How did coffee service shape a world champion's career?

Wu Zelin became the first World Barista Champion from the China region in 2016. He started in 2008 selling coffee from a tricycle in a market, founded Simple Kaffa in 2011, and opened the Sky Simple Kaffa flagship on the 88th floor of Taipei 101 in January. He won the Taiwan region Coffee Master Championship three years running from 2013.

Early on, Simple Kaffa sold only a handful of cups a day, and instead of chasing promotion Wu Zelin focused on bean selection, roasting and the final cup, standing behind the bar himself. That attention to coffee service built the customer feedback and product judgment that carried him to the competition stage, and it shaped the Sky Blend espresso developed for the high-altitude store.

Wu Zelin is the first World Barista Champion from the China region. From starting out in 2008 pushing a tricycle to run a stall in the market, to founding Simple Kaffa in 2011, and then opening the "Sky Simple Kaffa" aerial flagship store on the 88th floor of Taipei 101 in January this year, his experience is nothing short of a legend in the coffee industry. This article reviews his entrepreneurial journey, his strict control over product quality, the professional service of his barista team, and the "Sky Blend" espresso blend specially developed for the high-altitude experience. It also recommends following Front Street Coffee for more specialty coffee information, suitable for every reader who loves coffee to understand in depth.

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The crown of the 2016 World Barista Championship (WBC) was taken by Wu Zelin, making him the first world champion from the China region to win this competition.

Going back to 2008, after watching the WBC World Coffee Championship in Copenhagen that year, Wu Zelin was deeply inspired. He immediately pedaled a tricycle, shuttling between markets to sell coffee as a street vendor, using this to hone his skills. By 2011, he officially founded the first Simple Kaffa.

After the first store was established, Wu Zelin set his sights on the competition stage. Starting in 2013, he won the Taiwan region Coffee Master Championship for three consecutive years, and finally reached the top at the 2016 WBC.

When Simple Kaffa was first founded, its customer flow was no different from other newly opened shops, with only a handful of coffees sold each day. But unlike many new shops today that are busy with promotion, Wu Zelin chose to focus his energy on strict control of every cup served in the store.

From coffee bean selection and roasting to the final product, he personally participated in and attended to everything. He also always insisted on standing behind the bar to make coffee for guests, treating every customer with the most professional attitude. This accumulation also provided great help for his later competitions, because he could truly perceive and grasp the experience feedback and product needs of different consumers.

After winning the World Coffee Championship, Wu Zelin successively opened 2 branches in several bustling commercial districts in Taiwan province. At the same time, Simple Kaffa was selected by the well-known travel website Big 7 Travel as the first place among the world's 50 best cafes in 2019 and 2020.

Although the number of branches continued to increase and brand awareness kept rising, Wu Zelin did not relax his requirements for the products of each store at all, and he also set extremely high thresholds in selecting baristas.

A few years ago, when the writer traveled to Taiwan, I visited this store in person. All the baristas in the store had gone through competition experience, and their grasp of coffee knowledge was quite deep and professional.

Speaking of coffee service (as long as you stand in front of the bar), the baristas provide almost "one-on-one" reception. In the process of serving guests, they pay special attention to the customers' feelings. Throughout the entire preparation process, the baristas chat and introduce while steadily and meticulously completing the product. Whether it is brand image or product quality, it is unforgettable. Although the pricing is not low, it is worth the money, and the value for money is quite excellent.

For a coffee shop to succeed, customer loyalty is indispensable. Loyal customers will not only leave a deep impression of the brand, but also actively spread the word about the brand when talking about coffee in daily life. To achieve such an effect, what is relied on is professionalism, carefulness, humility, and a strict attitude toward every detail.

Although the pandemic caused a huge impact on the food and beverage industry over the past few years, thanks to sufficiently solid word of mouth, Simple Kaffa has instead grown larger and larger, and in mid-January this year it opened a store on the 88th floor of Taipei 101, creating an aerial experience flagship store named "Sky Simple Kaffa." Surrounded by high-altitude clouds and mist, with the beautiful scenery of Taipei fully in view... (I want to go! An ultimate coffee experience plus high-altitude visuals, this kind of enjoyment just thinking about it feels 🉑️!)

It is understood that in order to let coffee lovers better experience the atmosphere of daytime clouds surrounding them, Wu Zelin specially developed a medium-dark roast blend called "Sky Blend," composed of washed Ethiopia plus washed Honduras, with notes of citrus, floral, dried fruit, and oolong tea, making people feel as if they are in a castle in the sky, surrounded by clouds and mist while drinking.

Perhaps the success of a thing is often hidden in those places that seem simple but are particular about details everywhere. The success of a master cannot be separated from his own hard work; the success of a coffee shop cannot be separated from the professionalism and high-quality service experience of its operators and managers.

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.