Thank you for meeting us. You are currently working in Brisman in Jeżyce, but you also have an extraordinary talent. Cup tasting! You were the Polish Champion 2016/2017. Can you tell us what the cup tasting competition is all about …

Talent is a pretty big word, I trained a lot. Essentially, cup tasting is sensory testing and comparing coffee. At the championships, each competitor has eight sets of three cups of coffee to test and sift, and each of them must choose one that is different from the rest. However, this is not so simple, these coffees usually differ only in the farm on which it is grown, or in the fact that some grow 400 meters higher.

What made you decide to take part in the competition?

I wanted to check if I could compete against other baristas, often with more experience. It was my first championship, so honestly I was happy when I came to the finals, and it ended better than everyone expected.

How did you know you were good at it?

Well, I did not know, I guessed that I could do something there, if only for the sake of experience. Senses evolve over time, you have to knock down a lot of cups of coffee from various regions and plantations. Its not something you can rush.

Your work in Brisman is the perfect place for you, considering how well Brisman’s coffee is known. But you also have another talent that we’ve heard about. Baking cakes! Do you create your own recipes?

Baking is my second hobby, surprisingly, that can take most of my free time. It’s terribly relaxing, good music, a nice cup of tea cup and an oven, a wonderful combination. As for the recipes, my cakes are 90% experiments, I do not like rigidly sticking to the rules. I do everything “by eye” and probably taste, or at least I hope so.

Poznań has developed a lot over the last years. People are more and more picky when choosing places to eat or drink in the city. Why do you think it is so?

The matter is very simple, the consumer has finally become aware and  product conscious.

I’m not an expert when it comes to coffee. What distinguishes Brisman coffee from others on the market?

That’s what Brisman is all about! You do not have to be an expert when you come to us, we know what we do and we know how to talk and advise. We do not wait for customers to read the entire menu, we go out with the initiative, we talk. We care that you leave happy and by the way you can talk to us about coffee, or actually anything else.

Apparently, you organize a workshop in Brisman. What is it actually about?

Not only me, almost every one here conducts workshops, we want to share our knowledge and many years of experience. We talk about every topic of coffee, from the processes still taking place in the plantation, through cupping, to painting with milk and brewing in various alternative devices.

Which coffee beans are the best for you?

A really hard question! I will tell you about two seeds that were particularly memorable to me. These are coffee from completely opposite taste poles: Ethiopia Aramo and Indie Karadzkan, both roasted in Poland, by the Krakow roasters Coffee Roasters.
The first one surprises with a fruity fragrance, it still smells like ripe berries and strawberries before grinding. In the form of espresso, live acidity is extracted and incredibly high sweetness, when we add frothed milk to it, it turns into a strawberry cocktail, and all without any syrupy “enhancers!” The second coffee when prepared as an espresso tastes very clean, is densely thick, like hot chocolate and gives a good kick!

Places like Brisman are really popular. Why do you think it is so?

Because we are human! We, as a society no longer want to go to places where robots serve us, less and less like large corporations, employing millions of people for whom the individual is nothing. We are looking for places like our basement with easy going, cool people behind the bar, people with whom we can talk about everything, not just approach, pay, take away coffee and leave.

We would like to test your taste buds and organize a meeting to make a video on which you try different kinds of coffee and say which one is which. What do you think?

Sure. You’re welcome. Come on!

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