beanscenemag.com.au 65took his fresh perspective to the 2015 WBC.
He continued to improve his WBC ranking
over the years, going from 32nd in 2008, to
20th in 2009, and 12th in 2015. This made
John the first and only Singaporean barista
to make the semi-finals.
For as long as he can remember, John
says cleaning product provider Cafetto has
supported him and the Singapore Barista
Championship to reach new heights.
“I met [Cafetto Managing Director]
Chris Short many times. He is a very nice
person who really cares about coffee,” John
says. “While working at roasteries and cafés,
we always used Cafetto Evo to maintain our
own machines and recommended it to our
customers, because it’s specifically designed
for coffee, and it works.”
His experience judging, consulting,
and training showed John the value
of sharing his knowledge with young
and passionate baristas.
“I enjoy connecting with my trainees,
and seeing their improvement over time,
whether that’s in daily operations or
overall coffee skills,” he says. “It also feels
meaningful to train and inspire the next
generation of baristas.”
John launched Academy Roastery Café
(ARC) in 2015 to explore this newfound
passion. The venue emphasised training
new baristas, with many participants
going on to compete in or win Singapore’s
coffee competitions. One such trainee was
Andrea Tan, who won the first Singapore
Brewers Cup in 2015. John succeeded
her as the Singapore Brewers Cup
Champion in 2016.
After a successful few years, ARC
ended operations in 2018. Not long after,
John’s former boss Keith offered him a new
opportunity. In 2017, Keith had launched
Caffeine Solutions, distributing coffee
equipment to Singaporean hospitality
venues, and wanted to expand into the
larger Indonesian market. He needed a
knowledgeable coffee professional to head
up Caffeine Solutions’ office in Jakarta and
John took up the opportunity, moving to
Indonesia in April 2019.
“I was excited to work for Keith again,”
he says. “While Caffeine Solutions’ focus
is selling coffee machines, we operate a
training centre where I still get to share my
knowledge and help our customers train
their baristas to the next level.”
John says Indonesia’s coffee scene is
in a state of rapid growth, with consumers
expressing an increased appreciation for
specialty coffee.
“The coffee culture has definitely
improved a lot in the last few years,” he
says. “[Though Jakarta] is not quite yet at
the level of the world’s coffee capitals like
London, New York, and Melbourne.”
Singapore, on the other hand, isprogressing at a slower rate.
“There are a few cafés serving top notch
coffees, but not as many. The general
market is still more commercial and the
number of coffee drinkers who appreciate
specialty coffee is small. It’s increasing, but
it’s still early,” John says. Indonesia faces its
own challenges.
“They are a producing country and
the government wants to protect the
livelihood of its farmers, so coffee roasters
pay a high amount of tax to import coffee,”
John says. “The market is still very used
to Indonesian coffee and has had very
little exposure to coffees from places like
Colombia, Panama, and El Salvador. Only
some of the bigger roasters can afford to
bring that coffee in.”
Despite this, John hopes Indonesia’s
Mikael Jasin placing fourth in the
2019 WBC demonstrates the value of
international coffee to local consumers.“[Mikael] used a Panama, Ethiopian,
and Indonesian coffee, all processed
through carbonic maceration, to show how
they can achieve different flavours,” John
says. “Hopefully, he will inspire a lot of
Indonesian baristas and roasters to start
importing coffee from other origins.”
With the WBC taking place in
Melbourne again in 2020, John says he
may soon return to Australia, this time
as a competitor.
“I’ve had very little origin focus in my
past routines and am planning a trip soon. I
hope to really get involved in the processing
of the coffee,” he says. “I’m giving myself
until the end of the year to decide if I’ll
compete, and to find the right coffee.”For more information about Cafetto,
its support of industry members,
and latest product range, visit
http://www.cafetto.com“IN A BARISTA COMPETITION, IT’S
NECESSARY TO ENGAGE THE JUDGES...
AND MAKE IT SOMETHING THEY
HAVEN’T HEARD BEFORE.”
Image: KateBeard,WorldddddCoCeeeeffeffeEEeeeeevenventstsbeanscenemag.com.au 65took his fresh perspective to the 2015 WBC.
