Articles >> Commercial coffee machine's handler sees the world as barista championCommercial coffee machine's handler sees the world as barista champion
Cumbrian coffee barista James Hoffman has had an eventful 2007. He's been flown round the world, been declared World Barista Champion and set up a coffee consultancy business - proving that knowing your way around commercial coffee machines is no bad start in life.
And Hoffman is planning on changing the way people view baristas by raising training and wage levels - and with them the quality of coffee served in the UK.
Britain's first world champion and commercial coffee machine fan
Hoffman's world title - the first won by a British barista - came at the World Championships in Tokyo in August 2007. Since then he has appeared on the cover of trade magazine Barista, travelled to Moscow, been invited to do some barista training in Colombia, and visited Armenia and Costa Rica.
Most of his adventures have been recounted on his blog, in which his passion for coffee shines through - his most recent post, for example, majors on his delight at receiving his new GS/3 commercial coffee machine.
James's view of the barista's job will be refreshing to many in the coffee industry. A graduate of Durham University, he has focused on his career in front of the espresso machine at the expense of traditional graduate jobs and in no way sees his work as menial - which is why, he said in an interview in the Independent, he intends to raise the profile of baristas in his new cafè and roasterie in London when it opens next year.
"We want to expect a lot"
He told the newspaper, "The chains pay minimum wages in this country [and] we want to change that. We want to expect a lot from our workers and offer them some sort of progression. This can have a big effect on the industry."
He will be no doubt assisted by his partner, who shares his passion for high-quality coffee - and was in fact declared the coffee world's World Cup Tasting Champion in Antwerp in May 2007 - making the couple the Posh and Becks of the industry, for this year at least.
Hoffman won his world title, according to the Independent, "in part due to his mastery of the machine" - so his customers can look forward to quality coffee, served by well-trained baristas, made in a well-loved - and well-mastered - commercial coffee machine.
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