World Barista Championship Interview - John Gordon

/files/WorldBaristaChampionship.JG_.Teaser.jpg" alt="World Barista Championship contestant John Gordon" title="World Barista Championship contestant John Gordon" align="left" height="214" hspace="5" width="320" />As the World Barista Championship draws closer, I think it’s only fitting we take a moment to get to know John Gordon, who’ll be representing the UK this year in the competition. Considering last year the competition was held in London, this is a nice segway for him as well as us…


John works at Square Mile Coffee Roasters, and although he likes to indulge in specialty coffee, his real passion is the espresso machine. John has found his niche, and has taken apart countless espresso machines.


His favorite machine would have to be the Synesso. He loves the “engineering behind these machines” and not only enjoys making coffee on them, but also “working on them mechanically.”  For John, “working on espresso machines is like meditation; it’s fantastic to either fix a problem or completely rebuild a machine.”


Another favorite of his would be the World Barista Championship official espresso machine, the Nuova Simonelli Aurelia, as “they are such a joy to make coffee on and such a comfortable machine from the get go.” So if you’re considering investing in a machine, you may want to use John’s expertise as a framework. One day, he hopes to build his own machine.
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John’s talent isn’t only in machines, it’s all encompassing and he’s managed to really develop and evolve as a barista. One of his biggest challenges is to stay aligned with the coffee industry, which is so fast-paced and dynamic, making it hard to stay on top of all the developments. Fortunately, he thrives on challenges and this and keeps him going.


If there were any advice he’d dole out to future baristas, it would be to stay on top of taste. It’s important to “be aware of what we are brewing, if we don’t like what we are tasting, then why should we expects consumers to?” This attitude has certainly helped him strengthen his perception of coffee and today he can confidently say that his love for it grows each day and that he even feels privileged and excited by each new coffee he tries.
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With the championship only weeks away, it’s going to be a fun ride for John and we at ROASTe sincerely wish him the best of luck and are really excited to see what kind of magic he’ll make at the competition!

/files/WorldBaristaChampionship.JG_.BW_.jpg" alt="World Barista Championship competitor John Gordon - espresso machine" title="World Barista Championship competitor John Gordon - espresso machine" height="334" width="500" />