Sergio Godinho: Coffee Insurrection Hero Chapter #15

Published by Tanya in Coffee Insurrection Hero · 23 July 2021
Tags: SergioGodinho, BunaSpecialtyCoffeeShop, Lisbon, Portugal, Interview

1_ Introduce yourself: who are you, where are you from, where do you work and what’s your job.

My name is Sergio Godinho, I am originally from Portugal (Lisbon), I am one of the owners of BUNA coffeeshop. I have the hard job of seating around our clients and enjoy coffee in their company. I also wait tables and clean the dishes when needed J.

2_ When and why did coffee become important to you?

I have more experience with coffee as a client than as a coffeeshop owner. At first, coffee become important to me as the way to start my day, taking the first 30 min of my day at a coffeeshop to organize my day, and later as a coffee owner, when I started to understand more about the behind the scenes i.e., equipment, brewing methods, etc.

3_ Do you remember the first coffee you had that was more than “just a cup of coffee”?

Yes, at Gimme Coffee in New York, a while ago… I started exploring the coffee shop scene while living in NY for almost 15 years. I have done it all, tried everything from coffee cart black coffee, coffee refills at diners, Dunkin Donuts coffee, Starbucks, all the way through single origin fine coffee. It is important to be exposed to all types of coffees without prejudice. I had times in which a black coffee with milk from a street cart on a minus 10 degrees Celsius day, felt like the best coffee I haver had.

4_ What’s your favorite thing about going to work in the morning?

Is the fact that everyday feels different! I never know who I am going to find out at the coffee shop, or what coffee did my co-workers decide to brew for the day.

5_ What’s your favorite brewing method and why?

I like espresso-based coffee, but I also enjoy pour over coffee. I start my day with a double shot cappuccino followed by a double espresso, basically 4 shots!!! Then, before lunch time, if some filter coffee is left over, I go for it.

6_ Which is the best coffee you ever tasted?

I tasted great coffees that under specific moments tasted like the best coffee I ever drank. Hard to choose one, there are amazing coffees out there.

7_ Is there a country of origin that you tend to favor coffee from? Why?

I tend to favor Colombia and Ethiopia. They just mix well with milk-based drinks, as well as solo.

8_ Suggest us a roastery to check (not the one you working at/you use at work).

Keen Coffee from the Netherlands.

9_ What’s the most important things you’ve learnt while working in the business?

You can have access and brew the best coffee in the world, but if you don’t care about people and the human side of the business, you have no future! A coffee shop is a place made for people that in turn like to drink coffee. Treat your staff like they are partners in your business, compensate your staff fairly, motivate and empower your staff, pay your suppliers on time, treat your clients like guests at your home, strip yourself from all the pretentious things about specialty coffee. Both coffee connoisseurs and first timers should feel comfortable ordering coffee, and free to drink their coffee the way they like it.

10_ How your work and the specialty coffee world are coping with Covid and the new challenges for hospitality?

Covid pandemic was a hard blow, and coffee world as well as other industries had to adjust, adapt, and reinvent themselves to survive. At BUNA, we worked hard to reinvent ourselves, and we managed to keep the doors (sometimes the window) open every day through the pandemic. It is amazing how can you still bond and interact with your clients even through the window take away service. Those 5-10 min that people could grab their cup of coffee during the peak of the pandemic, meant a lot to people, and I believe it played a role in people’s mental health by providing a brief social moment of the day in which people could get some interaction. Unfortunately, the wealth destruction due to Covid, will most likely result into some market consolidation. We all learn a lot when going through tough times that force us to rethink, improve and reinvent, therefore I’m sure that businesses that were able to endure the pandemic times, will come out of it stronger.

11_ How do you see the specialty coffee scene in 10 years?

First, I believe coffee shops that care about coffee and serve great coffee, will drop the term “specialty” from their names. If you in fact are secure of yourself about serving great coffee, you won’t feel the need to adjectivize it as “specialty”. We will have either good coffee shops or just coffee shops.

12_ Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Creating jobs and coffee places in which people can enjoy coffee as well as interesting interactions.

13_ Any last word? Any tip or suggestion you wanna share with someone that want to start this path?

People, Fairness, Honesty, Care.