Sonam Sherpa: From Poetry to Coffee – The Journey of the 2024 UAE AeroPress Champion
In an atmosphere filled with enthusiasm and ambition, Sonam Sherpa from Karanti Coffee was crowned the champion of the 2024 UAE AeroPress Championship, organized by Mokha 1450 and hosted by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Coffee Centre and Gaming Centre. The championship witnessed the participation of over 400 coffee enthusiasts, highlighting the rich and vibrant coffee culture in the UAE.
Sonam Sherpa, who has made competitions an integral part of his life since childhood, from poetry and football to coffee, expressed his immense pride in winning the UAE AeroPress Championship title. Sherpa said, “The moment was swift, thrilling, and incredible. With the great support of my team and my wife, we celebrated this achievement. Now, it is my responsibility to represent over 400 competitors and the coffee community in the UAE. I am ready to take on this responsibility and look forward to representing the UAE at the World AeroPress Championship.”
Describing the moment of his win, Sherpa recounted it as an emotional journey, competing against the best. However, he had his first recipe ready from day one, which gave him courage and self-confidence. “My coffee was consistent and improved with each round. When the blue card was announced as the winner, I told myself: I really did it. Achieving this dream was an unforgettable happy moment.”
Sherpa’s strategy was to have inner faith that he could achieve his goal and be prepared to accept any result. In preparation for the championship, he and his partner Puja worked on several recipes, trying three with the competition sample and selecting the best one with an excellent taste. They planned to use distilled and re-mineralized water to get the best coffee flavor, choosing water with 85 ppm after several trials.
When asked about the unique technique he used in the competition, Sherpa explained that he removed the crust or crema from the AeroPress chamber after the final pour, which allowed him to control defects in the cups and resulted in a cleaner taste. He described the process in detail:
Sherpa’s Recipe:
- Position: Inverted
- Filter: Paper
- Dose: 18 grams
- Grinder: Comandante grinder and another grinder
- Water: Re-mineralized water with a special solution
Method:
- Use 18 grams of coffee and grind it to a medium-fine size (16 clicks on the Comandante grinder, setting 5.2 on the other grinder).
- Heat the water to 70°C.
- Set up your AeroPress using the inverted technique.
- Add 40 grams of water to the coffee, stir eight times, and let it bloom for 40 seconds.
- Add more water to reach a total of 200 grams.
- Stir 10 times and remove the crust.
- Attach the cap with two paper filters and at two minutes, flip the AeroPress onto a decanter.
- Start pressing at 2:30 minutes and then serve.
Sherpa’s notable record in coffee competitions, including placing fourth in the 2023 UAE National Barista Championship and winning the 2023 Marriott Latte Art Championship and 2020 Costa Coffee Barista Championship, helped him connect with industry professionals and shape his career from a barista to a green coffee buyer. It also helped him build the coffee community in Darjeeling, India.
What inspires Sherpa to stay in the coffee industry is the community he connects with, where he can talk for hours about coffee. He says, “Coffee competitions allow me to learn new things each time and push me to think differently than usual.”
In September, Sherpa will represent the UAE at the World AeroPress Championship. He is preparing for this global event by conducting research and connecting with friends to understand the best brewing techniques. Sherpa adds, “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and responsibility. It’s a great honor to represent the UAE on the world stage.”
What Sherpa enjoys most about working with coffee is the people and the fruitful conversations over coffee. “I don’t have a specific favorite origin; I love sweet, clean, and balanced coffee. Recently, I’ve been enjoying some super sweet and balanced Indian coffee.”
Sherpa’s advice to aspiring baristas who want to compete in championships is: “Believe in yourself, be confident, be prepared to fail and learn, and do extensive research to learn more about coffee.”
Looking to the future, Sherpa aims for more competitions, expanding his network, and working on coffee in South Asia. He is excited to see the growth of the coffee community back home, supporting young entrepreneurs, and building a coffee culture in Darjeeling. He is also eager to work on developing coffee in South Asia.
