Georgius ‘Odi’ Teja, the current World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion, recently spent two days at &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve with the Forest and Mountain Lodge teams, honing their barista and bar skills, and creating bespoke coffee cocktails inspired by local Zululand produce!
Odi, from So So Good Coffee Company in Jakarta, Indonesia, was in KZN for Creative Coffee Week, hosted by Coffee Magazine in Durban, and was invited to spend two days at &Beyond Phinda, not only working with the Guides and Butlers on their coffee and bar skills, but also to experience the African bush veld in all its natural beauty.
The visit began at Forest lodge, with a round of coffee inspired cocktail training. The coffee ingredients were prepared and served for the staff to show technique, recipe preparation and presentation. The Phinda Coffee Negroni is a delightful fresh infusion of Bean There’s coffee with Campari (a 20 hour infusion!), sweet vermouth and Zululand Distillery Gin, served over ice. The second creation was a bespoke take on the Espresso Martini, using a double espresso shot of Bean There’s Coffee, shaken vigorously together with Zululand Distillery Pineapple Brandy and some simple syrup to create a smooth and creamy take on this classic.
The following morning after a wonderful game drive and a classic Amarula moka courtesy of Lindsay, Odi was back in front of the espresso machine, and gave a comprehensive masterclass on espresso extraction and milk texturing for the Forest Lodge Guides and Butlers. Espresso shots were pulled and some beautiful latte art emerged from the team under the watchful eye of the World Champ!
It was then over to Mountain Lodge for the remainder of the day, where the Mountain staff enjoyed the same cocktail training with all the signature moves. The following morning, the Mountain Guides took Odi to a pride of lionesses on a zebra kill - something spectacular for the World Champ to see firsthand, before returning to the Lodge for the espresso training and farewells.
There was great engagement and interest from the butlers and guides to improve their skills in the presence of a World Champ and they all did exceptionally well, getting hands on help from this highly regarded coffee professional, taking coffee service to the next level at Phinda!
