I interviewed the former UAE Brewer’s Cup Champion, Mariam Erin, a while back (it was an awesome interview; click here to read it). Then I got lazy. And it took me forever to publish it. And by the time I did, we had a new UAE Brewer’s Cup Champion, David Disuanco.
I know, I suck.
So before the next UAE Brewer’s Cup Champion is announced, here’s my interview with David.

Introduce the readers to yourself
Hey, hey, hey! My name is David Disuanco. My coffee journey started in the Philippines six years ago when Trent Rollings invited me to a cupping session in EDSA BDG.
It started with curiosity. “How can coffee taste like this? I don’t know how to describe it. It was weird.” This cupping session became a weekly gathering where I met new friends and made the whole coffee journey more enjoyable.
And shortly after, we started Narrative Coffee, a brew bar that is focused on specialty coffee, and listening and sharing people’s narratives.
And then you moved to the UAE?
A few years after, I transferred to UAE where I met a lot of amazing coffee people. I’m currently working with Archers Coffee and Hoof Specialty Coffee handling digital marketing and their social media platforms.
This is also where I was able to grow my knowledge in coffee even more. I was able to visit coffee farms in Ethiopia and Rwanda where I saw how the coffee is being processed. I was able to talk to producers, farmers and just listen to their coffee journey. Aside from the coffee, listening to the stories and experiences of people in the industry makes me love this journey even more.

How do you like your coffee?
I enjoy filter coffee more than espresso or coffee with milk. So I try out different kinds of brewers every now and then. Just recently, I came across this new dripper called Orea. And for the past couple of weeks, I found brewing in this device to be really enjoyable. I love this brewer because of the flat bed that it has and the big holes underneath allows me to brew coffee with a faster flow rate enabling me to grind a bit finer.
So how does the new UAE Brewer’s Cup champion brew his coffee?
Not all coffee are brewed the same. My go-to recipe with this Orea is 1:15 ratio. 12g of coffee to 180ml of water. I play around with fine-medium or medium grind size depending on the coffee. I usually use water with 93c – 94c temp. This recipe allows me to produce a complex cup of coffee.

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