He continued to improve his WBC ranking
over the years, going from 32nd in 2008, to
20th in 2009, and 12th in 2015. This made
John the first and only Singaporean barista
to make the semi-finals.
For as long as he can remember, John
says cleaning product provider Cafetto has
supported him and the Singapore Barista
Championship to reach new heights.
“I met [Cafetto Managing Director]
Chris Short many times. He is a very nice
person who really cares about coffee,” John
says. “While working at roasteries and cafés,
we always used Cafetto Evo to maintain our
own machines and recommended it to our
customers, because it’s specifically designed
for coffee, and it works.”
His experience judging, consulting,
and training showed John the value
of sharing his knowledge with young
and passionate baristas.
“I enjoy connecting with my trainees,
and seeing their improvement over time,
whether that’s in daily operations or
overall coffee skills,” he says. “It also feels
meaningful to train and inspire the next
generation of baristas.”
John launched Academy Roastery Café
(ARC) in 2015 to explore this newfound
passion. The venue emphasised training
new baristas, with many participants
going on to compete in or win Singapore’s
coffee competitions. One such trainee was
Andrea Tan, who won the first Singapore
Brewers Cup in 2015. John succeeded
her as the Singapore Brewers Cup
Champion in 2016.
After a successful few years, ARC
ended operations in 2018. Not long after,
John’s former boss Keith offered him a new
opportunity. In 2017, Keith had launched
Caffeine Solutions, distributing coffee
equipment to Singaporean hospitality
venues, and wanted to expand into the
larger Indonesian market. He needed a
knowledgeable coffee professional to head
up Caffeine Solutions’ office in Jakarta and
John took up the opportunity, moving to
Indonesia in April 2019.
“I was excited to work for Keith again,”
he says. “While Caffeine Solutions’ focus
is selling coffee machines, we operate a
training centre where I still get to share my
knowledge and help our customers train
their baristas to the next level.”
John says Indonesia’s coffee scene is
in a state of rapid growth, with consumers
expressing an increased appreciation for
specialty coffee.
“The coffee culture has definitely
improved a lot in the last few years,” he
says. “[Though Jakarta] is not quite yet at
the level of the world’s coffee capitals like
London, New York, and Melbourne.”
Singapore, on the other hand, is
progressing at a slower rate.
“There are a few cafés serving top notch
coffees, but not as many. The general
market is still more commercial and the
number of coffee drinkers who appreciate
specialty coffee is small. It’s increasing, but
it’s still early,” John says. Indonesia faces its
own challenges.
“They are a producing country and
the government wants to protect the
livelihood of its farmers, so coffee roasters
pay a high amount of tax to import coffee,”
John says. “The market is still very used
to Indonesian coffee and has had very
little exposure to coffees from places like
Colombia, Panama, and El Salvador. Only
some of the bigger roasters can afford to
bring that coffee in.”
Despite this, John hopes Indonesia’s
Mikael Jasin placing fourth in the
2019 WBC demonstrates the value of
international coffee to local consumers.“[Mikael] used a Panama, Ethiopian,
and Indonesian coffee, all processed
through carbonic maceration, to show how
they can achieve different flavours,” John
says. “Hopefully, he will inspire a lot of
Indonesian baristas and roasters to start
importing coffee from other origins.”
With the WBC taking place in
Melbourne again in 2020, John says he
may soon return to Australia, this time
as a competitor.
“I’ve had very little origin focus in my
past routines and am planning a trip soon. I
hope to really get involved in the processing
of thecoffee,”hesays.“I’mgivingmyself
untiltheendof theyearto decideif I’ll
compete,andto findtherightcoffee.”For more information about Cafetto,
its support of industry members,
and latest product range, visit
http://www.cafetto.com“IN A BARISTA COMPETITION, IT’S
NECESSARY TO ENGAGE THE JUDGES...
AND MAKE IT SOMETHING THEY
HAVEN’T HEARD BEFORE.”
Image: KateBeard,WorlddCoeeeffefeEEeeevenvnts