Meet Deandra Gauci, one of the pioneers of specialty coffee in Malta. Deandra fell in love with coffee early in her life thanks to her mum and for 12 years she hasn’t skipped a single day extending her coffee knowledge and polishing her skills. She is an Authorised SCA Trainer, Q Arabica Grader and member of the CQI Lecturers Team – just to name a few of her roles. She is also the founder of COFFEE&strangers, which is not only a cosy and inviting specialty café in Sliema but also a hub for quality coffee education and community events.
Deandra is definitely one of the most determined, humble and knowledge-hungry coffee professionals that we have ever encountered. We keep our fingers crossed for her efforts to promote specialty coffee and education to go way beyond Malta!
Deandra, what is your first memory with coffee?
My mum Pauline loves coffee and it is my first coffee memory. She likes visiting cafes and dragging me or any other of my siblings along for coffee since we were very young.
What inspired you to pursue a career in the coffee industry, and how did you get started? What did you do before coffee?
I always wanted to run my own business, I love the excitement and fast-paced constant daily battles, it is what excites me (hahaha). Working for others was never meant for me, I am the sort of individual who likes to create and express what is inside my brain by delivering experiences through something, and I hate being told what to do or micro-managed. Before I started my coffee journey, I worked for corporate companies in the gaming industry. The corporate world is not meant for me, I think it’s quite fake and unethical.
The initial idea was to open a cafe in Malta 15 years ago. Back then we did not have access to coffee knowledge here, which made sense to gain some understanding before opening a cafe, I randomly picked a course (which I could not understand what it was all about) and flew all the way to the Netherlands and started experiencing coffee knowledge. That is how I got inspired and changed my goal to teach the subject.
What inspired you to promote specialty coffee exactly in Malta, and what were the initial and current challenges you faced?
I think it’s from the experience you get from the coffee, an experience that you want others to feel. During Covid people had more time on their hands and this has helped open more minds, people are more aware and challenges decreased, but before the pandemic people were less aware and it was harder to express specialty coffee. I think the term “speciality coffee” is misinterpreted by a lot of people and even by cafes. So this has created confusion for the end consumer. Most would think that it’s like a frappe or an Irish coffee, as unfortunately, you find the term word and a long list of mixed coffee drinks on menus.
Can you share your journey to becoming a recognised coffee educator, SCA trainer and Q-grader? What motivated you to pursue this path?
This journey was never meant to happen – but I got caught up with the fascinating world of coffee. It wasn’t an easy journey at all, but something kept me hooked on moving ahead with exploring it further and becoming a Q and SCA trainer and now I am also happy to join the CQI Lecturers Team.
I believe you have to have passion for the subject and be very patient – people get discouraged easily nowadays because they think it’s easy to access or take shortcuts. It took me 12 years to be where I am today and I am still a coffee student with ZHAW. Behave financially if you want to take this road as it does come at a cost, but it is not impossible.
As for Q Arabica Grader, I think that was quite a gamble BUT I was not aware of how difficult it was. Looking back now I believe that’s the best part, not knowing what to expect to eliminate any fears or stress.
Tell us a bit about COFFEE&strangers.
COFFEE&strangers was founded by myself whilst on a trip to Amsterdam, a light bulb switched on and I told Luke (my partner) that if I ever have a business I would name it COFFEE&strangers, because through coffee we met a lot of strangers that today are our business partners or coffee people we network with. In fact it stands a lot with our cafe, as we see this happening very often, strangers pick up a conversation with others over a coffee and become friends – it’s amazing.
What kind of experience do you want your guests to have when they visit your place?
COFFEE&strangers represent a lot of my side, I am not an emotional person and can express my moments/feelings through things I create. When you enter our cafe and it’s quiet you get to slow down and be able to experience a great cup of coffee, getting away from all the chaos we have around us.
We are also laptop-free, I just cannot stand listening to other individuals’ meetings or typing whilst trying to relax. Even more in a 20sqm space, thus I have adopted this rule. We want people to walk in and acknowledge that we are not your mainstream café. We are here to give them a 5-star hotel feel and Michelin restaurant experience through our coffee and service on another level, so yeah it’s a combination of both. Which was tough to express at first, but people love it.
How have your workshops evolved over the years, and what impact have they had on the local coffee community?
I believe workshops could have only evolved through my continued R&D, in order to send out certain information you need upkeep, things can become irrelevant at a very rapid pace, which I see continuously happening on a daily basis. This is what keeps learners wanting to explore more with us, knowing that they have a local reliable source to trust and look up to for their educational coffee journey.
What is one piece of coffee knowledge you’d like everyone to know?
“Don’t believe stories just because they sound nice” and with social media we see this happening constantly – in coffee and other industries.
What do you think is the most important quality for a barista to have, and why?
Etiquette, knowledge and charisma – most Baristas nowadays have gotten into this hype of looking dead bored…..it does not impress but makes the business look boring with forced customer service.
Occasionally more people get into this world at first because they are hyped and think it’s cool, but they are not even bothered with learning it, sometimes you walk into cafes being local and foreign and ask simple questions like: “Is the coffee washed or natural” they have zero clue what you are talking about! And it’s frustrating. At least having basic knowledge is super important, you never know who walks through the door.
How do you balance your time and energy between running your café, conducting workshops, and being a student?
This world has zero balance, you are constantly running after time, wishing that no other day goes by so fast! Hahaha….. It is a lot of hard work and commitments, it’s not for everyone, and you have to be willing to work 80+ hours a week but if you love what you do, then you won’t see it as work either.
What kind of community do you hope to build around COFFEE&strangers, and how do you plan to foster that sense of community?
A knowledgeable one with solid grounds that I have built through coffee educators who work tirelessly to build solid data. As for our Café – one that keeps connecting strangers!
Good luck with all of your projects Deandra! Where can our readers connect with you and book workshops?
Thank you so much for the opportunity, it is always a pleasure, they can visit our website: coffeestrangers.com for all training, and workshops and learn more about coffee via our monthly blog!
Quick Fire Questions for Daniele Deandra Gauci:
Would you serve filter coffee with milk if asked for it?
I would never suggest it, but yes we had people ask for it. Just keep an open mind and let consumers enjoy it how they want, we are all so different.
Do you ever take sugar with your coffee?
No, thank you 
Espresso or Filter coffee?
Filter coffee.
Milky or Black?
Black
Do you aim for Sweetness, Acidity, or Body?
Depends if I am brewing a filter or espresso, thus for filter: acidity, and for espresso: body and sweetness.
Cake or Pastry with your coffee?
Depends on my mood.
Sit in or take away?
Sit in when time allows.
Favourite piece of barista equipment?
Cupping spoon!
The post Barista Stories: Deandra Gauci of COFFEE&strangers, Malta appeared first on European Coffee Trip.
A digital magazine focused on the speciality coffee culture in Europe since 2014.