Following his heart (and someone else’s) back to Wellington landed John Burgess in the middle of New Zealand’s specialty coffee scene. As the Head of Coffee at Yu Group, Burgess oversees the coffee production at Astoria and fosters a learning environment where meaningful work takes place.
Burgess’ first taste of the hospitality industry was 12 years ago, straight out of school, working both in a coffee cart at The Melbourne Cricket Ground, and as an assistant at a local bakery. What followed was a combination of baked goods, comfortable consumption and learning about both the industry and himself.
There was never a conscious effort to create a career in coffee, but Wellington provided the perfect opportunity. “There’s a universe where I zag into cooking, but I’ve zig-ed into coffee and wouldn’t change a thing,” said Burgess.
Astoria has a legacy that goes back more than 25 years, and since taking on the role, Burgess’ central focus has been creating a space that can persevere for another 25 years. The decision to separate coffee production from the restaurant, means takeaway coffee and food can be served through a booth to the street while still serving cups to dine-in customers and offers a space for Burgess and his team to focus on brewing.
Astoria has recently added another layer of automation to their LM Linea PB3 Espresso Machine by incorporating a LaMarzocco Wally Milk. The Wally Milk weighs the milk in the jug and steams it according to the customers desires. Burgess says this often leads to conversations about robots and where the hospitality industry is heading but in terms of working, it’s only like having an extra third of a human helping out.
“A great coffee to me feels like someone greeting you, while you take off your coat after a long day. I’m a big fan of a coffee with great body, fruity enough to remind me of port wine, but caramelised well so I can find some brown sugar in there too,” said Burgess.
Burgess believes there's a coffee for every occasion. His functioning order throughout the week is a short oat flat white, and by the weekend he’s often moved on to filter coffee or a short black. He also isn’t opposed to instant coffee on a lazy Sunday morning, stating if you set your expectations correctly, you’ll never be disappointed.
When not at work, Burgess can often be found with his partner, grabbing a sandwich from Fred’s or a coffee from Swimsuit. Burgess prioritises rest after a big week of face to face interactions, usually more than 350 a day, but if time allows, can be tempted to hit every op-shop within a 50 kilometre radius.
Burgess is loving the new and different forms of automation that are entering the field and the opportunities they present for baristas to upskill. Gone are the days of having a “Barista Certificate from XYZ'' as the only available qualification. With terms like automatic dosing, tamping and brewing pressure all part of the industry jargon now more than ever, a highly qualified barista is worth their weight in gold.
Burgess leaves us with a simple piece of advice for those in the industry, “treat well, and teach well.”
