– Can you please introduce yourself in a few words.
I’m a husband and padre from Texas and I live in Latvia where I work as a freelancer (photography, copywriting, social media).

– What’s your story in the coffee industry?
I’ve yet to work in coffee, I guess I work alongside the industry taking photos for the BGE & various local coffee events in Riga. Though I’ve independently brewed filter coffee at a few catering events, does that count?

– What was your first coffee experience?
The aroma of my parents brewing the American classic, Folgers.

– How/when have you discovered about specialty coffee?
At some point I stopped going to Starbucks and started to casually drink specialty (noticing something was different) at Local Coffee in San Antonio, Texas. I had a wow moment with Counter Culture’s Rustico and then started to get a little more into coffee.

– What was your best coffee experience?
That Rustico moment was pretty cool. And cupping a bourbon barrel aged Burundi at Barista Camp in Italy was nice!

– Do you prepare coffee at home ? If yes, what method do you use?
I do! Good ‘ol V60.

– How do you like your coffee? Black, sugar and milk, iced, vietnamese style,…?
Black. And when it’s hot I prefer iced pour overs rather than cold brew, unless it’s MacIntyre’s (London) bourbon oaked cold brew.

– How would you qualify yourself as coffee drinker (occasional, heavy, addict…)?
Well before I got into specialty I’d say I was a pretty heavy drinker. But now, I’d say normal? I mean, I taste a lot of coffee when I visit shops or a roaster.

– What other place would you recommend, anywhere in the world (coffee or not)?
Alpine, Texas. My sister and bro-in-law opened up Cedar Coffee Supply last year in the remote Texas town. They brew great coffee and the Alpine/Marfa area is legendary. Just ask Beyonce, she knows what’s up.

– What is/are your favorite website(s) to get information about coffee?
I get Perger’s newsletter, which is mostly not relevant for me. And I find James Hoffmann’s newsletter pretty cool as it’s not just about coffee.

– What would you say to people who don’t know much about coffee?
Never stop enjoying coffee 🙂

Published by

Thomas

Thomas Wyngaard est fondateur de OK Coffee et un des rares experts en Café de Spécialité en Belgique francophone. Il est consultant indépendant, enseignant (certifié par la Specialty Coffee Association de janvier 2018 à avril 2021), tour-ist et broadcaster. Après avoir été formé en France, en Pologne et en Estonie, il fait ses armes chez les meilleurs en Belgique, pour ensuite migrer pendant presque 2 ans à New York où il a officié comme conseiller et formateur. Au-delà de la formation sur les métiers du café, il collabore avec des torréfactions belges engagées sur la reconnaissance du café de spécialité, œuvrant ainsi à un monde meilleur “one bean at a time”.