Meet Cath — Our coffee expert

We are beyond thrilled to be introducing Catherine Seay as a new member of the Best Coffee team.

Cath is a coffee professional with over 15 years experience working in the coffee industry.  She Co-Founded popular London specialty cafe business Curators Coffee and has brewed A LOT of coffee in her time. She especially loves to teach others how to get the best brew and believes that anyone can achieve great coffee at home.

As a matter of fact, she was the one that taught many of us here at Best Coffee about how to brew and taste excellent coffee — and for that, we are forever grateful.

Cath will be sharing her inside tips on brewing, what coffee kit to use, her favourite coffees, and much more with Best Coffee. We sat down with her to learn more about her journey in the specialty coffee industry.

BC: So how did it all start? How was your journey into the speciality coffee industry?

CS: It was very organic.  I worked in a coffee chain throughout my studies in Australia.  After graduating I travelled to the UK on a whim and got a job as a barista at the phenomenal specialty cafe Kaffeine just as it was opening.  The UK specialty coffee scene was still in its infancy and was such an engaging and welcoming industry I was soon hooked!

BC: How is the UK coffee scene compared to Australia?

CS: This is a complex question.  Without a doubt we have an extremely talented and passionate industry here in the UK, however the culture of drinking coffee is very different to Australia and I think it’s harder for cafes to thrive.  I’ll never forget walking through the streets of Melbourne on a visit and upon spotting a huge congregation of office workers down an alleyway my (British) husband exclaimed “Oh there must be a fire drill”.  It was in fact, just the regular queue for Patricia. 

BC: What is your “usual” and where are you drinking coffee these days?

CS: Ha!  I’m drinking coffee at home like everyone else.  My usual is a pourover made by my husband in the morning.  I’m also popping by my two local cafes Campbell and Syme and La Dinette for a flat white as much as possible now they’ve reopened.

BC: Can you pinpoint a favourite coffee of all time?

CS: Ahhhh that’s tricky.  There’s a few but I really loved the Andalucía that was roasted by Beth at Colonna Roastery for Curators Coffee a while back.  It was just YUMMY, I wanted to drink it everyday….and I did.

BC: What is your favourite brew method, and why?

CS:  Pourover.  It’s dead easy once you find your recipe and you can make great coffee this way.

BC: Apart from coffee, what else interests you?

CS: I like to pet my two cats and chase around my very energetic nine month old.  And I’m absolutely hooked on Puff’s online home baking courses right now. 

BC: Any final word for our Best Coffee readers?

CS: Yes! Please, please, please support your local roasters and cafes right now.  We’ve got to get behind our local independents to make sure they have a future.

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Stay tuned for more! And make sure to follow @bestcoffeeapp on Instagram, where Cath will be posting her favourite coffees, tips and much more.