April + May 2026 21st Anniversary Issue

The April + May 2026 21st Anniversary Issue of Barista Magazine features stories on:

Laila Ghambari. The Story So Far: My Life Since Buying a Coffee Company
After spending decades working in different roles in the specialty coffee industry, last year Laila Ghambari bought a coffee company. She takes us through her journey, challenges, and successes as she tackles new challenges with Guilder Coffee.

Hacks: Water First, Profile Second Stop spending time dialing in your grind or roast profile until you understand your water chemistry. Knowing your water first, writes Yehor Checkalov in this issue's "Hacks", will solve many of the other problems for you.

Future-Proofing Specialty Coffee. Like the opening lines from A Tale of Two Cities, it is the best of times and the worst of times for specialty coffee. The quality of specialty coffee has never been higher, but so too are the threats against it particularly from global warming. We take a look a what steps can be taken to help usher specialty coffee into a sustainable future.

Tech Talk: How to Become a Service Technician. The Starship Enterprise can travel across the galaxy, but it can't go anywhere without a qualified engineer like Scotty onboard to keep everything running. Espresso machines in the café are exactly the same, which is why having a qualified service tech around is so essential to keep everything operational. In this installment of Tech Talk, Kelsey Browning writes about what it takes to become a service tech and what opportunities the position brings with it.

Have Coffee, Will Travel: Coffee Catering. Looking to expand your café business beyond the four walls? Coffee Catering may offer a lucrative, additional source of income for your shop. We break down the pros, cons, and considerations that go into coffee catering. 

One on One: Kai Janson. Kai is synonymous with the rise of Panamanian specialty coffee. His work promoting Panamanian coffee around the globe was essential to the incredible rise of Gesha. He is also considered the originator of the selfie, at least by his father. Get to know Kai in this One on One interview.

Also inside: a Field Report from Chania, Greece; photo essay from the Nordic Coffee Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden, Custom Blend with Frank La, reports on from The Barista League Mystery Vacation, new gear and products, and much, much more!

112 pages.

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