Romania
Katy Szasz
Independent

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Katy, I discovered specialty coffee in late 2013, when I instantly fell in love with it and I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I have competed in many competitions, national and international. Now I’m a barista trainer in a chain of restaurants, that love specialty coffee just as I do. I also roast coffee for them.  I have also judged national Barista, Brewers, Cezve/Ibrik Championships, and the latest Cezve/Ibrik Championship.  Can’t wait to see what happens next!

How did you get started in coffee?

I started 5 years ago. A poorly made cappuccino was the thing that lead me to barista school, where I learned a lot of new and interesting things about coffee—things that I have never had clue about. Then I decided to compete in order to get better, faster!

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

National Latte Art Championship 2013 – 6th Place

National Cezve Ibrik Champion 2014, 2015,2016

National Cup Tasting Championship 2014 – 2nd Place

National Cup Tasting Championship 2015 – 3rd Place

Cezve/Ibrik Championship Rimini 2014 – 5th Place

Cezve/Ibrik Championship Athens 2015 – 2nd Place

Cezve/Ibrik Championship Dubai 2016 – 4th Place

What roaster do you currently roast on?

Giesen 6kg, hb 600 sample roaster

How did you learn how to roast coffee?

From Alex Niculae, 2016 World Coffee Roasting Champion.

What are your interests outside of coffee?

I like to travel, read books, and do all sorts of sports. I really like winter sports.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

This question I struggle with, thinking of the future and where I see myself is hard. Five years can easily go by fast, but on paper it was a challenge. Talking about the present is much easier to elaborate on. You never really know the outcome. Setting new goals in place to become more successful. Where I see myself in five to ten years I don’t really know.  I also see myself teaching other people the art of coffee.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognise, or who helped you to prepare for the WCRC?

To my trainer, Alex Niculae.

What are you excited to do while you are in Guangzhou?

I would like to visit the city and try the local food. Heard it’s really good and also very different.

Facebook: katy.beatrice.1

Instagram: katy_beatrice

México
Roberto Espinoza Ramírez
Inka Yani

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Roberto Espinoza. I’m 26 years old and I’m the Coffee Roasting Champion of México. I work at Inka Yani Tostadores de Café, a small coffee shop in México City. I enjoy roasting because you can always learn something new about coffee or the process while working. I like when people enjoy a cup of coffee that I roasted, it makes me really happy.

How did you get started in coffee?

I enjoyed my first cup of coffee with my mom when I was little. Since then we’ve been discovering coffee together.

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

2° Competencia Mexicana de Tostado 5° Lugar

3° Competencia Mexicana de Tostado 1° Lugar

What roaster do you currently roast on?

Solocafe 5kg Profesional

How did you learn how to roast coffee?

The team from SHB Caffé helped me understand everything about roasting.

What are your interests outside of coffee?

I enjoy new experiences.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

Learning about all the complex world of being a coffee farmer and eventually becoming one.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognise, or who helped you to prepare for the WCRC?

I would like to thank everyone at SHB Caffé for sharing their passion with me, my family and friends for their support and patience and all the sponsors for making World Coffee Roasting Championship a reality.

What are you excited to do while you are in Guangzhou?

I want to taste all the coffee from different roasters and countries.

Facebook: roberto.espinoza.07

Japan
Hiraku Kondo
Ituka Coffee

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I work at Ituka Coffee in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan. I have a 5 year roasting career and my main machine is a Fuji Royal R-105, 5kg roaster.

How did you get started in coffee?

My first time to drink coffee was when I was 14 years old. After that, I gradually became more interested in coffee and roasting.

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

May 2016: Japan Brewers Cup (JBrC), Preliminary Round

July 2016: Japan Cup Tasters Championship (JCTC), Preliminary Round

August 2016: Japan Coffee Roasting Championship (JCRC), 1st place

May 2017: Japan Brewers Cup (JBrC), Semifinalists

July 2017: Japan Cup Tasters Championship (JCTC), Preliminary Round

What roaster do you currently roast on?

I roast on a few different machines.

Giesen: W6A

Fuji Royal:R-105, Discovery

Probat: Probatone5

Loring:S15 Diedrich:Ir-2.5

How did you learn how to roast coffee?

I learned my roasting know-how in “Ituka Coffee” with my chief of coffee roasting.  My career started with sample roasting and coffee cupping.  I am currently working on improving my quality control.

What are your interests outside of coffee?

Music (especially classical music), movies, hiking (especially in autumn), motorcycle riding (especially at seaside), scotch whiskey, to name a few.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

I want to have my own café and serve my coffee to many coffee lovers.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognise, or who helped you to prepare for the WCRC?

