When I got on the plane in Dubai to head to Johannesburg for the Home Barista Show, I was excited. Not just because it had sold out, though I won’t pretend that didn’t feel good. I was excited because Johannesburg is where my understanding of specialty coffee first took shape. I lived there for more than 15 years. That’s where it all started for me. So bringing the Home Barista Show there felt like a full circle moment.
What the Home Barista Show is
The Home Barista Show is a hands-on coffee event for people who brew at home. You learn by doing the work yourself.
Most people who get into coffee do it alone. They piece things together from videos and articles. They make small changes without really knowing if they’re getting closer or just going in circles. And sometimes it takes months before anything clicks.
I’ve never found the specialty coffee industry particularly welcoming to that kind of person. I was that person. I still am that person.
So I built a space for them.
That’s the Home Barista Show.
The history of the Home Barista Show
I launched the show in Dubai. It’s where I live, and I could see the need for it up close. The response was strong. More than 100 people paid to spend an afternoon with me, learning alongside every national coffee champion in the country at the time.
I only got one piece of negative feedback.
People didn’t want to watch champions on a stage. They wanted to be the ones pulling the shots. Making mistakes. Getting advice. Trying again.
So that’s what I gave them in Sharjah. And it worked. That event felt different. More honest. And more fun. Because people got involved.
Taking the Home Barista Show to Cape Town suggested the idea might travel. Johannesburg removed the doubt.
My wife and I are the parents of twins
Bean There Coffee Company opened in 2005. It built its name on Fairtrade coffee and direct relationships with African producers.
But that’s not why I wanted it as the venue for the first Home Barista Show in Johannesburg.
My wife and I spent five years trying to have children. It’s hard to describe that time without cleaning it up. And it wasn’t clean. It was long, and it was heavy.
When our twins finally arrived, we wanted to bring together the people who had carried us through the failed attempts, miscarriages and false flags. We needed a space that felt as real as those relationships.
Bean There was the only place I thought of.
Jonathan said yes. No hesitation. And in doing that, he made Bean There part of my family’s story.
So when it came time to bring the Home Barista Show to Johannesburg, there was no list to work through. It had to be Bean There. And when Jonathan agreed again, I felt it.
Three pleasant surprises
The first pleasant surprise of the day was how early people arrived. Not a few. A lot of them. Maybe I noticed it more because the previous event was held in Cape Town.
Jonathan welcomed everyone. I said a few words about the Home Barista Show. The team walked through the equipment people could use. Then we stopped talking. No long setup. No unnecessary filler.
The second pleasant surprise was how quickly people got involved. No one needed pushing. People moved straight to the machines. Grinding, pulling shots, listening, asking questions, trying again. You could see them working things out as they went. And I kept catching moments where people who had just met were helping each other along.
It was beautiful.
The third pleasant surprise was that a lot of those people were new to the Bean There team. I liked that more than I expected to. The same space that held something so personal for my wife and I was now opening itself to a completely new group of people.
The Profitec Go
The timing of the event wasn’t coincidental. Bean There wanted an engaging way to announce that they are now an official distributor of the Profitec Go.
Profitec has been building espresso machines since around 1990. That shows up in the way the machine behaves.
The Go gives people control over the parts of espresso that actually change the outcome. PID temperature control keeps the water stable. That means when you get something right, you can repeat it. The shot timer shows you how long your espresso runs. Which allows you to stop guessing and notice patterns. Adjustable brew pressure gives you a way to change how the water moves through the coffee and taste what changes.
On the day, people pulled shots, tasted them, changed something and tried again. But they weren’t following instructions. They were making decisions.
The Timemore Bricks
Timemore Bricks comes from Timemore, a company that started with manual grinders and then moved into electric models with a strong focus on design. They’ve picked up multiple design awards over the years, and their products are known for how they feel to use.
I’ve owned a Sculptor for years. It looks good, really good. But more importantly, it just works. Every time.
Timemore gave me the best moment of the day. We asked everyone to be quiet. Then we switched the grinders on. There was a pause, then a reaction.
Most people expect grinders to be loud. I know my first one was. It sounded agricultural. Brilliant grinder. But quiet it was not.
The Timemore grinders are quiet. They use a brushless motor, which means less friction inside the machine. Less friction means less vibration. And less vibration means less noise. The motor also runs at a steady speed, so you don’t get that uneven, harsh sound.
The way the room held together
There was a point where I realised the room did not need us. People were speaking to each other, asking questions, answering them, and making progress. No one was trying to sound like they knew everything. No one was trying to prove anything. Imagine that.
That’s the kind of space I want to keep building.
If you missed the Johannesburg event
Follow @homebaristashow for updates.
There will be more. In South Africa. And the rest of the world.
Thank you
Thank you to Bean There Coffee Company for opening the space again. I’m grateful to Profitec and Timemore for putting their equipment into people’s hands.
And thank you for coming.
FAQ
What is the Home Barista Show?
It is a hands-on coffee event where people learn by using espresso and brewing equipment themselves.
Where was the Home Barista Show Johannesburg held?
At Bean There Coffee Company in Johannesburg.
What equipment was used at the event?
The event featured the Profitec Go espresso machine and Timemore grinders.
What does PID temperature control do?
It keeps the water temperature stable so your espresso tastes more consistent from one shot to the next.
Why were the Timemore grinders quieter?
They use brushless motors, which reduce noise compared to traditional grinder motors.
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