The Coffee Man – not just any documentary on a barista

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42uHSaDijg
As many have know, I have started working at Foodpanda as a Business Development Manager so it is really rare for me to update an event immediately on the day itself after the event. But tonight, I am greatly inspired and I would like to share more about it!
Together with Cafebond.com’s official launch event at Capitol Theatre are the appearance of World Barista Champion, Sasa Sestic, and the screening of his documentary, The Coffee Man. If you are not a barista, would you find this documentary interesting? I have also gotten Ramenking to share his view as well.

Hannah’s Review:
Being a part time barista on Sunday, I love and enjoy coffee very much. But never to the extend as how World Barista Champion Mr Sasa Sestic is. He is literally letting his life evolves around coffee!

To be frank, I am not a huge fan of documentary as they are usually very dry and heavy. But for me, The Coffee Man inspired me. There is no moment that was dull, slow or boring. The documentary brought us back to months before the World Barista Championship 2015 and showed us how Mr Sasa travelled from Ethiopia to Honduras and Columbia searching for the perfect coffee beans and his journey toward being the World Barista Champion in 2015. Such passion kind of just rubbed off me as I watched the documentary unfolded in front of my eyes.

Behind the glamour of winning the competition, the documentary granted us a peek to Mr Sasa’s struggle, emotion and hard work during that period of time. There are also short interviews with Mr Sasa’s inner circle on how they felt during that period of time.

After watching this documentary, I was greatly inspired and all I want to do is to give my best shot in everything I do. Of cos, it has also rekindled my love for coffee. Uncle Tan from Tiong Hoe Specialty coffee once said coffee is a lifelong passion of pursuing for the perfect cuppa. In Mr Sasa, I saw that kind of passion which is so intense that it is like the air he breathed in. For me, this is definitely the must watch documentary and perhaps one of the best show that I have watched in 2016.

Ramenking’s Review:
We were pretty glad to have attended the official premiere of The Coffee Man which took place earlier today at The Capitol Theatre. Besides the media, the host Cafebond also invited many of the who’s who of Singapore’s coffee trade. So it was definitely a rare gathering of sorts for all coffee lovers. And making this cuppa even sweeter was Sasa Sestic’s special appearance who is also the protagonist of this movie.

The Coffee Man captures the coffee journey of Ona Coffee founder, Sasa Sestic who won last year’s World Barista Championship in Seattle. How this former refugee from war torn Bosnia and promising professional handball player stumbled onto coffee in an accidental career switch, became entangled with it (even bought a coffee plantation in Honduras) and subsequently won two coveted championships, including the WBC 2015.

You do not have to be a coffee lover, or even a coffee drinker to appreciate this movie by Jeff Hann and Roland Fraval. His life probably mirrors many of us, with similar ups & downs, unknowns & adventures, struggles & challenges, albeit manifested in different ways. It was also a beautiful story about passion, a relentless pursuit of happiness and family & friends.
Besides being inspirational, it serves as a great reminder to ourselves that the overlooked, plain cup of Java we drink at the cafe is often less than the stories that they are made of.

Thank you Fiji water for the media invite to the launch of Cafebond.com! The best part for me is to meet Mr Sasa Sestic and the screening of such mind blowing and life changing documentary. For coffee lovers, Cafebond.com is an online platform in which coffee lovers can shop the world’s best coffee brands at one place. Launching their website exclusively with only top Melbourne cafes, Cafebond.com will be retailing a wide variety of beans ranging from the signature blends that put these cafes on the specialty coffee map, to single origin beans sourced from coffee farms across the world. So check them out if you are interested to get from Aussie beans.