Barista Luce Lageard first moved to Leeds in 2019 when she became involved in speciality coffee. Luce slowly learned the different methods of home brewing and tasting notes in coffee, working at the renowned Coffee on the Crescent - now Assistant Head Barista. In this interview, Luce outlines recommendations for new baristas and what’s next for the career of a plant of coffee lover.

When did you start your career in coffee and how did you come across the industry?
When I was 16 years-old, I helped in this cafe and they served eight different coffees from parts of the world. The cafe prepared them in a cafetière as a drink, instead of your bog standard coffee. That was when I first became interested in coffee and started to understand my love for it.

What's the status of specialty coffee in Leeds?
The coffee scene in Leeds is massive. There are so many nice independent coffee shops here. Everyone is so nice in the Leeds coffee community - everyone knows each other.

What types of people are suited to working in coffee?
Absolutely anyone! As long as you work hard, and are passionate and creative about your craft. Especially with latte art - it takes a while to understand the milk texture and the pouring technique.

If someone is new to coffee and looking to start out, what would you recommend they start with?
I would recommended them to start home brewing with a V60 as your start to understand the tasting notes and how important weighing out the coffee and how much water goes in it. It turns into a fun hobby. Also with latte art, don’t rush into the design. Start on perfecting the milk texture, once you’ve got that sorted you can start practising with designs.

Are there some central blog posts or websites that you go to gain more knowledge, develop further skills?
Defiantly YouTube has helped me develop my skills, while watching James Hoffmann and reading his book. He has some great tips on how to do pretty much everything.

What's next for your career? What's on the horizon and what goals do you have for the coming three years?
I’m currently working in a specialty coffee shop in Leeds and developing my skills. In the future I would love to open my own coffee/plant shop as it’s two loves of mine. I would also love to own a coffee van and travel the country and Europe selling and brewing specialty coffee.

Follow Luce on Instagram via @coffeeofcinders