Volunteering and certifications have become a great part of my coffee pathway.
While I was switching from a working-holiday visa to student visa in Taiwan, I did the Q-grader course and passed. By that time, the license only started to get popular in Europe.
I knew nothing of green coffee, and have never touched one until the course. Yet I dreamed big about getting Q license.
My goal was simple: To get as much as certifications to increase the possibility of getting a sponsorship visa after finishing the study.
During my student life in UK, I also attended many SCA certificated modules such as Barista(intermediate), Brewing(intermediate), Sensory(professional), and Green Coffee(professional). To make myself more eligible for a sponsorship visa, I also became an Authorised SCA Trainer.
These certifications did eventually help my resume looked better. (💵💵Expensive though..)However, it also became an obstacle for me because some company thought I was too qualified for the job. (Yet with my two years of barista experience, I was still a baby!)
Volunteering was another crucial part that keeps me going. I volunteered for the Norwegian Aeropress Championship in 2015, which led me to meet the owner of@lippekaffe.
Pia and Alexander were very nice and accepted my proposal of volunteering in the roastery right before my working-holiday visa ended.
Other than the above experience, I also volunteered for RE:CO Europe, Barista connect, ICO, SCA...etc.
Having volunteered in the roastery was crucial. It gave me more insights into how roastery works. From this specific experience, I also decided not to focus on roasting, but target my direction to green coffee.
I perhaps also wouldn’t take the AST path because I’ve learned my passion is in sensory!
These experiences will not just enrich your career, it will as well create more doors for you. The opportunities are there for you. You could either wait for it or create it.
Having an awareness of what you like and dislike is equally important to choose your own path.
🅂🅃🄰🅈 🅃🅄🄽🄴
Volunteering at RE:CO Symposium in 2017.
Volunteering at 2014 Norwegian Aeropress Championship.
EMCEE at WBC 2018 in Amsterdam.
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