We’re delighted to welcome Freda to Origin as our new Head of Coffee.
Freda is one of UK speciality coffee’s leading lights whose talent and accolades precede her:
- 2017 & 2018 UK Cup Tasters Champion
- 2017 World Cup Tasters #3
- Licensed Q-grader
- Authorised SCA trainer
- SCA UK Sensory Judge
Throughout Freda’s six year coffee career she’s worked on both sides of the supply chain, from barista (including a stint at our shop in Shoreditch) through to green coffee buyer, with other roles including roasting and QC’ing. Her most recent role was as Green Coffee Buyer at Caravan Coffee Roasters and Raw Material UK.
As the awards testify, Freda’s sensory ability is exemplary, and she lives and breathes this through a mindful approach to everything she eats and drinks.
“People ask, ‘How do you train in cup tasting’. My answer is, “you have to be there”. My way of doing it is to be mindful and analyse everything I do. When you have a beer, are you aware of the coldness or the condensation running down the glass? That’s how I train… I’m aware.”
As well as a passion for sensory and education, critically, Freda’s values and approach to coffee mirrors our own, with quality and producer welfare being at the heart of everything she does. She’s a champion of sustainability, traceability and put simply, delicious coffee.
Key to her role at Origin will be developing our coffee program and travelling the world in pursuit of incredible crops.
Freda will take over the mantel of some incredible work laid down by Joshua [Tarlo], our previous Head of Coffee, who has left a legacy to be proud of, both in our approach to coffee and the soul and spirit of Origin. We wish Joshua all the very best in his new adventure and will be following him like proud relatives.
Hitting the ground running, Freda will be heading off to Kenya next week, alongside Simon, our Quality & Production Manager. Here her impressive cupping skills will be put through their paces on day one, as she cups through hundreds of coffees in the lab at Dormans in Nairobi, followed by a trip to wet mills in Nyeri County.
We’re incredibly excited to share Freda and the team’s new coffees with you from May onwards, and look forward to keeping you up-to-date on her adventures sourcing these.
Credit Jeff Hann and Brenda Ty for the photography.