Page 14 - SBrewing(SeptOct2022)

Page 14 www.beveragestandardsassociation.co.uk

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER . 2022 | VOL.26

Meet The Barista!

What technology do you love, and what
technology do you hate?

In general, I can say that I appreciate technology where
it supports man and does not replace human skills.

This concept is applicable even to the coffee industry,
where machinery tech often tends to substitute the
skills of the barista making them lethargic. I am in favour
Mr Nicola Pace of a compromise between modernity and an old-
UK Head of Training fashioned approach.

If the café was burning down, what piece of
equipment would you save?

No doubt I would save the grinder, the most important
piece of equipment in our sector.

Without reducing the beans into little particles, we
cannot apply any brewing method, so we cannot serve
customers, drink coffee at home, manufacture
grounded coffee for the retail sector, and so on….

Favourite hot beverage? (or cold variant)

I must be honest, I don't have a specific preference, I
can enjoy all sorts of drinks, as long as they are made
well. Although I have a predilection for pour-over and
filter coffee extraction. I don't particularly like drinks
with creams and syrups.

How and when did you become a barista? Who is your roaster and why did you choose
them?
Like many university students, I have worked from time
to time in Italy in the hospitality sector, however, my first In my case, I work directly for a coffee roaster. Years
more reasoned and significant experience took place ago, I applied and sent my curriculum vitae because I
knew the prestige of the brand and the quality of their
here in London about 11 years ago. products, I genuinely wanted to be part of their journey.
I must say that after years, my esteem for the brand has
After moving to the UK, I started this job simply to pay all remarkably increased.
my expenses, but I immediately realised how stimulating
the coffee sector was, so as a teacher I could find Can you share one sustainability practice with
everything I was looking for: action, dynamics, history, other baristas?
science, training, experimentation, research, and
interaction, a combination of elements and disciplines Being Training Manager of Kimbo Coffee Academy
suited for me. London, I use a lot of coffee beans and takeaway cups
on a weekly basis, in order to give an example of
I already knew from the beginning that being a Barista sustainability I recycle the used coffee after each
would have been only a primordial phase of my session. In addition, as a team, we recycle paper and
professional growth in the coffee sector. plastic.

In three words what distinguishes your café? When you’re not working, where can we find you?
Good question! As a parent, I am tremendously busy
Tradition, uniqueness, and consistency with my son, however in the few moments when I can
relax, I dedicate myself to music, my greatest passion. I
am a musician and musicologist, so I continue to
cultivate this passion even if only in my spare time.