Lovejoy gets roasted
ZIMBABWEAN EXPATRIATE: SOUTH AFRICA’S CHAMPION BARISTA
Gets a kick out of creating a feast for the eyes, nose and taste buds.
Lovejoy Chirambasukwa had been in the coffee business for only four years when he was crowned the 2013 South African Barista Champion and All Africa Barista Champion.
The year before he had won the inaugural Speciality Coffee Association of Southern Africa Latte Art Competition, so it was clear he was destined to make his mark in the world of coffee.
Flash forward to 2019 and Chirambasukwa, 37, is the roastery manager for Craft Coffee in Johannesburg and is planning a future which involves one or two coffee shops of his own as well as inspiring the next crop of coffee professionals.
Before a tour of the Newtown-based Craft Roastery, organised by the Design Assemblage this week, we sat down with him over a cup of high-quality coffee to find out more about how it all began.
Tell us how it all started?
I was born in the small Zimbabwe town of Banket and moved to South Africa in 2009 following the economic collapse of the country. My coffee journey began after I saw an article in the Cape
Times about a guy who was looking for people to train as baristas for his Origin Coffee company. I had nothing to lose as I literally had only 50 cents left in my pocket. I was that guy who used to sit on the side of the road waiting for odd jobs so I could get money to buy food for the day. Jake Easton from Origin had a tiny slot in the training school and gave me a shot. I never looked back.
Tell us about Cra Coffee
Craft Coffee is the brainchild of our parent company, called The Daily Buzz, which was started in 2006 by Andrew Brown. He was working for one of the major banks and was frustrated by not having a proper cup of coffee when he was at work. He spotted an opportunity to change the coffee landscape and Craft Coffee was born.
As the name infers, it is all about passion, skill and knowledge. We pride ourselves on unlocking the potential in everything that we do and the best part of what we do is to make everyone’s day enjoyable. We roast coffee to perfection and have a team of people who are highly skilled and passionate about all things coffee.
Where do your beans come from?
We work with a couple of green coffee suppliers and are all about ethically sourced coffee beans. At present our roastery has coffees from Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, Brazil, El Salvador, Kenya, Uganda and Guatemala, to name just a few. We are always on the lookout for the most exciting and delicious coffee with a story behind it.
How long does it take to train to be a barista?
It takes only two to three days to train someone to become familiar with the coffee and the machines they will be using in a cafe or restaurant, but it takes forever to become a really good barista because a really good barista never stops learning.
What is the secret to making the perfect coffee?
The secret lies in a few important things: the coffee that will be used, in terms of flavour, the understanding of the equipment and, without doubt, the love and passion for coffee. My golden rule is if you can’t drink it yourself then it’s not perfect.
What coffee do you order when out and about?
Because I work with coffee on a daily basis, I taste or drink my coffee in different ways, so every day is different. To be able to taste what the other roasters are doing, I will either have an espresso or a V60. This allows me to assess the flavour, as well as judge the quality of the coffee being served.
Tell us about the awards you have won
I was the Latte Art Champion in 2012 and went on to represent South Africa in Melbourne, Australia. The following year I was crowned the South Africa Barista Champion and All Africa Barista Champion. I have also won accolades for best espresso, best overall impression for presentation, best cappuccino and best signature drink.
What do you have to do at these barista championships?
You have to bring your A-game and wow the judges. You are judged on three aspects: coffee knowledge and taste, technical skills – on how you operate your equipment – and on how you present yourself. Because you become an ambassador for your country in the specialty coffee field. Of course you have to make coffee for the judges, talk about the coffee in terms of how it was roasted, why you chose that particular coffee and explain the flavour or taste notes to the judges.
What can those touring the
Cra Roastery with the Design Assemblage expect?
Lots of coffee tasting and information sharing. I live coffee, breathe coffee and sleep coffee. Those touring our roastery will be privileged to witness the coffee roasting in action, have their questions answered by our coffee experts, get to do a cupping session with us – which is a critical quality process in the manufacturing of coffee – and get to meet the ordinary Lovejoy in action and share his coffee experience with them.
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
Life permitting, I will definitely still be involved with coffee – hopefully running one or two coffee outlets of my own – serving some amazing coffees and teaching people about coffee. I also want to inspire the next crop of coffee professionals and travel and tour coffee farms both at home and abroad.
Anything else you would like to add?
My other passion is product development and innovation, and I recently developed a hot chocolate that is being served across all our sites, as well as being sold to our external clients. I also love farming, am a big Manchester United fan and I love cricket and music.