Nastya Kovalenko

My name is Anastasia. My career in the coffee industry started 5 years ago when I discovered specialty coffee. I’ve got a degree in English and Psychology. I’ve got over 15 years’ experience of teaching English.

I’m a coffee addict. Coffee has always been my hobby, so over time, I decided to turn it into a job. I like tasting coffee that is differently processed and of different origins. I prefer drinking it without sugar. I’m a filter coffee lover; however, when I have a special mood, I enjoy alternative methods of brewing. Once I came across a coffee shop and fell in love with the barista who worked there. He was doing magic while brewing coffee, and the drink he made tasted great. This guy is now my close friend. He helps me a lot by sharing his knowledge. Only in the coffee industry, I’ve come across so many passionate and dedicated people.

When I’m brewing coffee, I feel happy and very calm, which isn’t typical of me. At work, I enjoy cappuccino because I can steam the milk perfectly. A year ago, I worked as a barista and a head of my coffee shop Cafe d’Italia in Dnipro. I had a lot of regular guests, who still remember me. I knew all their tastes and tried to be flexible. I always get great pleasure from communicating with guests, and they really appreciate my genuine interest. Now I’m brewing coffee in Planitarium.

I’m constantly developing my professional skills and also share my experience with coffee lovers. I attend different workshops, visit Ukrainian and world coffee festivals and championships as a volunteer and an interpreter for the judges.

I have experience of working with some great coffee machines such as Astoria, Wega, La Cimbali, Nuova Simonelli, and Dalla Corte and with grinders like Fiorenzato and Mahlkönig. Good equipment helps make a perfect cup of coffee. My favorite coffee maker was Astoria, which we bought for our cafe. It wasn’t new, but it was in a good condition. The device was equipped with two groups, which was enough. Also, it was easy to program or use manually and easy to clean. My grinder Fiorenzato F64 had a display, so it was easy to change the time of grinding at any time. I adjusted the grind size manually, but it wasn’t a problem, as it worked stably. Later on, I tried brewing with the help of the Dalla Corte machine. It was more powerful and easy to program. In comparison to Astoria, it was faster and more eco-friendly (it saved energy). In comparison to the Fiorenzato grinder, Mahlkönig was superfast. It ground beans much faster, and less coffee remained inside. It was much more expensive, but it was worth the money.

Now I’m happy working as a barista in Planetarium and educating people about coffee. I’ve got my YouTube channel and coffee blog on Instagram. I’m planning to visit offline championships and take part in the Cup Tasters contest in the near future.