Who are you and what is your position at BOOT?
My name is Anouk and I have been working for BOOT for about six months now. During the week, I work as an account manager for the Amsterdam region and the rest of the Randstad. You will mostly see me behind my laptop or on my bike in Amsterdam. In the weekends, you can find me in our training room in Het Lokaal. This is where I give the BOOT workshops as a trainer, from barista and latte art to coffee tasting.

Why do you work with coffee?
Like many people in coffee, I actually got into this world by accident. During my college days, I had a side job. I started in a very small specialty coffee shop in the town where I'm from. This was the first time I came across the term "specialty coffee" at all. I learned an awful lot in 1.5 years there and that was also the time when I found out that I really liked coffee and found it interesting. My studies soon lost interest and my days consisted only of coffee, coffee and more coffee. I did get my bachelor's degree but went straight into coffee. That was 2.5 years ago now and since then I have worked in different branches of the coffee industry. From barista and roaster to trainer and account manager. Coffee is such a special product and also such a young industry, which makes me feel I can never stop learning. I can always keep learning and discovering new things and that keeps it always interesting for me.

In addition, I really enjoy connecting with people. Coffee is a great chatting topic that almost everyone can relate to and is curious about, so the conversations that sometimes arise from the interest I also find mega fun. Hence, I always find giving workshops at BOOT the most fun day of the week.

What is your most memorable moment as a coffee professional?
Oehh, good question. There are actually too many to list. In a nutshell a few:

When I first got to pick a coffee to purchase and decide everything from A to Z about the roast profile. That was very exciting, special and super educational at the same time.

Once I got to go on a working trip to London, where I got to do a two-day intensive sensory course. London is my favorite city and has such a great coffee scene. That was very special.

The moments when you taste a coffee with flavors you've never tasted before. I also find those very nice moments. Some coffees I still think about and would sooo like to drink again.

In your opinion, what is a coffee that everyone should try?
From BOOT, as a filter, I really enjoy the Ethiopia. If you want something more exciting, I would recommend our revamped Java as an espresso. I really like the spicy flavors in that, if you close your eyes it's like eating one of those old-fashioned salmiac candies.