Coffee Catch-up with our Head Barista Fon!

Since taking on the role of Head Barista on the cusp of 2024, Fon has gone strength-to-strength shoring up our team's barista skills and innovating new recipes for the cafés.

Curious to know more, we've sat down with Fon to hear about about her background in the specialty coffee industry and what it's like to work at the café level at Stitch Coffee!

Congratulations on becoming the Head Barista at Stitch Coffee! Could you tell us about how you got your start in the coffee industry, and what led you to the position you’re in today?

I started in the coffee industry by loving coffee and going to cafés every day. After that, I felt that I really liked coffee, so I started applying for jobs at a coffee roasting factory in Thailand.

I had the opportunity to work for the biggest roasting company in Thailand, and my role involved setting up their entire quality control (QC) system and employing the QC team. I was entrusted with this responsibility because I graduated and had a background in food science.

I got to know more people in the industry and got to drink specialty coffee. That was the beginning that opened my eyes to the world of coffee; that coffee wasn’t just iced lattes, it was more complicated than that.

What do you love most about the specialty coffee industry?

What I like the most about the industry is the quality of the coffee. Because if it is reputed to be ‘specialty coffee’, the coffee must be good and of high quality, and has been conscientiously selected before being served to customers. The term is also inclusive of various methods and techniques for making coffee that baristas must pay attention to and control the quality before serving as well.

What made you apply to Stitch Coffee?

Stitch Coffee is a coffee roastery as well as coffee shops. Moreover, we only deal in specialty coffee and various specialty coffees at that. There is modern coffee-making equipment and there is always something new to learn.

Stitch Coffee also never closed down opportunities for its employees, always giving us the opportunity to learn new things, which made me decide to apply for a job.

What does your role of Head Barista entail?

Simply put, my main role is managing the coffee within Stitch Coffee QVB and Broadway! Controlling the coffee quality in the cafés, finding coffee recipes, updating the weekly menu (coffees on rotation at the brew bar, espresso machine, and on tap), and training the baristas on how to make coffee and new techniques! We train regularly as it’s important to maintain consistency in taste for customers across both cafés.

What’s the most challenging part of your role?

The most challenging part for me in this role is learning and keeping up-to-date on all the new and different ways to make coffee. Learning and understanding the style of Stitch Coffee was difficult for me at first! Fortunately, I have a very helpful and supportive team, including the Head of Coffee Nameru. He gives great advice about coffee, which makes the job fun and an engaging learning experience all the time.

What is one thing you love about working at Stitch Coffee?

One of my favourite things about working at Stitch Coffee is learning all the time about coffee and trying new things. I like to learn and never stop, and it’s so enjoyable to work with people who have the same passion. We talk and exchange information, which makes work more fun.

How do you like your coffee?

If I were to talk about the coffee I like the most, it would be between batch brew, espresso, and pour over! I really like the single origin coffee here, as the roasting team always takes care to select good coffees.