Karoliina Mäkelä
Coffee is a never-ending source of inspiration for me. There are so many angles and views you can examine coffee from. At the moment I am particularly interested in water quality and milk.
Hi, this is Karoliina, training expert based in Helsinki and a barista-at-heart.
The coffee industry has had me for 17 years now. Coffee is a never-ending source of inspiration for me. There are so many angles and views you can examine coffee from. At the moment I am particularly interested in water quality and milk.
Being able to share my knowledge with customers is my daily source of inspiration. It is a great moment of joy when you see the light of interest and inspiration in your customers’ eyes.
The certificates I have are SCAE Brewing Skills Foundation, SCAE Brewing Skills Intermediate, SCAE Basic Barista, SCAE Barista Skills Foundation and Brita Water Treatment. I am on my way to complete some more SCAE certifications.
I attended the first Finnish Barista Championship in 2000 and achieved the second place.
Since 2001 I have been a technical judge in the Finnish Barista Championships, and occasionally also in the Finnish Latte Art Championships and the Finnish Coffee in Good Spirit Championships.
I have been running the Finnish Speciality Coffee Association for over 10 years. After the change of the name and mission of the association (The Finnish Barista Association) I have been a board member only. I am also a co-founder of the SCAE Finnish Chapter and a board member ever since the beginning (also the president for some operating terms).
Fun fact: My secret passion is Finnish grammar – not to forget chemical legislation, which I enjoy to explore and execute in my job, too. I suppose those subjects combined with coffee make quite a hilarious combo ☺
Coffee superpower: might be my knowledge regarding brewing water treatment.
Favorite coffee destination: I curiously follow the Nordic countries. This is because of their talented baristas and interesting roasteries.