I would like to say many thanks to Mr. Hideo Kato, chief of my workplace, Ituka Coffee. He gave me the skill of coffee roasting, and a lot of valuable support. I’d also like to thank the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ), and particularly the SCAJ Roast Masters Committee who have provided much advice. I would like to say many thanks again to all my coffee friends who have supported me.

What are you excited to do while you are in Guangzhou?

I would like to go to as many coffee shops as I can go in the city. Also, I would like to talk about coffee especially coffee roasting with other coffee roasters.

Instagram: Jallisey

Italy
Rubens Gardelli
Gardelli Specialty Coffees

Facebook: GardelliCoffee

Instagram: GardelliCoffees

Twitter: GardelliCoffees

China
Weiwei Ye
Independent

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I am a coffee roaster from Nanjing, China. I opened my first coffee shop 9 years ago, and I started roasting about 2 years ago. I am also a crazy trail runner, cycling enthusiast, and an outdoor sports lover.

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

2017 China Coffee Roasting Championship – 1st Place

What roaster do you currently roast on?

Giesen

What are your interests outside of coffee?

Going to places I’ve never been before and experiencing different cultures.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognise, or who helped you to prepare for the WCRC?

So many people! My wife, my friends, my coach, teachers, and so on.

What are you excited to do while you are in Guangzhou?

I had been to Guangzhou several times, and some friends also live in Guangzhou. I’m hoping to enjoy the competition and achieve a good result.

Australia
Jack Allisey
Veneziano Coffee Roasters

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I’ve been involved in the coffee industry for the last 9 years. I’m currently Green Buyer for Veneziano Coffee Roasters but have been also been a packer, barista and roaster. I enjoy how much there is to learn in coffee and the constantly changing industry.

How did you get started in coffee?

My father was involved in the industry and I kind of fell into it with a part time job packing coffee while taking time off from education. 9 years later, here we are.

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

Victorian Cup Tasters Champion 2013
Australian Coffee Roasting Champion 2017

What roaster do you currently roast on?

Diedrich IR5

How did you learn how to roast coffee?

Trial and error! I’ve had many mentors over the years, and immersed myself in learning as much as possible. Tasting as many roasts as possible with as many people as possible is key.

What are your interests outside of coffee?

Race cars, guitars, cooking.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

I will be involved in the coffee industry for the foreseeable future. There is still so much to learn and experience.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognise, or who helped you to prepare for the WCRC?

Big thanks to Pat Connolly who helped me prepare for competition as well as everyone at Veneziano. Also to Anne Cooper and Lucy Ward of the Australian Roasters Guild who were behind getting the first Australian competition off the ground.

What are you excited to do while you are in Guangzhou?

Experience the food!

Instagram: Jallisey

Greece
Panagiotis Matziounis
Roasters Kolektiva

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

Owner of Matziounis Coffee Roasting business est.1954, creator of the Roasters Kolektiva project, coffee lover and proud father of two. Coffee roasting for me is an artistic expression, and an activity that fascinates me more and more as I get deeper into the philosophy of coffee. Winning the 1st Hellenic Coffee Roasting Championship has been a dream come true, but also has rewarded the work of three generations, and our everyday effort to provide coffee of excellent quality. I feel honoured to represent Greece in this worldwide competition and wish the best to all of us.

How did you get started in coffee?

I became engaged in coffee from a young age, since my family owned a coffee roasting business. It was a family tradition that started back in 1954, when my grandfather bought his first roaster. I have always been studying and working on the philosophy of coffee. In 2007, I undertook the management of the company. Since then I’ve tried to combine 60 years experience with constant education and research, in order to develop my skills and create fresh and innovative concepts.

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

Winner of the 1st Hellenic Roasting Championship, 2017.

What roaster do you currently roast on?

I decided to work with Greek companies, so I use a 30kg coffee roaster from ALECOS and a 15-18kg coffee roaster from Coffeetool.

How did you learn how to roast coffee?

I learnt roasting from my grandfather and father, but I am constantly educating myself through seminars, by exchanging opinions with roasting specialists, and by spending lots and lots of hours on coffee roasting!

What are your interests outside of coffee?

Coffee is not just a job but also a hobby. I try to divide my spare time between family activities and sports.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

My plan and wish is to improve myself and my coffee knowledge. I want to have access to the best coffees, and to develop Roasters Kolektiva into an international brand where I can share my passion and coffees of unique quality with coffee enthusiasts from all over the world.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognise, or who helped you to prepare for the WCRC?

First and foremost, my coach, Anastasios Kodellas, certified SCA Barista trainer, and my co-competitor in the Hellenic Roasting Championship, Giorgos Spithakis, for their support, guidance and valuable opinions. Moreover, the companies Coffeetool and Eurogat for providing the equipment and technical support. And of course, my family and my team in Roasters Kolektiva who have always been there for me in my every-day effort to reach excellence.

