Sasa Sestic

Who he is

Bosnian-Australian, founder of ONA Coffee (Canberra) and Project Origin. 2015 World Barista Champion. Author of The Coffee Man, subject of the documentary of the same name.

Philosophy

• Process is the new frontier. Pioneered Carbonic Maceration (CM) in coffee — borrowed from winemaking — to amplify clarity and complexity at origin.
• Producers first. Pay above commodity pricing, invest in fermentation infrastructure on farm, share data both ways.
• Competition is a R&D lab for what the industry will drink in 5 years.

Notable quotes

"Coffee is grown by people, not by countries."

"If we want better coffee, we have to give producers the tools to make it."

Signature gear & coffee

• La Marzocco Strada EP · Mahlkönig EK43
• Sudden Coffee / Project Origin sourcing pipeline
• Famous CM lots from Camilo Merizalde (Colombia), Wilton Benitez and others

Known for

• 2015 WBC champion
• Bringing carbonic maceration into mainstream specialty coffee
• ONA Coffee — multiple Australian Barista, Brewers Cup and Latte Art champions trained in-house