Agnieszka Rojewska: Coffee Insurrection Hero Chapter #7

Published by Tanya in Coffee Insurrection Hero · 12 April 2021
Tags: AgnieszkaRojewska, Carimali, Interview, Poland

1. Introduce yourself: who are you, where are you from, where do you work and what’s your job.

My name is Agnieszka. I’m from Poland. Currently I work for Carimali as Head of coffee quality – I check our machines and together with RD team try to improve the performance of new products.

2. When and why did coffee become important to you?

It was around 2009 when I started to understand that coffee is more than just a bucket of milk with caramel syrup and it can taste great without additional stuff.

3. Do you remember the first coffee you had that was more than “just a cup of coffee”?

Not really sure exactly but I think it was natural Ethiopia or Kenya – both of them were a big thing to me.

4. What’s your favorite thing about going to work in the morning?

That I will drink my 500ml of coffee – and I keep all the gems in freezer in the office.

5. What’s your favorite brewing method and why?

I like clever dripper because I don’t really need to focus of making it – so it is great for my mornings. The other thing I like is flat bed brewer like kalita 185 or April brewer – I enjoy how they influence the body of the cup.

6. Which is the best coffee you ever tasted?

Hard to say – I hope it is still in front of me. For now, of course my WBC Ethiopian coffee the other one that I keep in my mind is Eugenoidis espresso from Wojtek Białczak during WBC 2019 in Boston.

7. Is there a country of origin that you tend to favor coffee from? Why?

I think Ethiopia and Colombia. They just always satisfy my need of complex coffee.

8. Suggest us a roastery to check (not the one you working at/you use at work).

I would say Standout Coffee.

9. What’s the most important things you’ve learnt while working in the business?

That there is nothing sure in this business – everything is constantly changing.

10. How your work and the specialty coffee world are coping with Covid and the new challenges for hospitality?

Mine work didn’t change a lot – as I mostly test machines. I just see that manufacturers of coffee machines have really hard time now, and coffee shops as well. Governments are not helping a lot, especially in Poland. And business owners are left for themselves.

11. How do you the specialty coffee scene in 10 years?

I think it will be much more automated and we will see a lot of new species and varietals in coffee shops.

12. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully in a peaceful place, with a dog, making coffee from time to time.

13. Any last word? Any tip or suggestion you wanna share with someone that want to start this path?

Coffee is not an easy career, but it really worth the effort.

Cover Pic @lucarinaldi