What are you excited to do while you are in Guangzhou?

I cannot wait to meet coffee roasting experts from all over the world, to exchange knowledge, to develop my self through them and to present my abilities. I am also thrilled to visit China, a county whose culture I have always admired, so I will try to manage my time as best possible in order to gain as many new experiences as possible.

 panagiotismatziounis

 pmatziounis

 panagiotismatziounis

Germany
Benjamin Pozsgai
Moxxa Caffè

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

Hi, I am Benjamin, my nickname for family and friends is Benson, so that’s why I use this name for all social media accounts. I’m 40 years old and I live in Cologne with my wife and my two kids. Cologne is one of the biggest cities in Germany and we have a growing coffee scene there.

How did you get started in coffee?

I used to be a full time musician so I started to get into coffee just as a tool to stay awake. Late night drives or late night recording studio sessions or rehearsals wouldn’t have worked without intense amounts of coffee. Mostly cheap discounter stuff so it was normal to add sugar and milk. Somehow I discovered there were very different qualitites of coffee out there and that caught my attention.

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

2015 German National Roasting Competition – 3rd

2016 German National Roasting Competition – 1st

What roaster do you currently roast on?

I work with a Diedrich IR12 and Cropster at Moxxa Caffè in Cologne and a Probatone 12 and Artisan at Neues Schwarz in Dortmund.

How did you learn how to roast coffee?

I am passionate about coffee and I think that drove me to take my first steps—it made me start working in a roastery, even without having a clue in the very beginning. I just started off trying to roast the profiles my co-worker had already roasted. After a while my sensory skills developed and I started changing profiles a bit. At the time we did not have too many different green coffees, so I roasted them pretty much every day until I got to know these coffees quite well, and it helped me to recognize changes. I think being passionate is the best thing that can happen to you.

What are your interests outside of coffee?

I love music, I am interested in pretty much everything that has distorted guitars. Of course I love my family and I am really into food, especially baking, cookies, and stuff like that.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I guess I will still be working with coffee. I hope to be able to travel more frequently to Central America and Africa, and to be able to work more directly with local farmers and cooperatives. That would be great!

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognise, or who helped you to prepare for the WCRC?

The whole German roasting community was very supportive, and it helped to be able to chat and share some insight. I would especially like to thank my colleagues Savvas at Moxxa Caffè and Benedikt at Neues Schwarz and Alec Pfuhl for coaching me.

What are you excited to do while you are in Guangzhou?

I hope to find some time to at least try some good local food. I would love to do some sightseeing or go to the ocean, but I don’t know if that will work out.

 bensoncoffee

 bensoncoffee

 bensoncoffee

France
Veda Viraswami
Café Sati

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I was born in Mauritius and I have been living in France for the last 22 years. I am responsible for development and training at Café Sati, which is a French roastery. My journey in the coffee industry started in 2006 and is still going strong.

How did you get started in coffee?

I started in 2006 with little knowledge but with a lot of enthusiasm, and a will for learning.

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

2017 French Coffee Roasting Champion

What roaster do you currently roast on?

Probat

How did you learn how to roast coffee?

By sharing and experiencing things with other roasters and of course by reading almost everything ever published on the subject.

What are your interests outside of coffee?

Sports

 veda.viraswami

Denmark
Théo Maitre
Sigfreds Kaffefabrik

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

I am a French man who has lived in Denmark for the last 5 years.I work as a roaster in a micro roastery, in Aarhus.

How did you get started in coffee?

I had a strong interest for coffee in France when I worked in the restaurant industry. When I moved to Denmark I took a basic barista course in a coffee bar, an hour into the course the coffee bar got really busy and the boss asked me if I wanted to stay and help…

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

The Danish Coffee Roasting Championship was the first time I’ve competed.

What roaster do you currently roast on?

Giesen W15

How did you learn how to roast coffee?

Hands on, I would say… I’ve been roasting for 4 years, but the first formal course I took was this year, with the instructor Eystein Veflingtad.

What are your interests outside of coffee?

I love nature, especially mountains, the ocean, skiing, and surfing. I like spending time with my family; my girlfriend, and kids.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

Probably still in the industry, but possibly working more closely with green coffee. I can see myself still trying to convince people why speciality coffee is the way to go. I imagine I’ll be managing my time, so I can be with my family.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognise, or who helped you to prepare for the WCRC?

My coach, Belco Green; Bill’s Coffee;  The Factory, Copenhagen; and my girlfriend.

What are you excited to do while you are in Guangzhou?

Nerd out on coffee roasting, of course

 theo.maitre

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