South Africa’s Barista Competition champion oozes passion andzest, and not only about coffee and coffee beans but also about living life to the full. A coffee date with Winston Thomas, 26, from Strand is like an education in coffee but also re-energises you to stay alert to the complex flavours in your coffee.
Thomas’ route to the title of Champion Barista started when he was studying civil engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and would pound the pavements in search of a good cuppa java.
“I think most people’s starting point is wanting to upgrade from instant coffee to the coffee you’ll get at a coffee shop,” he says.
“So when I was a first year student I would explore the city and go coffee shop hopping and when I had my first great cup of coffee I remember thinking, ‘Wow! I don’t have to add sugar to this’.”
Despite his coffee curiosity Thomas finished his civil engineering studies, something he says made his mother happy, but at the first opportunity he made every effort to become a barista.
“I had a bucket list and I wanted to tick things off, doing a barista course was on the list,” says Thomas. “I was working weekends at the Palms Market at a coffee stall there, and during the June holidays of 2013 I signed up to the barista course at Origin,” he adds.
It was a crash course and a coffee wake-up and he knew that soon he’d plunge himself head first into the world of coffee beans.
“I remember it so clearly because I had my last exam and then I came to Origin afterwards for a cup of coffee and the waitress recognised me from the course that I did. She mentioned that there was a position for a barista and that I should apply.”
The rest was history. He started working at the coffee shop in De Waterkant, Green Point but he also had a goal in mind.
“I wanted to enter the Barista Champs and the first time I did, I won the Aeropress Competition and got the opportunity to travel with the SA Barista Champion to the World Champs in Dublin.”
It was there that Thomas was inspired by the best of the best to really set the bar higher and become a better barista.
There was a slight panic for him this year when he re-entered the competition, travelled to Johannesburg and realised that the coffee he had chosen to prepare tasted very differently when mixed with the water up north than with the water in Cape Town.
When he left Cape Town the brew he had been practising with had flavours of black tea and lime and when he used the water in Johannesburg the coffee changed and had hints of oranges and grapefruit. This wasn’t a setback for him and he came out on top and is aiming even higher.
An African barista has never won the World Barista Championships or even cracked the Top 14, something which is a big concern for Thomas. “Competitors who do the best don’t even come from producing countries,” he says.
On the global stage it appears to be the case where the wealthiest competitor can get the best and rarest beans, and by virtue of that, produce the best coffee.
But for Thomas, talent and a love for the beans are still an important factor as he prepares to take on the best in the business.
“I’ve only ever used African beans when I compete and this is important because both African baristas and beans need to be put on a stronger stage,” he says.
“I’m also passionate about making coffee with the consumer in mind. So if I use rare and expensive beans, the majority of coffee lovers would never get to taste it,” he adds.
Thomas says it’s now full steam ahead for the World Barista Championships taking place in Seoul from November 9-12.