Seulki Lee,

Seulki’s come a long way. All the way from Korea to Berlin, in fact, where she’s now Head Barista and Roaster at one of the most uber-cool coffee shops in the city of cool. What started out as a way to pay her passage around the world has turned into a real passion for coffee, the deeper she got into it. As she says, “Everyone deserves good coffee. It really changes their day”. We couldn’t agree more!

What floats her barista boat?

She loves the science behind the art. How just a tiny adjustment to the roast or the grind can really affect the final brew. She believes that a good cup of coffee is 70% down to the bean, 20% to the roast and 10% to the brew. But before all you baristas have a hissy fit, remember that last 10% can still make all the difference!

What does she think are the latest trends?

She’s seen a few come… and go. Lavender latte or active charcoal, anyone? Matcha is absolutely the flavour of the month right now (October 2020), and probably next month, too. Plant-based in coffee is also big and getting bigger. Currently around 50% of her serves use plant-based alternatives, and she sees that figure going only in one direction. Up! Along with refills and re-usable cups, for anyone wanting to do their bit for the planet it’s the natural next step. And because the latest pro products are created to perform so well, it makes it really easy to use them.

When she’s not behind the bar she’ll...

Either be lovingly tending her huge collection of house plants or working out in the gym. Or learning computer code! It’s a two-way deal with a software engineer friend. “You want to learn Korean, then you can teach me computer language.” It’ll come in handy, she says, when she’s creating the site for her own online shop once it gets going. Meanwhile she’s busy blogging and vlogging, building up her own business brand online ready for the day.

And her own personal best brew?

Like the little black dress, it’s smart, sophisticated and never goes out of style. Her favourite single origin Ethiopan coffee, filtered at exactly the right temperature to extract all the flavour, floral notes and delicate acidity, served black, how else.