Barista Magazine is your home for the worldwide community of coffee and the people who make it.
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/76474
WORLD BARISTA CHAMPION 2012 "I think now baristas from producing countries are realizing that we can change things, and we are fortunate enough to have everything we need right there. But there is a lot of work to do." through May of 2013 when the next WBC takes place in Melbourne, Australia—Raul will be the busiest barista on the planet. Sarah Allen: Raul, can you tell us a little about your background—your family, your interests, etc.? Raul Rodas: I was born in Guatemala City. I studied communication and design, and I wanted to be a great musician! I have a brother, Roberto, who is 33 years old, and my sister, Georgina, is 30 years old. We are close even though my brother lives in Chicago. Coffee is a big part of the family now. We enjoy cups of coffee every day. I have taught my mom and my sister to brew AeroPress! My brother and sister, and this time my mom, have joined me in several of the World Barista Championships to help with everything. SA: What role did coffee play in your house when you were growing up? RR: Everybody drank coffee with a cake, and added tons of milk and sugar to the coffee. I used to put a little of coffee in my cereal actually. When I was, like, eight years old, I used to steal my mom's coffee and tell her that someone drank it, and not me. I enjoyed the flavor but it was more milk and sugar than coffee. I thought it was so good and obviously, being eight, I was left with tons of energy after that! SA: What was your first really amazing experience with great specialty coffee? RR: I was in Denmark as a competitor at the WBC 2008. There I had the chance of tasting Daniel Remheden's espresso—he was the competitor from Sweden. I found such a strong presence of strawberries in that coffee and I just felt like I had never tried espresso like that before! It was inspirational! SA: Was there a particular moment or experience that made you want to become a professional barista? RR: I think was when I started to travel and realized that at some point, someone changed my life with coffee, and I live in a producing country, so why not be more of a part of it and work with the people who live from making coffee, and help to raise quality and customer service in coffee? SA: Please tell us what the barista community in Guatemala is like. RR: In Guatemala the barista community has evolved a lot in the past years! Initially it was only coffee shop chains and no knowledge—a lot of those coffee chains still exist. Now, more and more small cafés are opening and several of them (are owned) by actual farm owners, which is amazing—seed to cup all the way. The level in general has improved slightly but is still not at the point that you would enjoy good coffee at any www.baristamagazine.com 47