Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

Is the World Barista Championship too exclusive & expensive for competitors?

There are a number of competitions in specialty coffee designed to test the skills and knowledge of industry professionals. However, many consider the World Barista Championship (WBC) to be one of the most esteemed and highly regarded events, acting as a platform to showcase excellence in the barista profession. There are many reasons to celebrate […]


Understanding the Process: Double Fermentation

Continuing our series on coffee processing, we learn about double fermentation, a term that can refer to several different processes. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Cafe Imports Editor’s note: Check out other entries in our “Understanding the Process“ series here. When exploring the wonderful world of high-quality coffee, you’ll discover that no […]


3 All-Women Coffee Roasting Companies that Are Changing the Game

The world of specialty coffee is still largely governed by men, but these all-female specialty-coffee roasters are helping to close the gender gap. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Feature photo courtesy of Lot Zero/7Gr As is the case for many commercial sectors, the world of specialty coffee continues to display gender disparity along the entire […]


PRF El Salvador announces speakers and panellists

Following a call for applications in October 2022, Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF) has announced its first speakers and panellists for PRF El Salvador. The two-day forum will be held on 16 and 17 March 2023 at the Salamanca Exhibition Centre in San Salvador. The event is set to return to El Salvador after it […]

Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

10 (More) Minutes With Helena Oliviero

Today we continue our conversation with Helena Oliviero about her coffee career and life on a Colombian finca. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Helena Oliviero Barista Magazine: Let’s talk about living on a Colombian coffee farm, Finca Palma Roja. How do you spend your days? What’s usually happening on a busy coffee […]


Three Questions with IWCA Executive Director Blanca Castro

When International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Executive Director began her job years ago at the Guatemalan coffee association Anacafé, she knew next to nothing about coffee.  “I just pretended that…


3 Elements Coffee: Supporting Veterans, One Cup at a Time  

The Australian roasting company helps to create opportunities for veteran communities.  BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of 3 Elements Coffee  Brisbane, Australia-based 3 Elements Coffee, founded by Navy veteran Terry McNally in 2016, has a mission to support the transition of ex-military personnel into the commercial workspace. To help achieve their goal and raise […]


A Look at Digital Coffee Future’s Digital Origin Education Program

The new program connects coffee producers to one another, provides them with educational resources, and more. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of the Cocaerol, Comal & Amprocal cooperatives in Honduras Since 2021, Digital Coffee Future (DCF) has been working on a digital training program to address the needs of coffee producers. In September […]

Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

Florencia y Fortunata: A Café Empowering Women in Peru

The Cusco café, founded by Carolina Peralta Minaya, sells coffee from women producers and features women demonstrating their skills behind the bar. BY JORDAN BUCHANANBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Photos courtesy of Carolina Peralta Minaya Traceability, sustainability, and conscientiousness are key values pervading the specialty-coffee trade. For many consumers and traders, these values inform their decision to […]


Sumatra Coffee Farmers See Gains Through Agroforestry and Organic Fertilizer

Farmers in Indonesia’s Lampung province are making their own organic fertilizer in order to lessen reliance on volatile external supply chains. They’ve also diversified the number of crops they grow,…


A Look at Digital Coffee Future’s Digital Origin Education Program

The new program connects coffee producers to one another, provides them with educational resources, and more. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of the Cocaerol, Comal & Amprocal cooperatives in Honduras Since 2021, Digital Coffee Future (DCF) has been working on a digital training program to address the needs of coffee producers. In September […]


Toronto’s Pilot Coffee Roasters Acquiring Bridgehead Coffee for $3.6 Million

Toronto, Ontario-based specialty coffee roaster and retailer Pilot Coffee Roasters is acquiring Ottawa-based Bridgehead Coffee in a deal worth approximately US$3.6 million.  Bridgehead, which has 21 coffee shop locations throughout…

Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

minimum dose size?

Jan 31, 2024 |

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

We talk to the multi-time Panama Brewers Cup champion about his brewing preferences.

BY TANYA NANETTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT

Photos courtesy of Wilford Lamastus

Coffee professionals tend to spend most of their days brewing coffee. It can be an espresso shot pulled for a customer or a cupping to check out a new roaster to choose for the shop. Or maybe it’s a V60 brewed to post a story on social media. But what about when they’re not at work? What are their coffee habits when at home? Do these habits change when they travel? 

Wilford agitates coffee brewing in a vacuum coffee maker. He is using a wooden whisk.
Wilford has won multiple Brewers Cup competitions; he’s also a coffee producer who grew a coffee valued at a record 98 points.

Meet Wilford Lamastus, Jr.

Wilford Lamastus, Jr., the multi-time Brewers Cup champ from Boquete, Panama, is a famous coffee producer at Lamastus Family Estates. He’s also the owner of Sisu Coffee Studio, a specialty-coffee micro-roaster based in Panama City. We checked in with Wilford to learn about his coffee habits. 

“When I’m at home, I brew every morning using a Groove Coffee Dripper, a cone method similar to Timemore or Hario,” Wilford says. He confides that when he’s in his own city, he mostly drinks coffee at home. But he also loves going out for coffee. 

“I mainly go to my own coffee shop, but I also visit different coffee shops in my city, places that strictly deal with specialty coffee,” he says.  

And here, his usual order is always the same: a pourover. 

Wilford pours coffee into a cupping vessel at a competition as judges look on. He is wearing a khaki apron.
Although he most often drinks coffee at home, Wilford enjoys trying specialty coffees abroad.

Wilford on the Road

To keep up with his habit of constantly brewing coffee, Wilford can’t help but bring his own coffee gear when visiting family and friends or simply traveling. Wilford recently told the ”Eat Drink Sleep Repeat” podcast that some of his favorite cities to visit include Taipei, Taiwan and Melbourne, Australia.

“I have a travel brewer called Pakt,” he shares. “Basically, Pakt is a compact brewing gadget that includes a water kettle, a stainless-steel brew dripper, and a practical coffee thermos/travel mug. And of course, I also bring my own scale and hand grinder everywhere. And I also bring coffee around.”

Exploring the Coffee Scene

But traveling isn’t just about brewing coffee; it’s also about visiting new coffee places. 

“Now most of my trips (probably 80%) are work-related, so when I travel, I always visit clients who own coffee shops or roasters. In any case, before leaving, I always look online to check the specialty coffee situation that I’ll find at the destination… (but) I always also bring my own coffee stuff,” he says.

Wilford checks a recipe on his phone while cupping numerous coffees on a table. He has a close beard and white tshirt on.
Wilford often relies on a travel brewer called Pakt for coffee while on the road.

As a final suggestion on the best way to drink and brew coffee while traveling, Wilford has one piece of advice to share.

“Search for Pakt, and you won’t regret it.” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tanya Nanetti (she/her) is a specialty-coffee barista, a traveler, and a dreamer. When she’s not behind the coffee machine (or visiting some hidden corner of the world), she’s busy writing for Coffee Insurrection, a website about specialty coffee that she’s creating along with her boyfriend.

The post Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr. appeared first on Barista Magazine Online.

Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

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