– Can you please introduce yourself in a few words.
Hi I’m Doug, originally from the UK and now working for MOK coffee in the Brussels shop.
– What’s your story in the coffee industry?
I have been working in the industry since I left school 7 years ago. I’ve worked in a variety of specialty shops, most notably Colonna and Smalls, the Shop affiliated with the Colonna coffee roastery. I spent the last 3 years there and learned more in that time than I ever have, it was amazing experience.
– What’s your specialty and what makes you different?
I try not to over complicate things and let amazing coffees take the foreground. Taste for me is the ultimate parameter.
– What was your first coffee experience?
Drinking a caffetiere of dark roast coffee with my parents sitting outside our tent in the south of France. I pretended to like it to seem grown up.
– How/when have you discovered about specialty coffee?
I was 17 and stumbled upon a cafe serving coffee roasted by Round hill roastery in the UK. I started talking to them and ended up buying an Aeropress and a bag of beans to play around with at home.
– What was your best coffee experience?
Hard to pick out one, probably having the chance to try all of the incredible coffees I’ve had over the last 5 years. Cheesy I know.
– Do you prepare coffee at home ? If yes, what method do you use?
Yes, usually an Aeropress but I’ll use a caffetiere if I have guests round.
– How do you like your coffee? Black, sugar and milk, iced, vietnamese style,…?
Black, espresso or filter with nothing added.
– How would you qualify yourself as coffee drinker (occasional, heavy, addict…)?
Addict probably, since a day without coffee means headaches and drowsiness now!
– Have you always been into the coffee industry? If not, what was your previous job?
Since I left school, but before that I had a weekend job scooping ice cream.
– Do you have another passion or a hobby besides coffee?
Music is probably my main passion after coffee, I spend a lot of my time off listening and searching for new and interesting things.
– What other place would you recommend, anywhere in the world (coffee or not)?
Coffeewise I would recommend Colonna & Smalls in Bath, UK. I know I’m a bit biased but I really think it’s one of the best shops out there. Other than that I really love the coastline in the UK, Cornwall and Devon in England and Pembrokeshire in Wales are gorgeous.
– What is/are your favorite website(s) to get information about coffee?
I’m usually the kind of person to just Google a word or phrase and see what comes up but if I had to choose it would probably be Perfect Daily Grind.
– What would you say to people who don’t know much about coffee?
Drink more and keep your mind open, coffee is a very personal thing for a lot of people, but you may be surprised if you take a chance and order something different. Also a great way to learn more is to talk to baristas, most will be glad to talk and know a lot of about the subject.
