In February, Winston Thomas was crowned SA’s Barista Champion, for the second year in a row. We asked him to make us the perfect cup of coffee.
It turns out that something we haven't even thought about - the water - is key to the taste of the coffee. Also, we learned that careful coffee measurements are important. Thomas also likes to use with slightly colder-than-average milk in his perfect cup. You can view the video of his coffee-making here.
Thomas, a former DJ, first heard that making coffee could be a serious job when, as a student, he read an article about a woman who complained about bad coffee in Somerset West. It sparked his interest, so when he finished university he signed up.
Later this year he will be jetting to Amsterdam to take part in the World Barista Championships. Here he plans to show off his skill brewing a highly sought-after Ethiopian bean that smells of strawberry and roses. The beans come from the Gesha Coffee Farm in Ethiopia, situated near its border with Sudan.
“What is so special about this farm is that when it was started it was made of virgin forest, so it had never been touched. The soil, the entire biodiversity, of the system has been naturally preserved for thousands of years,” says Thomas.
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