About BeBerry Coffee
BeBerry Coffee is Czech roastery founded by Thomas Laca, known in the coffee world as Q Grader, a course lecturer, barista and coffee taster.
Thomas became interested in specialty coffee while studying at the University of Economics in Prague. He gained most of his experience in the Polish roastery, where he worked under the guidance of international jurors and Q Grader, and after returning to Prague as a QC manager of green and roasted coffee in the roastery. Now he has decided to use all his experience and knowledge and establish his own roastery. Thomas and the team select only the best coffee beans for you and their goal is to introduce you to the coffee as it really is - pleasantly fruity.
In BeBerry Coffee, Tom's girlfriend Karin is also the biggest support, who has just become the recent Slovak Champion in Cup Tasting 2021.
Interview
Can you please introduce your roastery in a few short sentences?
We are a new progressive roastery that wants to bring people the best coffee. Coffee is the best fruit on Earth for us. We choose coffees that have a story behind them and a lot of hard work that turns out to be quality. We roast our coffees so that their character stands out and their taste reflects all the efforts that have been invested in them. We choose the golden mean. You will not feel very light Scandinavian roasting in our coffee, but also the bitterness after dark roasting. Our goal in profiling is to approach each coffee individually, taking into account its terroir, processing, but also the preparation for which the coffee is recommended. Most coffees are roasted for the preparation of filtered coffee and if we mention omni roast, they are coffees with lower acidity, which can also be used for espresso preparation.
What is the story behind your name and logo?
BeBerry has a concise message - coffee is a fruit. Many people are still unaware of this, and in addition to roasting, we also want to contribute to the enlightenment and education of coffee lovers. Coffee (if we're talking about Arabica, not Robusta) should be fruity in some way, hence the funky name BeBerry. In the logo we find the name of the roastery with a unique logo and an icon that shows an irregular round shape, reminiscent of a "berry".
Do you remember your coffee beginnings, how did you get into coffee?
I started making coffee while studying at the University. Various brigades and as a volunteer at the "Slovak Coffee fest" - which was a bit of a forerunner of the best Standart magazine. I gained experience especially when I worked for a year in the Polish roastery of specialty coffee, where there was a team of very experienced and passionate people, from which several roasters later emerged.
What's the hardest thing about being a roaster?
We focus on a still small and demanding segment of the coffee world - quality specialty coffee, to which it is necessary for an ordinary coffee lover to gradually find a way. You need to be very careful and it is challenging mentally, as well as physically and temporally.
Is there a person in the industry that people should know about?
There are many of them! I'm afraid I'll miss someone.
What are you most proud of?
That we have the courage to do it. The fact that there are people who care about coffee and are interested in our work. We appreciate it a lot.
Is there a coffee landscape that still draws you to?
Sure! :) I would very much like to visit any producer country, currently mostly Ethiopia, Colombia or Costa Rica, but also Australia!
Tell us about "The Cup" - the best cup of coffee you've ever tasted?
The best cup of coffee is always the one who creates a smile on the face of the person I prepare it for.