Wojciech Rzytki ( Coffeelab ): Coffee Insurrection Hero Chapter #87

Published by Tanya in Coffee Insurrection Hero · 13 February 2024
Tags: Coffee_Interview, Specialty_Coffee, Wojciech_Rzytki, Warsaw, Poland

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

I’m Wojciech Rzytki, head of coffee at Coffeelab, a Polish roastery based in Warsaw. My main job is selecting green beans and profiling coffees.

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

It’s hard to give a straightforward answer, as there was no particular moment. It just clicked in the right place at the right moment. Like with first love, you have no idea when it happens, but when it does, you go wholeheartedly. In my case, I guess it was somewhere around the point when I'd begun to roast coffee and took responsibility for green grain selection.

3- Do you remember the first coffee you had that was more than "just a cup of coffee"?

I’d go with the first roast of my life; it tasted like a cupboard and ashtray but motivated me to keep pushing forward, work harder, and be genuinely better.

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

For someone who works next to loud machinery, this may sound odd, but peace and quiet. On the other hand, long-term relationships established with producers are of the utmost value, just like the relationship with Valentin from the Gasharu plantation in Rwanda, whose coffees are synonyms of quality and how the business is supposed to work.

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

Clever, definitely, because of its simplicity, functionality, and accessibility.

6- Which is the best coffee you ever tasted?

I’m not the type who had the best coffee of his life. There are too many good coffees, each unique in its way. But I always admire clean coffees, especially the good old-fashioned washed coffees.

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

So far, Colombians were my first to go, but this year, Brazil has taken the lead thanks to their funky fermentation style that suits their coffees so well. The other reason is that this country has been recognised as having a typical chocolaty and nutty flavour. Nowadays, it’s not so much of a truth, is it?

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

Runty Roasters: Consistency in the best possible form, and I do not only mean the quality of work, which is of the highest standards, but his constant improvement, from the bullet roaster up to this point, is beyond my imagination.

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

I’ve realised that almost all errors can be repaired and that nothing is finite.

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

No comment.

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

3 things:

1. The relationship between coffee roasters and farmers will be even more bonded.

2. Funky fermentations will reach a certain end, timeless washed coffees will have their comeback, and history will reach a closed circle.

3. Decaf robusta’s coming out.

12- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hm… For sure, in business still. To be more precise... somewhere around a few pallets of green coffee, probably facing 120 kg bad boy. Or, at least, at Kenya’s beach somewhere near Mombasa port.

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

“Be patient, young Padawan.” Believe in yourself and have loads of self-confidence because you're the only one holding yourself back from success.