The April + May 2025 20th Anniversary Issue

In our April + May 2025 issue, we celebrate our 20th anniversary with Wendelien van Bunnik and positivity! Also included: articles on matcha, how to be a good manager, Puerto Rican coffee culture, crafting bar flow, ’One on One’ with Roukiat Delrue, and much, much more!

BY SARAH ALLEN
BARISTA MAGAZINE

Welcome to the April + May 2025 20th anniversary issue of Barista Magazine! We’re thrilled to share our new issue with you. It’s packed with compelling features, educational articles, in-depth interviews, and much more. You can subscribe through our online store to get a hard copy print version of the magazine mailed to you, or read it for free with our digital edition here.

But before we dive into the new issue, we have to take a moment to say how thankful we are for you and the entire specialty-coffee community for the support you’ve given us over the last two decades. We couldn’t have done it without you, and we wouldn’t want to. For 20 years, we’ve been serving people serving coffee because the people who make coffee make the whole world go around. We’re all a part of a network that at its best can bring disparate people, different cultures, and great coffee together to create a vibrant community, lasting bonds, and indelible memories that span the globe. And that’s something worth celebrating.

Cover Feature: Wendelien van Bunnik

Wendelien van Bunnik was a natural choice for the cover feature of such a celebratory issue. Not content to just win coffee competition titles (she’s a past World AeroPress Championship winner and Dutch Barista Champion), Wendelien founded the Happy People Coffee Network in an effort to foster positivity and kindness in our global community. Finding time between her consulting career, a coffee book project, and being a mom, Wendelien created a platform where any coffee professional can take advantage of educational opportunities, networking events, and the chance to simply connect with other coffee pros for advice and support. Read Wendelien’s story, written by the talented K. Tigger Chaturabul, in the new issue.

’Leader of the Pack: How to Be a Good Manager’

What steps can you take to make sure you’re maximizing your team’s potential? We asked Ty Harrell, currently in leadership at Ozo Coffee Roasters, to write this story based on his years spent as a barista, manager, and owner in the coffee industry. Each person in the chain of command has insights into what it takes to be a good coffee shop manager, and Ty relied on all of them to put this informative and useful piece together.

’Game, Set, Matcha’

Is matcha having a moment, or is it something more? Here at Barista Magazine, we think matcha is here to stay as a café staple. Just as functional beverages have secured a permanent place in café lineups, matcha has a hold on coffee and tea lovers alike as it fits into so many categories—including functional. This feature story by Melina Devoney explores the rich history of matcha and preferred preparation methods, dives into the role it plays in a modern café menu, and discusses quality assessment and appreciation.

’We’re Still Here: Present-Day Puerto Rico’

The people of Puerto Rico have been beset by challenges and catastrophes small and large from gentrification to hurricanes, and yet through it all, they persist. Today while fewer people than ever farm the land, the coffee community is trying to stage a rebound. Barista Magazine Publisher Kenneth R. Olson traveled to Puerto Rico recently to meet with farmers, roasters, and baristas to learn about the current state of Puerto Rican grown coffee, and witness the joy and pride the people continue to have for their island and all of its rich agricultural history and potential.

’One on One: Roukiat Delrue’

For as long as Barista Magazine has been covering World Coffee Championships, it seems Roukiat Delrue has been there too, as a judge, volunteer, or trainer. She’s a multifaceted coffee professional who has been building the specialty-coffee community for decades. There are few coffee professionals with as much intimate understanding of coffee from every angle—that of a barista, a competitor, a roaster, a producer, and a quality controller—as Roukiat, called “Rouki“ by her friends. She has worked for Anacafe in Guatemala, the Coffee Quality Institute, and the Specialty Coffee Association, and has tirelessly volunteered for Coffee Corps and in projects to advance robusta education and certification. Learn more about Rouki in this very special interview.

And Much More Inside

Also in the April + May 2025 20th anniversary issue: the second part of “The Knockbox,“ focusing on how to create the perfect bar flow by longtime coffee professional, former U.S. Barista Champion, and retailing expert Laila Ghambari; “Tech Talk,“ “Field Reports“ to get you ready for World of Coffee in Jakarta and Carnival in Cologne; and much, much more.  

Subscribe and More!

As always, you can read Barista Magazine in paper by subscribing or ordering an issue. Read the April + May 2025 20th Anniversary Issue for free with our digital edition. 

And for free access to more than five years’ worth of issues, visit our digital edition archives here.