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In 2008 Caleb moved to Australia, such a dreamy picture you might face
but struggled to find a job as he had no some hardships: “It was pretty hard to
experience but had a language barrier, survive as an Asian barista back in the
that stopped him for a bit. Working at a days in 2008; I had to face the prejudice
Korean restaurant for 6 months with very that Asians cannot make coffee.” Some
low salary that hardly allowed him to customers could just leave the shop if
survive challenged him and pushed him they saw an Asian barista at the machine.
to try something new, that is how he However, this gave Caleb a strong moti-
realized that Melbourne was a coffee vation to prove that he can do this and
capital. So he opted in a coffee course win the world championship.
and never looked back. “I never thought I’d be a latte artist
because I was busy enough doing so many
The Man of the Year things in coffee. My latte art was mainly
self-taught from internet but one day I
It seems like working in a coffee started wondering how high my latte art
mecca, brewing your favorite drink and level was.” Caleb competed 2011/2012
watching the ocean every day might be season but gave a miss by no chance and
a perfect life. Nevertheless, even behind just watched 2013 WLAC results. Hisako
Yoshikawa the 2013 champion shocked
the world with her iconic ‘Rose’ free
pouring. This inspired him so much that
he decided to compete in 2014, that year
he came 2nd in Australia so had to re-try
for 2015.
After winning the World, everything
changed for Caleb. From being an Asian
barista from Australia he became the face
of the coffee year 2015, with this came
interviews, photos, TV shows, workshop
requests, international invitations and
fame. It all happened super fast and, as
Caleb shares, he did not really expect to
win that year, even though he wanted it of
course, and he did not expect how fast he
would become a hero of the year.
The Tiger Road

Living in Australia might be a very
different experience from where Caleb
came from. As he says, Korean society
always pushes you to prove things. There
Cha won with a free pour latte called are invisible guide lines that you should
the “Flirting Peacock”, a macchiato follow and you’ll be instantly an alien if
named the “Love Triangle”, and a latte
involving intricate etching dubbed “The you just don’t follow them. Too much care
Caffeinated Zebra”. about the appearance but not about the
inside. “One day I was just exhausted
dealing with it, and I could not pretend
that I was ok. So just left without leaving
any regrets.”

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