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whose Podcast opened so much informa- to grow but she didn’t know what to do and
among Brazil, Sulawesi and Columbia
tion about green coffee to Polina that she who to ask. “When CQI came to Europe
everybody was drinking French-press
got inspired and flew all the way to the Cup with Q-Grading course I decided to jump
and describing – “oh it has some winy
of Excellence in Guatemala. It was a game in and to check myself what I am good at
flavors, some spicy notes, some caramel,
changer. Everything came into place: and what I need to improve. That Q-Grad-
chocolate etc.” and for me it was very
“There were 50-60 coffees on the table ing course was the best Q-Grading course
bitter and I didn’t see any difference, so
through all 5 days of cupping and they all that I have ever taken in my 20 years career.
I was just nodding and acting as if I un-
were so much different from one another. I learned so much. So now I had experience
derstand my colleagues but I didn’t un-
It was the only country that tasted as all the of tasting different origins with the chem-
derstand them at all.”
countries. And at that moment I understood istry behind it, theory of how they brew
Keep Learning that technically we did our best but we the best cup, there was information about
could do better if we had more knowledge.” different types of roasting and some chem-
Since then, Polina has traveled all over istry behind it as well, how they process
Fortunately for coffee and unfortu-
the world in search of coffee knowledge: El and also how to develop yourself and help
nately for AI, the trip to Spain that brought
Salvador and Honduras, Kenya and Ethio- others to be better cuppers.”
Polina to CoffeeMania never took place so
pia, Columbia and Brazil. “And then it was
staying in coffee made Polina’s heart grow
a moment when I thought I was stuck in Future of Education
fonder. She stayed at the coffee shop for 17
my professional performance, I didn’t know
years, growing from a barista to a trainer
what to do. I knew that I needed to do Holding a Master degree herself,
and then going all into green coffee buying.
something but I didn’t know where to go,” now Polina is teaching coffee lovers and
“I’d been a barista for 3 years. And I really
shared Polina. She attended international coffee professionals not only new coffee
loved the moments how I was interacting
exhibitions, went for coffee trainings skills, as she teaches coffee courses, but
with customers, bringing coffee, bringing
during her vacations, but it was still not also the skill of learning online because
different pastries, so it was really nice. I
enough. She felt that there was still space digital is the new normal.
didn’t feel it was a job, it was just like a nice
hobby. But at the same time I didn’t want
to continue it as a career there, I didn’t see
any development. So I thought “ok,maybe
when I graduate from the university, I will
go to my professional sphere”. But when
my boss suggested me to be a barista train-
er and I started to work with 3 students, I
just fell in love with doing it. It was so
difficult and challenging. I didn’t expect it
W ith the goal of teaching 1 would make so hard to understand why
billion of professionals to
coffee changes even if you still prepare it
make other 5 billion of
people to fall in love with in the same way. So the next many, many
years it took me a lot of energy learning
coffee, Polina Vladimirova is now a big and creating a system to help coffee lovers
name in Russian specialty coffee scene. to pass all those difficulties to be a good
Originally Polina comes from Moscow and barista.”
from a very distant from coffee back- After becoming a head trainer, Polina
ground: she holds a Master degree in AI was looking for more ways to develop her-
from Russian State University. Her studies self in coffee. At the time her coffee shop
and summer program in Spain actually was starting to roast coffee by themselves
brought her into coffee, as she wanted to so they would need someone buying coffee
work a bit in a coffee shop and save some for them. Polina was the choice: as she
money for her trip to Spain. The place she learned Spanish before, she thought that it
worked for, CoffeeMania provided staff would be the best implementation of her
with training and it was the first coffee old language skill to learn new coffee sides
memory Polina now recaps: “I remember in Central and South Americas. The only
when I was studying at CoffeeMania and person she knew ( not personally) who was
we had some training to find the difference a green coffee buyer was Peter Giuliano,

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