting?:
Any music.

What is your secret weapon when roasting?:
Practice and trying your hardest.

What is your BEST roasting memory?:
When I give a commitment ring to my wife, while roasting coffee.

What is your WORST roasting memory?:
At the 2016 Shanghai WCRC, during my practice time on the Giesen W6. I checked my coffee with Cropster, and noticed that the curve hadn’t risen. It was turned off.

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Greece
George Delichristos
The Underdog

Please tell us a little about yourself: 
My name is George Delichristos, I work for the The Underdog Roasters family in Greece. I’ve been a  Barista for the past 7 years, and I have been roasting coffee for the past 18 months.
My passion for specialty is what keeps me going everyday, and that same passion has led me to achievements I am very proud of, like winning the 2018 Greek Coffee Roasting Championship, and giving me the opportunity to represent Greece and The Underdog team in the World Coffee Roasting Championship in Rimini.

How long have you been roasting for?:
I have been roasting coffee for the past 18 months but I’m a fast learner!

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
Giesen W6A, W1A. Ikawa Pro V3.

What is your coffee of choice:
Any natural.

How did you learn to roast? Did you have a coach or trainer:
First I learned the fundamentals of roasting and how it affects coffee flavor by working behind the brew bar. I tasted and dialed in the coffees my brother was roasting, and when the timing was right I started to roast too.

Who is your roasting hero?:
My brother. He makes every coffee he gets his hands on taste delicious!

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
Winter. Not that cold, but cold.

What music do you listen to when roasting?:
The music of the drum rotating the beans!

What is your secret weapon when roasting?:
My timer for sure. It has never failed me so far!

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Germany
Kilian Seger
Hoppenworth & Ploch

Please tell us a little about yourself: 
I am from Frankfurt. I’ve been working for Hoppenworth & Ploch since 2014. I started as a Barista, but roasting expanded my horizons a lot. In my free time I enjoy traveling, and I am a fan of Eintracht in Frankfurt.

How long have you been roasting for?:
I started roasting coffee at the beginning of 2015, so it’s been more than 3 years now.

What roaster do you currently roast on?:
I use a L12 by Probat. It’s quite an old roaster but I actually really enjoy working with it.

What is your coffee of choice:
Ethiopian natural coffee beans are my first choice. When trying to make people familiar with specialty coffee, it’s a very good option because it’s quite easy for beginners to taste the sweet berry flavour of these beans.

How did you learn to roast? Did you have a coach or trainer:
It’s mostly been trial and error, I just put a lot of effort into studying roasting in theory and trying to realize what I learned. Both of my bosses at work helped me a lot to develop my roasting skills and show me the support I needed.

Who is your roasting hero?:
Scott Rao. His book “The Coffee Roaster’s Companion” helped me to gain a lot of the knowledge I have about roasting.

What’s your favorite weather to roast in?:
I usually like roasting in winter better than in summer, as it’s always hot around the roaster. Besides, it’s nice to have constant weather that does not affect the roasting process too much.

What music do you listen to when roasting?:
I usually listen to hip-hop music while roasting, but when there are other people working with me
I also have to compromise.

What is your secret weapon when roasting?:
When it comes to roasting, I am very focussed on what I do. It is very important for me to be patient and to accept mistakes that I make, so that I can constantly get better and better.

What is your BEST roasting memory?:
I really enjoy getting to know so many like-minded people through roasting.

What is your WORST roasting memory?:
The first (and last) time I accidentally totally burned coffee beans.

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