Meet Daniele Carvalho Ricci, definitely one of the wonder kids of the specialty coffee industry! At the age of 26, Daniele achieved more than most coffee professionals would dream in a lifetime. He stood at the World Barista Championship stage twice and in 2023 he became the V-ce World Barista Champion.
Daniele is also a compassionate coach who helped many baristas stand not only on National but also on World stages! He travels the world, collaborates with the brands he loves and hosts training and consulting sessions. Wherever he appears, he infects everyone with his never-ending passion, drive and determination. A true specialty coffee ambassador the industry needs!
Daniele, what is your first memory with coffee?
My very first memory is a funny one (now). When I was 11 and I was watching an American sports event during the night. I needed to make coffee to stay awake, so I made my very first coffee, using my dad’s moka-pot, having no clue on how to even start. I put the ground coffee inside and I turned the stove on. After 5 minutes I went to check in the kitchen and as soon as I opened the door there was a huge cloud of smoke in the house. I forgot the water…
What inspired you to pursue a career in the coffee industry, and how did you get started? What did you do before coffee?
I went to a Hospitality high school, and I studied Sales, Bar and Service. I did a few courses regarding food and drinks back then, such as beer and wine. There was a local roastery that organized coffee courses, and in the third year of high school, I could finally join their activities. Everything started with the SCA Introduction to Coffee, and after that, I decided to participate in the pre-rounds of the Italian Barista Championship. I was also working in a fine dining restaurant so my passion for quality foods and drinks was developing quickly. So, to answer shortly… school was my life before coffee.
Tell us a bit about your work. What different roles do you have?
After many years as a full-time barista and trainer, I’m currently working as a freelancer. My work is mostly in the role of a coffee consultant, but also a trainer and barista. I’m now collaborating with many companies. That keeps me busy through different projects, such as activities within R&D departments, customers’ training, exhibitions, workshops, private events, testing and quality control. I’m also proudly part of the Coffee and Beverage Community in The Simonelli Group, and I cooperate with PUQcoffee, Club House, and two new projects in Asia.
Which duties & responsibilities do you enjoy the most and bring you the most satisfaction?
As a barista, the part I love the most is keeping the coffees dialled in at their best throughout the day, and I’ve been always obsessed with the smoothness of the workflow. I love working in a tidy, organized space, especially keeping everything clean when it’s busy, which makes me feel so satisfied.
The responsibility I enjoy the most is sharing all the knowledge I have with people. Doesn’t matter if they are customers or professionals. As my friend Brice Robin says, “Know you know, but if you’re the only one to know, it’s useless”!
What are some common misconceptions about our industry that you’ve encountered, and how do you address them?
The coffee industry is very underrated, unfortunately. The main problem is that too many people think they know about coffee, even if they’ve never heard the words “specialty coffee”. For example, lots of people think coffee is bitter, just because they’re used to commercial dark-roasted coffee. In this case, I always try to explain why the coffee I serve doesn’t need sugar, and why the coffee they usually take does.
The biggest misconception though, I believe has to do with the fact that so many people approach coffee as a taken-for-granted thing, without asking themselves what they’re drinking and, consequently, without knowing if the price they’re paying is fair or not. Many times people are keen to spend money on quality and healthy food and drinks, but with coffee, this rarely happens.
How do you stay motivated and inspired to keep improving your coffee-making skills?
I love listening to podcasts but coffee competitions are definitely the way I prefer. Every year there are so many incredible baristas on stage, sharing amazing coffee with super interesting concepts. Sometimes they’re based on science and chemistry, sometimes on hospitality and service. It doesn’t really matter, as long as it is motivating, we need to fuel those championships to inspire new generations not only of baristas but also farmers and everyone in the process.
What are the current trends in cafes in your region? Are there any trends you promote yourself and would like to see more often in other places?
Going back to the whole “give value to what you’re tasting” concept, I love to see how coffee shops have begun to increase prices. I’m not just talking about the average price of a coffee, but mostly how coffee shops are now giving the option of different coffees to choose from, each set at a different price. This results in curiosity from a customer’s point of view, at first. Then, it differentiates the offer so the baristas are more interested in exploring different origins, flavours and experiences. I would love to see this happening in every single coffee shop.When I go to a restaurant, if I ask for some wine they ask me “red, sparkling or white?” at least. Why can’t we do the same with coffee?
