Q+A With Geo Navarrete

Q: How did you get into competitions?

A: In the fall of 2015 I heard about a small throwdown [a low-stakes competition where local baristas have two minutes and 30 seconds to produce a “free-pour” latte where milk is poured directly from the pitcher to make
art without the use of stencils or needles] happening at Crema. I signed up and made it to the second round before getting eliminated. That’s where I got my first taste.

Q: And how's that going now?

A: I compete a lot, most recently in the 2023 Coffee Fest in Anaheim, Calif., where I came in third place at
the Latte Art World Championship Open. My favorite thing about competing is the people I compete against. The coffee community helps each other. Competing requires a ton of travel. Some of us can get our expenses covered, but generally a bunch of us will bunk together and live in a big Airbnb like it’s The Real World. When you’re competing, you’re playing a head game with yourself; on one hand, you’re doing something you love and something you do every day — it should be easy. Then you have 300 people staring at you and everything changes.

Q: What’s your role at Honest Coffee?

A: I’m a barista, educator and [quality control] tester for the roaster. I love the community in the café. I love my regulars. It’s my job to put a smile on your face and maybe a doodle on your cup, but it always puts a smile on my face to see my regulars just by having them come in. I’m a barista at heart. I take pride in it.

Q: And in your spare time?

A: I stay sharp by visiting as many third-wave shops
and exploring styles of coffee that don’t make sense in commercial settings. [A “third-wave shop” means high- quality beans; Geo estimates he’s been to over 200 such shops.] At home, I get to be more nerdy about black coffee. I know I can make lattes and stuff, but I love the nuance between different origins of beans.

Q: How do you shake off all the caffeine?

A: I still skate. I also took up cycling — I did a century [a 100-kilometer ride] three years ago. Oh, and I love karaoke.

Q: Any tips for home baristas?

A: Predictably, it all starts with the beans. People think that buying the freshest beans at the store is the most important, but really, a bag of coffee beans is best about two weeks after roasting. After roasting, gas escapes from the coffee beans, which is what makes them crackle. This gas needs about two weeks to fully escape. Otherwise it can cause off flavors in the cup.

Get a grinder. It makes your beans last longer and you can adjust your coffee as you go.

And maybe most importantly for Tennesseans, get a good water filter. Tennessee water is pretty hard and can add some pretty wild flavors to your coffee.