Barista Magazine

AUG-SEP 2013

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to be done for the right reasons and there has to be a clear purpose and meaning behind what you are trying to accomplish, and this ultimately has to improve the coffee. SA: Now that this crazy year of being WBC champ is coming to an end, how will you be spending your time? RR: Focus more time and energy on Paradigma, and also with Paradigma be able to keep experimenting more with producers and meet more. There are many producers that I have been buying from and working with. However, there are also so many new producers who just bring their coffee to [get my] opinion, and I have tasted some fantastic coffees. Working more with those producers is something I definitely want to do more. I have also been working with an organization in Guatemala called Ayuvi [Fundación Ayúdame a Vivir], which helps children with cancer and their families. The idea for this project is to help them raise money, basically. The general thought behind it is that with good quality of coffee we can hopefully improve their quality of life. The way of doing this is to have different companies participate and have several espresso bars and/or brew bars; customers will pay a minimum price per cup, but we will tell them to pay as much as they think the coffee is worth as opposed to the minimum price. coffee was given to them. Now, baristas want to source their own coffee. It was inspiring to see them so inspired. The competition had to happen. The competition resulted in a much freer environment in which everyone could experiment, more people could join, and as a country everyone was more aware of the barista situation. At the time, we were obviously driven by the urgency to make sure the competition happened. However the long-term goal is to have an organization to promote more consumption, to place coffee and baristas more in a more highly respected position so people can recognize that it is in fact a profession and not a hobby. SA: What are some of your best memories from the past year? RR: This is a very difficult question, actually. I truly do think that every moment lived was memorable in its own individual way. For example, I traveled so much to Peru that every time it felt like I was going home in a way. Or Brazil, where every experience to meet up with friends again is a fantastic one. Or having had the opportunity to travel to Russia, not just once, but three times, and be able to experience the different perspectives that exist in the coffee industry as well as the growth of that industry. Also all the education I got from all my colleagues, and experiencing sharing the joy of someone who will represent their country at WBC—it is also pretty amazing from the outside to share this. In terms of life experiences, not necessarily related to coffee, having had the opportunity to feed cub tigers, ride an elephant, and have a stunt double for an ad—how crazy is that? "I think there are many things I could say to the next WBC Champion. The most important one is to stay true to themselves—don't get lost in all the 'show' that comes with being a champion." SA: How is Paradigma Coffee doing? Are you roasting a lot of coffee? Opening a café? RR: Like any business, Paradigma has had its ups and downs and it has been really difficult to dedicate all of my efforts to it while I was traveling or [working on] other projects. However, I see all of it as experiences and [education] that will, in the long run, benefit Paradigma because all this can now be applied to the company. Even though Paradigma is small, people have expressed interest in working with us or believe in our ideas of breaking paradigms and improving the quality of the coffee. Paradigma as a company is many things, and the roastery is one of them, certainly. And green-coffee sales and sourcing great buyers for amazing producers is something that is going very well at the moment. SA: At the last minute, you and Rouki organized the entire Guatemalan Barista Championship, and it was very successful. Why was it so important to you to do this?* RR: As soon as I returned from Vienna in June [2012 after winning the WBC], baristas all over Guatemala were calling us to say they had been talking to producers and now were looking for coffees. For me, this meant the 'goal' of the competition had been accomplished. The goal wasn't [for Guatemala] to have a world champion. The goal was getting to a point where the country had made a transition. Even just five years ago, baristas were just using whatever SA: If you could offer advice to the next WBC Champion, what would it be? RR: I think there are many things I could say to the next WBC Champion. The most important one is to stay true to themselves—don't get lost in all the "show" that comes with being a champion. Another extremely important thing is to have a person you completely trust to help you filter through stuff and give you an objective opinion. Never forget you are a coffee ambassador and always promoting coffee, which doesn't just mean promoting coffee the way that you want it in our perfect little specialty-coffee bubble. * Editor's note: Anacafe, the coffee association of Guatemala which has organized and produced the national barista championship in past years, decided not to host a championship in 2013. Roukiat and Raul stepped up to take over organization and production of the event by their own volition. www.baristamagazine.com 75

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