Espacio Tuesta

Watch Carlos’s set here

The journey leading up to WBrC

The beginning

When did you first get into coffee?

I started drinking coffee when I was around 20 years old and studying engineering, but I didn't really get into coffee until 2018, when I started working at a commercial coffee shop.

What was it that drew you to the industry and made you want to pursue specialty coffee as a career?

“In 2018 I also had the chance to travel to Colombia and watch the Colombian barista championship. It was such a powerful experience. Then I came back and competed in nationals and since then I'm in love with coffee competitions and sharing all the stories behind a cup.”

When you are brewing for yourself or friends, what is your favourite brew method and what do you like about it?

“I really enjoy percolation methods and I usually go for a v60 or origami air. I generally use acrylic methods because they're easy to use and I generally like light roasted coffees, so they help me retain heat during extraction.”

What made you want to start competing in coffee? 

“At the time I was trying new things to get out of the comfort zone and in coffee competitions I found a platform to do this and to share coffee stories.”

The coffee

We would love to share as much information about the coffee/coffees that you took to WBrC with our community, please tell us as much information about it as you can. We would love to know its varieties, altitude, processing, origin, density (if known), anything and everything that you can tell us. 

“I used a Sidra variety from Colombia. It was produced by Granja la Esperanza In Valle del Cauca, in Colombia, in Finca Potosí. It Grows between 1400 and 2000MASL. It was naturally processed and fermented for 48 hours in a tank, then dried in silos for another 48 hours and then dried at sun for 8 more days. The density was around 0.72 g/ml.”

Origin: Colombia

Producer: Granja la Esperanza in Valle del Cauca, in Colombia, in Finca Potosí.

Altitude: 1,400-2,000masl

Processing: Naturally processed and fermented for 48 hours in a tank, then dried in silos for another 48 hours and then dried at sun for 8 more days.

Density: 0.72g/ml.

How did you find this coffee? 

“Last year a friend of mine gave me 20 grams of a past crop of this sidra and I immediately fell in love.”

What drew you to this coffee? 

“For me it was already an amazing coffee but later I found that it was perfect to represent what's happening in the Chilean market. New varieties, and new experiences for customers. So the Sidra wasn't so popular and it suited beautifully in the routine.”

The roasting

How did you approach this particular coffee?

“I profiled a very similar coffee before so it wasn't that hard. But finding what I wanted to show about this coffee was the really hard part because it is so complex and has many different flavors. I profiled it by roasting and cupping and then I found a recipe that behaved similar to what I was getting in the cupping bows.”

How many different profiles/iterations did you have to go through before you got the flavour that you were after?

“I did around 5 or 6 iterations trying to find a roasting style for this coffee and then maybe 2 or 3 more to adjust the final flavor profile.”

What batch sizes were you roasting?

“I roasted it in 100 gr batches.”

Did you run into any challenges roasting this coffee?

“For me it was surprising, for a Natural, how far I had to push it after first crack to really get a good flavor expression. I roasted it with 20% DTR.”

What did you enjoy about roasting on the Kaffelogic?

“Is a really great roaster. I chose it because it's so versatile! Also I did the entire competition and practices with only 3 kg and roasting in 100g was a really useful batch size.”

Do you have any tips or tricks that you used when roasting your coffee?

“I always try to check humidity, room temperature and I also have a voltage regulator. This makes this roaster a really reliable tool.”

The brewing

What was your process when dialling in your coffee?

“I was getting awesome results in the cupping so I moved my variables to get a similar result on the Origamis.”

What equipment did you choose to use and why?

“I used Origami Air and Brewista X filters. I chose the Origamis because they're so stable, they keep temperature really well and this gave me so much consistency. And the filters really helped me enhance the body of this coffee.”

Did you use anything unique in your brewing process and what did it change in your brew?

“I chose a very easy and consistent brewing process and focused on the judges' experience.”

The preparation

To get to the World Coffee Championships, you first need to win a few local competitions. Some countries have regional and national competitions, whilst some only have national competitions. What was your journey like working your way up to becoming the champion of Chile?

“I started competing in WBC in 2018 and in 2019 I won my first nationals. On 2021 I competed in Milan and ended up in 33th position. Then for 2022 nationals I changed to the WBrC format because as an independent competitor it was a more achievable project. Then I won those national classifications to Melbourne 2022 but I couldn't get my visa on time. Then I deferred to Athens!”

What gave you the idea around your routine? What was the motivation behind the message that you shared on stage?

“My routine speaks about the reality of the specialty coffee market in Chile. I was inspired by how baristas in Chile are sharing better coffee experiences to show people what coffee can be.”

What did you enjoy most about preparation and what did you dislike about it?

“I really enjoyed all the things I've learned along the way, all the people that I've met and all the stories behind each coffee. And i can't say i disliked it but you have to sacrifice some time with family and friends sometimes.”

Looking back and towards the future

Looking back at WBrC this past year and your experience through it, what has been the biggest takeaway from it all?

“The most important lesson is that if you have discipline and you're willing to invest time on this, you can make it.”

What has been the biggest challenge that you have had to overcome?

“For me the hardest thing was finding money to pay for the coffee and the equipment.”

You have already taken the 2023 Brewers Cup win, but are we going to see you on stage again next year or in the future?

“This next year I want to share my knowledge and to guide other competitors on this format. Maybe later I'll be competing again.”