Please share a brief overview of your background.
I started making coffee around 8 years ago at a little bakery (Le Jardin, Ham East) just me and the owner and I was the barista. I worked in two more cafes (Two Birds Eatery, Ham East, and Lykke Cafe, Frankton) which were both incredible jobs and met some of my best friends there. I now work for coffee roasters Grey Roasting Co. and am super excited about this opportunity because it’s an incredible space to be able to grow and learn more in the coffee industry. I came from a retail background, I felt that retail wasn’t very genuine and I was very frustrated with the amount of daily targets and pressure to sell sell sell. When I started in hospitality it was a breath of fresh air, it was so natural and came easily to me and I have never looked back. This is where I was meant to be.
How did you get started in the industry?
So I before I worked at Le Jardin I worked for a small coffee roaster in Frankton called Laroma Coffee. This is what sparked my interest in the coffee industry. I was only making sandwiches for the brew bar and sweeping the roastery floor at this stage though i never made coffee there. And then the owner of Le Jardin was looking for a barista and I went for a trial, not really knowing what I was doing but she gave me a chance and I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for her giving me that first chance to learn so thank you Bea ❤️
What are some significant milestones in your career?
I have entered Latte art National competition 3 years in a row now, first year I came 6th, second year I came 3rd and this year I was runner up. So I’m super proud of my progress here and I’m so excited to keep learning and improving.
Another really special moment was winning Barista of the Year at the Waikato Hospitality awards in 2023. I am super grateful to have received this award because I was up against other reputable Waikato baristas that also are great at their jobs. I love my job, it’s what I plan to do with my life and I’m super lucky to be where I am today and have the successes I have had if that makes sense
Can you describe your current role and responsibilities?
My current role is Head Barista and Manager of the Tasting Room at Grey Roasting Co. my responsibilities are running the brewing side of the roastery, training people and just representing Grey Roasting Co to the best of my ability.
Tell us about your business or the place you work. What sets it apart from others?
We are a specialty coffee roaster here in Hamilton East. What sets us apart, to be honest is we care so much about serving and roasting quality coffee and believe that great coffee doesn’t have to be complicated. Drinking coffee is an experience and we really focused on creating something different here at the Tasting Room. It’s a full circle experience from seed to cup. I am super proud to be a part of Grey Roasting Co.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in your career or business and how have you overcome them?
A massive challenge for me has been my confidence with making coffee in front of people. It’s common for people to start filming you when you are making a coffee especially at such a beautiful spot like GRC. So it’s taken years for me to start to feel comfortable with overcoming nerves. Something that has helped a lot has been competing. After 3 years of competing at latte art competitions, I have started to feel much more comfortable with pouring latte art in front of people. This years National competition was different for me something had changed, I felt so relaxed on stage which was the best feeling ever. I felt like I was floating.
A challenge I’m facing now is being able to become really dialled in at tasting coffee. Hopefully compete at NZ Barista championship next year. To practice tasting I am just always trying to focus on flavours and textures of every single thing I consume. Not only coffee but drinks, wine and food as well. All of these things help develop your pallet and I’m finding myself slowly getting better at this.
What achievements are you most proud of?
Mentioned before but definitely 3rd place latte art champ 2023 and 2nd place latte art champ 2024.
Barista of the Year at Waikato hospitality awards 2023
Also I’m super proud of where my barista career is at and where it is heading. Just the opportunity to be able to represent and work for Dove and Grey Roasting Co. is a massive achievement for me. This was once my dream to work for the 2xNZ Barista champion that is Dove Chen. He is a legend in the coffee industry so being able to work alongside him is one of my greatest achievements.
Your performance and stage presence have improved significantly since last year. Can you share what specific changes or practices have contributed to this?
I had an incredible team behind me this year. Really great feedback to work on things too. So basically I wanted to make the whole performance a lot more natural in a world where these performances are more often than not, quite robotic and impersonal. J wanted to change that. And I practiced, a lot. I was practicing every single day. And I think that really helped develop my muscle memory to be able to perform with my eyes closed. Also I was a bit selfish this year and didn’t watch any of the other competitors, something I did previous years. For me, I thought I would perform much better without knowing what anyone else was doing. I was there to give my absolute best performance and I didn’t want anything to mess with that. I say that in the most loving way possible, all of my fellow competitors I consider my friends and they are all incredible artists, but at the end of the day it’s a national competition and if that means not watching them then il do that.
What inspired you to compete in the New Zealand Latte Art Champs, and how has your journey evolved since your first competition?
Dove actually convinced me to enter the first one I did back in 2022. He was like “you should enter bro you are good enough” I was like “nah bro surely not” haha. But I did and it eas the best thing I’ve ever done. The feeling is quite surreal. Latte art champs help to keep me from being complacent. I’m always trying to become better, trying to achieve something new. It’s become a massive part of my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world ❤️ also have super talented baristas in Hamilton that encourage me and vice versa and we challenge each other and make each other better.
Were there any techniques or designs that you focused on for this competition? How did you choose them?
Me and my coach (Dove) chose the patterns several months ago, I chose the fish because it was quite unique and it had a really nice harmony in the cup. I loved how it looked so elegant. I chose the spartan because it was a super challenging patterns and also looked really cool in the cup. Same with the eagle, nice long Rosetta’s and nice harmony in the cup. Harmony is how the pattern sits in the cup - does it look squashed or sitting to one side? Or is it nice and even balance on either side. Youl know harmony when you see it. I’m super proud of my design choice this year. The patterns were inspired by other artist but I definitely made each of them unique to me.
How do you prepare mentally and physically for a competition like this, especially regarding stage presence?
That’s a massive question. I pretend the judges are my customers at work haha. My wife kept telling me “they are normal people, they are going home for chicken nuggets after this” haha maybe that helped I don’t know. But I was taking magnesium to help with my nervous system health, I did lots of breathing exercises and meditation. Listened to a lot of classical music during my preparation haha just to really calm my mind. And also I included little points in my presentation to remind myself things like to “stay calm” and to “be brave” etc. I think also a lot of it is experience too, I felt much more comfortable this year. In terms of stage presence - I just wanted to have fun and I’m glad that came across on stage. It’s always so much fun and I can’t wait to come back next year!
How do you approach the creative process of designing new latte art patterns? Do you have a specific routine or source of inspiration?
So for national competition, it’s not necessary to design a brand new original pattern. But in saying that my designs were inspired by but not direct copies of other designs, they all go through a development phase haha and you try different things and styles before you settle on one you are happy with. If you saw all of my designs at the beginning you might be shocked haha. I’m happy with how they turned out and I feel as though they unique to me now
What are your plans for the future of your career?
Be the best barista in the world.
Also just see where the wind takes me, I love where I am now, I’m in a super good place in my life. I don’t plan on changing things up very soon.
How do you see the latte art scene evolving in New Zealand, and what role do you hope to play in it?
I hope I inspire more and more people to keep making latte art. Latte art is more than just milk in a cup. It’s about passion of the barista, their creativity and ideas they can create with it. It goes so much deeper than just the surface of the coffee. Sounds cheesy I know but it’s the truth. I want people to love their job as much as I do, that’s the dream.