Lors du championnat du monde de torréfaction le 15 juin à Vienne, dans le cadre du World’s Barista Championship, notre ami Josué Morales du Guatémala a eu les secondes meilleures notes derrière le champion australien. Toutes nos félicitations Josué !

Josue Morales
Mayaland Coffee, Guatemala

My name is Josué Morales, master roaster and cupper for Mayaland Coffee in Guatemala City. I started in coffee when I was 19 years old, while researching on development programs as part of my university studies in economics and political sciences. Traveling back and forth the northern part of Huehuetenango in the time where there were no roads, I would make 20 plus hour drives from Huehuetenango back to Guatemala City bringing back one bag of pergamino coffee at a time, had it roasted and packaged at a local roasterie in order to sell what I could, keep some for sampling and at least a couple of bags for myself. Years later I learned that the way I always did things was called Direct Trade, I only roasted the best coffees I could find which were regarded as Specialty Coffees. Cupping came as a necessity during the following years, since at first my only way of grading coffee was examining the beans at farm level in the palm of my hand prior to deciding if I wanted to buy. My first roaster I found in a garage and took about 4 months to restore it, it was an Otto Swadlo (Probat’s grandfather). My view of coffee has always been intrinsically interwoven with enhancing the identity of my country, being a firm believer in the concept of terroir I advocate that even a farmer’s character can be found in the assessment of a coffee. Mayaland Coffee came as a result of this vision and experience, as well as being able to pair myself with the right set of partners who shared my desire to become the leading international roasters of Guatemalan Coffees while creating a global brand.

Years Roasting Coffee: 8
Current Roaster: 60 kilo, US Roaster Corp.
Preferred Weather Conditions for Roasting: I start roasting every day at 5am, and that for me is the best condition, regardless of the weather its more about the silence, the deeper connection with coffee while my brain is really sharp. Guatemalan mornings are always cool and that helps with setting the appropriate stage for a stable roasting schedule throughout the day.
Roasting Mascot: La Tancho, its the name of my roasting machine.
Roasting Secret: Consistency. Any roaster can pull a perfect batch, obviously subject to a point of view, but a perfect batch is possible. My strength as a roaster does not come from celebrating a perfect roast, but from being able to reproduce it under variable conditions, over and over again.
If I win the Coffee Roasting Challenge in Vienna, I will…:  Want to keep learning, discovering. So far my roasting experience and my roasting technique has been developed almost exclusively for Guatemalan Coffees. So yes, I want to learn more.