A Japanese barista that sets new standards by working hard, being brave and giving back.

Barista Championship 2017 in Seoul had many memorable and emotional moments. One of them was when the winners of WBC 2017 were announced. As they announced the third place, it became obvious that there were only two people left: Miki Suzuki and Dale Harris. Everyone hold their breath as there was a big possibility for 2017 to become the year of female barista champion. Although, Miki got the second place, she set the new example for future contestants and surprised everyone with freezing coffee beans and using “double grind” method.

Where did you grow up and what was the coffee culture there like?

My name is Miki Suzuki, I am from Japan and I have been working in Maruyama coffee since 2008, almost 10 years. I grew up in Yokohama, it is next to Tokyo. In Japan people traditionally like to drink coffee and I feel that Japanese coffee culture is very diverse: we have Western style coffee places, traditional Kissatens (a tea-drinking shop where customers can also buy coffee) and Italian bars. There are many different styles of drinking coffee and we respect them all.

Does your family drink coffee and how was your first coffee drinking experience?

My parents love to drink coffee. I do not remember exactly, but first time when I tried coffee I was about 3 or 5 years old and I did not like it back then. But after I turned 20, I started to like it a lot.

What did you do before entering coffee industry? What did you learn from your previous job?

After I graduated high school, I went to a bakery school and learned how to do pastry because I wanted to be a patisserie. So after studying there for 2 years, I worked in a pastry shop for 3 years. I chose to be a chef, because I love making people smile. In Japan usually eat cakes for special events like birthdays and anniversaries. So cakes and pastry are associated with fun and festivity. And I wanted to bring this into people’s lives.

How did you enter coffee industry?

At some point I realized that pastry is not my path. Around the same time, thanks to Starbucks, I started drinking coffee: from Caramel Frappuccinos to black coffee, that’s how I fell in love with it. In 2007 I started my first coffee job in Zoka Coffee, company from Seattle. I really wanted to become a barista but at that time not so many people actually knew who barista was. After working in Zoka for a year, I got a proposal from newly opened Maruyama coffee.

How did you get into competitions?

My boss told me that I have to compete and that’s what I did. Our team supports me a lot, because you need a lot of time, money and power to prepare for a championship. I am extremely grateful for my team, and especially to Kentaro Maruyama(founder of Maruyama Coffee), Hidenori Izaki (World Barista Champion 2014) and Mie Nakahara (Japanese Barista Champion 2009).

Would you say that you are a competitive person?

Honestly, I can get very nervous because I don’t feel comfortable speaking in front of a lot of people. Even now after all the competitions and practice, I am still nervous a bit while presenting my coffee. While preparing for the championship, one of the hardest things for me was to keep my motivation and balance my private life and competition practice. I even lost some friends as I did not have enough time to meet them and spend time together. But now it will be different as it was my last year competing.

How does it feel to be a first woman that got a second place in WBC? Did it help your career?

I started competing internationally in 2011, at that time I was already a finalist. This time my motivation was that I wanted to become a female champion, I wanted to become a hero for other female baristas. In fact, we need a female finalist every year, not just from time to time.

Do you think that there is any difference between male and female baristas and the treatment they get?

Usually, women face a hard decision: they create a family and take care of it or they stick to their job and improve themselves. It might be the most difficult choice for a woman. So to compete any participant needs a lot of time and experience, but women get less of it as they face this hard choice. Especially in Japan, where the culture is very traditional. There are a lot of female baristas in Japan, but not so may participate in competitions.

What challenges did you face during championships?

I think the hardest thing to do is to gather a good team, because it is not just a barista doing everything by him/herself. There are a lot of products that were prepared in advance, that trained me and helped me understand coffee better. I am very satisfied with my result because I did my best and people that stood by me are also satisfied. Now I want to support our team and prepare a new champion too.

Do you have a coffee idol?

It is Stephen Morrissey, World Barista Champion 2008. I met him in Bogota when he was judging my performance. At that time I was thinking “I can’t believe Stephen Morrissey is drinking my espresso!”. And luckily, he gave me good points.

What inspires you?

People! Coffee connect the world. If I wasn’t in coffee industry, I would not meet so many friends around the world, they all support me and I am very grateful to every one. I also want to show to a younger generation that barista’s job has many opportunities.

If you wouldn’t be in coffee industry what would you do?

I would brew beer, I love beer! My favourite beer is from Yo-Ho Brewing. I know how to brew beer myself and it would be definitely the next thing to try.

First side text:

2009 Japan Barista Championship – 9th Place
2010 Japan Barista Championship – 1st Place
2011 Japan Barista Championship – 1st Place
2010 World Barista Championship – 5th Place
2011 World Barista Championship – 4th Place 

2017 World Barista Championship – 2nd Place 

2016 Japan Barista Championship – 1st Place