What’s your favourite hobby that’s not coffee?
I have a love for water and spend as much time as possible out-rigging (a form of kayaking) on the China Sea and on Taal Lake in the Philippines.
What do you do?
I run my Hong Kong/Shanghai based company EPM Asia. We produce filming locations across Asia and China for a range of production clients including Disney Nature, National Geographic, BBC Natural History, and Discovery Network. I am also the co-owner of the Villa Barako Coffee Plantation in the Philippines.
Our estate is just two years old and we have yet to receive our first crop but we’ve been planning this for many years. The Philippines was once a world leader in coffee production and it is our ambition to bring back to the international market a high quality Barako Coffee Bean!
What is the most unique thing about where you live?
Hong Kong is known for its city lights and tall skyscrapers, but within a short journey you can find yourself exploring the most beautiful wild landscapes across one of the many Islands.
If you could only use one piece of Brewing equipment for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
I like my coffee to be black, thick, rich, and sweet, so I would opt for a Turkish wide based copper coffee pot. I work in remote locations across Asia and always carry a pot with me to brew coffee on an open fire — I love the process of brewing Turkish coffee, its simple but effective in delivering a full-bodied cup.
Do you remember the first coffee you had that was more than just coffee? When did coffee become important to you?
It was in 2001 when I was trekking through the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. En route to a remote tribe my porters picked up dried coffee beans from a small village. That night we camped by a river. Early next morning, I woke to the most amazing smell of coffee. My porters had roasted the beans in a baked bean tin, crushed the beans on a river bed rock and brewed in a pan, cowboy style — it’s rich taste was raw, a little harsh but simply amazing. From that moment I set out to understand more about coffee and that passion has lead me to where I am today, growing coffee.
Espresso of filter?
Espresso — my preferred way to drink coffee in what I believe to be its purest form.
Too cold or too warm?
Too warm. I love my coffee hot no matter what.
Painting or photography?
Photography, for the ability to catch a moment in time which will never occur again.
First date: museum or movie?
Movie — more opportunity to snuggle!
Wizard or Jedi?
Wizard. Life should always be a magical journey.
Explore more stories
Rachel Apple is a Cup of Excellence Head Judge, photographer, and co-founder of Raise the Bar, a community and education platform for specialty coffee professionals. She loves bin diving for vinyl,...
As the sun set in Zimbabwe’s lush Honde Valley, I watched kids push car tyres up and down the street, racing each other through the village. In Africa, most often, less is more. People are used to ...
Los Angeles resists clean outlines, and its coffee culture lives somewhere between softness and grit. Built from migration, precarious work, and long-standing food traditions, it moves at uneven te...
Tinashe Nyamudoka, founder of Kumusha Wines and Kumusha Coffee, is more than a world-class sommelier; he is a symbol of how wine, culture, and competition can challenge global narratives about tast...
When exploring foreign lands, few feelings compare to the triumph of discovering something known only to locals. Realizing these euphoric moments requires a healthy pinch of boldness, however; one ...
Some coffee origins are still in the process of becoming. Malawi is one of them—a place where potential feels tangible even if not fully realized. Farmers are steadily shaping a future for their co...
Blue-sky ski days to negroni nights, Hakuba is a 24-hour town hidden in the Japanese highlands. From the staunch octogenarian locals fiercely guarding their old traditions, to the young crowd of mu...
In recent years, matcha has become one of the most popular drinks ordered and enjoyed in cafes around the world. But with its growing popularity, several issues have also emerged, ranging from a la...
As coffee grew cheaper in 18th-century Europe, it spread beyond the elite, alarming German rulers. In Prussia, Frederick the Great saw it as a threat to order, economy, and authority. His efforts t...
Valtteri Bottas is a known quantity at Standart, being as he is a past interviewee and co-owner of Finnish roastery Kahiwa. He moves quickly, and not only when he’s piloting an earthbound rocket ar...
