Meet the 2020 Sensory Summit Zurich Scholarship Recipients
The Coffee Roasters Guild (CRG) and BRITA® are proud to present the recipients of the 2020 BRITA Scholarships for Sensory Summit EU taking place in Switzerland this year.
2020 BRITA® Scholars at Sensory Summit
The Scholarship is designed for people who lack the financial resources to attend Sensory Summit EU on their own, but who belong in the environment of fellow coffee roasters and deserve the opportunity for professional development.
HERVE MWIZERWA
COFFEE QUALITY ASSURANCE & REGULATION SPECIALIST
RWANDA NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EXPORT DEVELOPMENT BOARD
My name is Mwizerwa Herve. I have a master's degree in food science and technology and I have been working with the National Agricultural Export Development Board since 2012. I am currently in charge of coffee quality assurance and regulations. I am 31 years old, and have been married since August 2019. I have two publications, one of which is based around the effect of cassava resistant starch on the physio-chemical and sensory properties of yogurt.
Photo: Albin Durand
MIHAELA LORDACHE
HEAD ROASTER
LA BRÛLERIE DE BELLEVILE
Coffee entered my life 6 years ago via the most stunning and surreal coffee experience I had to this day — a cupping of Guatemalan coffees that mentally reduced me to awe and to a sense of home. I decided that day to dive deep into coffee and the sensory ways our brain processes it. Prior to this, I was studying to become a classical music performer. I took all that discipline and put it into my first barista job. Six months in I made the finals of the French National Barista Championship. One year in I became the manager and director of coffee for the shop I worked in, Ten Belles. Two years in I moved into production for Belleville Brûlerie. One year later, in 2016, I got the title of head roaster, and have overseen the internal quality control and production side of things since then. As of 2020, I have taken over the African side of our green buying, which is a first for me. A month ago, we won the Roast Masters title in Italy and hope to compete again soon. We brought back Frog Fight a year ago — an fun, educational coffee event that unites the coffee community around one tasting and one throwdown in different locations across France. With my team, we have been able to grow the audience to an average of 300 people. On the side, I am working on a personal project called Stir & Serve — a written and audio platform that dives deeper into the perspectives we need to see more in our public narrative — diverse, unconventional, all-encompassing accounts of our leaders, all of them. The first season is a series of interviews focusing on women coffee professionals, their work, and their vision without focusing purely on their gender. I work in coffee today because I am obsessed with the product itself, but also because it allows me to be a student of life and share what I see in a less dogmatic way than other industries from my past.
Join Herve Mwizerwa and Mihaela Lordache at Sensory Summit EU in Zurich, Switzerland from February 10-11, 2020. View the full program and purchase your ticket today at sensorysummiteu.coffee.
