The countdown to SCASA Nationals is well and truly underway. Meet the new GP Cup Tasters Champion, although Retha van Rhijn is no stranger to the competition stage, having represented South Africa in this discipline in Athens at the World Cup Tasters Championship 2023.
Well done on making it to Nationals again! How did you prep for the challenge?
Thanks so much. Work at this point looks a lot different now than with the prep for my previous regionals, so the biggest challenge was making time to practice. But it was amazing to practice with people this time around, as I would run sets together with John and Imke at Blank Supplies.
What is your routine on the day of a comp? Eating/drinking specific things you follow.
The biggest thing for me is to keep myself as relaxed as possible. So I ensure that I have more than enough time to get ready and to get to the comp venue. I then also do not watch other sets, only drink water and make sure I ate well.
What is your current role at Plato and how does your day to day help keep your palate sharp?
I am currently heading up Quality Control and Training for the stores in the Northern parts of the country. This means I do travel a lot between our stores. This allows me to taste the difference in the coffee in each area as well as find ways that we can improve the consistency even more. So constantly building a memory of how our coffee taste in various places really do help. I also help with cupping our blend together with the Blank team when I am in and around Pretoria, which also keeps the palate sharp.
What is your favourite part of the Cup Tasters format?
Definitely the challenge to be as relaxed as possible in order to be the quickest you can - it is a constant mind battle for me. And it is fascinating that the more calm I am the quicker I am during sets.
Are you going to return to the Barista Champs format? Your skills as a performer are certainly suited to that competition!
Definitely! After finishing in the top 10 with last year's Nationals I really want to go back. Barista Champs challenges me in total different ways but unfortunately due to time on my side I decided to only do one format this year. If all goes according to plan, I'll be back on the stage soon.��
