A márciusban Dohában megrendezett bajnokság Barista kategóriájának győztese John Ray de Guzman.
Nagy-Bertók Anita érzékszervi bíróként zsűrizte a versenyzőket az eseményen. Az eredmények kihirdetése után, sikerült egy interjút is készítenie a Barista bajnokkal.
Q1. Tell me a bit about yourself and your connection with coffee. Since when do you work with coffee and how it all started?
I am John Ray and I have a great passion in coffee and I love coffee so much. I started my journey in coffee way back 2017, when I watched a mini-Latte Art Throwdown in our city, that triggers my interest to learn about coffee and try to enroll on a coffee class and start a job as a Barista.
Q2. Was this your first time competing?
Yes!!! It is my first time joining a National Barista Competition, but I am already competing in different competitions in our country and representing our country on the world stage but not in WCC.
Q3. How did you prepare for it, what was the most challenging part for you or for your team?
As we all know our competition here in Qatar have a very short preparation and composing the idea, but with the help of my team, we still prepare a World Stage Performance for you, we took an everyday and every night practice, and connect to Qima Coffee to give us more deep understanding on the coffee that I am going to use, one of the most challenging part also is how can we gather a fact information for the coffee I am using, because Yemen is a country that is very hard to visit due to war and terrorist, but we still manage to made it by the help of QIMA Coffee and Mr. Faris.
Q4. Please tell me about the coffee you chose to present to the judges.
The coffee I chose to use is a coffee from Yemen from the region of Hayma Al Karijiya in Al Ruwad, one of the largest cooperatives in Yemen. And the focus of my presentation is about the discovery of a new coffee genetics or new Genetic Group of Coffee, they called Yemenia. A kind of discovery that will reshape the world of Arabica Coffees in producing a variety that is resilient in harsh climate conditions like in Yemen, that we consider that might be the future of Arabica Coffee.
Q5. What was your signature beverage and why did you choose those ingredients to create it?
My Signature Beverage is a Floral-Fruit Bomb, composed of Rose Water, Orange Blossom Water that will give the floral notes, Cascara Kombucha that is fermented Cascara, that will give a Sparkling Taste, Yemeni Honey to give density and to balance the acid, a Passion Fruit Puree that I made out of real Passion Fruit and the Yemenia Coffee, these ingredients will give a new experience out of the good qualities from the Yemenia Coffee.
Q6. What have you learned through the whole experience?
This competition give me a big understanding how fun coffee community is, by meeting amazing people, specially my co competitors who gave their best on this competition, meeting amazing judges, who give us things to improve, and the idea that coffee connects people and producing happiness despite of what’s happening on world today, I learned enjoying life with my friends and enjoying our cup of coffees.
Q7. What advise would you give to Baristas who are thinking about entering a Barista championship in the future?
For those coffee friends who are planning to join Barista Competition, it is on you, don’t push yourselves if you don’t feel it. The first rule is to feel it, embrace it. And if you are still seeking inspiration to join, just look at farmers who give their best to produce good quality coffees and imagine that you will be the person to speak for them, to the world.