You have some amazing achievements in championships. Can you tell us more about them?
I’m a very competitive person because I truly believe that you can learn a lot in the process of training for a competition. This is why I challenged myself many times, and every time I compete I try to bring with me a coffee and a concept that truly represents my idea of specialty coffee during that moment.
My first World Barista Championship was in Milan in 2021, where I was ranked 8th, after being 2nd in the first round. In Athens, in 2023, I was on the podium through all the rounds (3rd and 2nd in the first round and semifinal), and I was lucky enough to be in the World Barista Championship final (typing this sentence makes me feel goosebump). Doing the practice session on stage in the morning of the final was an unforgettable experience (only finalists can practice on the stage machine) and I wish it to everyone competing!
How did it feel to become the 2nd best Barista in the world? How did your life change after this huge success?
It felt great, I was speechless and sometimes I still think about it. Especially because Boram was the winner, and we’re very good friends who promised each other to be in the WBC final together, months before the WBC happened when we won our Nationals.
My life changed massively, I had a few weeks to realize and then I started travelling. The World Barista Championship can help a lot in a coffee career, but it’s important to be ready if you’re in front of opportunities.
What is in your opinion the most important thing to have in mind when you start to compete in coffee championships?
Two main things:
1- Sacrifices.
2- Get a team.
Many people think competing is easy and they underestimate what’s behind the championship. It’s impossible to do everything with one or two people. Coffee championships are fun but the whole process including training, logistics and organization takes away a huge part of free time.
If you want to compete, do it, you won’t regret it. But be ready to sacrifice a big portion of your time with family and friends. There’s a lot of energy involved, physical and mostly mental. Don’t worry though, it’s all worth it!
Who were your mentors during your competitive career, and how have they influenced your approach to coaching?
I had the honour to have worked with many people during my competition career. I’ve always looked up to Giacomo Vannelli as a performer, but my very first coffee coaches are Sonia and Maurizio Valli, the people who have been supporting me since day one in coffee. They are the persons that still today push me to compete.
In 2020, I was coached by Dr. Fabiana Carvalho, when I won the Italian Championship for the first time. She taught me so many things and together we built a presentation based on how tasting coffee is a multisensory perception experience, including headphones in the routine.
During my time in Switzerland, I could count on Emi Fukahori and Mathieu Theis, without them, I probably wouldn’t have been able to reach the 2nd place last year. With Emi, I also shared the training for the first WBC in Milan, since we competed together.
To be honest, I’ve always received big support from so many people, starting from my girlfriend Chiara, Andrea Villa, Alfonso Pepe, Pablo Garcia, Roberto Breno, Federico Pinna and Sasha Stefani. There are so many other people, I have a big team and I would really love to list them all but it would take so much time.
Each and every one of them gave me something in terms of how to help competitors.
The mental part is crucial, the organization and the logistics are just after that.
For sure, I have to thank Jasper de Waal and his girlfriend Alex, for trusting me as a coach during the World Barista Championship 2022 in Melbourne. It gave me the inspiration to compete again and I came back from Australia with some trust in myself, also as a coach. I believe my coaching approach is a union of all the experiences of the people who helped me along the way. I usually coach thinking both ways: how would I do it? But also, how would people who coached me would do it? This creates a 360-degree background experience, taking advantage of many little details that are often forgotten.
Can you share a success story of one of your trainees who has excelled in competitions under your guidance?
The story of success I like the most is definitely the one of Federico Pinna. We have been friends since 2018 and he started competing as a “why not?”, but then he really put all the effort into it, studying and researching, and getting better year after year. In January I handed over the trophy to him and it was very emotional to have seen him improving this much. Even for the WBC in Busan, we had a great result for being his first time.
Another great success is Andrea Villa, 3rd place in the Coffee in Good Spirits Championship this year in Copenhagen. He’s my signature drink maker and we’ve been helping each other since 2017.
Finally, I had the pleasure to help Mikael Jasin during the Indonesian Barista Championship semifinal and final, last December.
How do you balance your time and energy between coaching and other professional responsibilities?
It really depends on the coaching, but generally speaking, if I am coaching someone I give priority to that person. During the competition days, my time and my energy go fully on the competitor, and the schedule adapts based on what needs to be done. If the competition is not around the corner time-wise, I still gi
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