For the third year in a row, Square Mile Coffee Roasters will be represented at the World Barista Championship as the coffee of choice of the UK Barista Champion ”good news for all of us friends of owners James and Anette, as it means they will be in Atlanta for the event in April. But what adds to the excitement is the guy, himself ”UKBC champion Gwilym Davies.
(photo by James)
“Gwilym is great, such an interesting character and possibly the nicest guy alive,” Anette emailed me. “I’m so pleased that a tweed wearing, flat capped, cart working, boat living, unassuming coffee loving bearded guy like that is going to represent coffee in the UK!”
More than 60 baristas competed for the title of 2009 UK Barista Champion. “The win has been the result of working so long in the industry and my love of coffee,” Gwilyn said after the competition in early March. “But it isn’t really about me ”it’s about all the people in the chain including the farmers and the roasters. I’ve simply tried to do justice to the coffee and today’s equipment.”
Gwilym spends his days running two coffee carts in London’s east end. “Coffee carts make coffee totally accessible to eeryone and means that we don’t have any of the operational worries of a fixed site,” Gwilym explains. “We can concentrate on serving really great coffee, made just the way we like it.”
James and Anette often visit one of Gwilym’s carts, located ”according to Anette ””very conveniently,” near Square Mile’s headquarters.
James snapped this photo on a recent Sunday outing to see Gwilym.
We’re all looking forward to meeting Gwilym and the 53 other national barista champions he’ll be competing against in Atlanta. See everyone very soon!
