EUROPEAN COFFEE TRIP Chats with the Founder Aleš Pospíšil
EUROPEAN COFFEE TRIP
Chats with the Founder Aleš Pospíšil
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Aleš Pospíšil, one of the co-founders of European Coffee Trip, boasts an impressive online presence, including a YouTube channel with approximately 300,000 subscribers and a coffee web magazine featuring over 650 articles and 140 city guides spanning 43 countries. He and co-founder Radec initiated this project in 2014, and their YouTube channel is now home to more than 340 coffee-related videos.
Furthermore, they've dug into documentary filmmaking, creating a documentary about the Aeropress Coffee Brewer. They've also ventured into the app development arena, launching their app for discovering coffee shops. This app has garnered nearly 60,000 downloads and features 3,700 cafes.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST ENCOUNTER SPECIALTY COFFEE, AND WHAT WAS THAT INITIAL EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR YOU?
The first significant encounter with specialty coffee for me was during a coffee festival called "Coffee Week" in Brno. This event celebrated International Coffee Day and featured various coffee-related activities in cafes throughout the city. At one particular event, I attended a coffee brewing workshop. The workshop showcased different coffee brewing methods and offered a chance to taste exceptional coffee.
During the workshop, I vividly remember the moment when they introduced a coffee bag from Panama. The roaster described how it would have notes of strawberry, yogurt, and white chocolate when brewed. This description amazed me because I had always associated coffee with bitterness, based on my previous coffee experiences. However, when we brewed and tasted the coffee, I was pleasantly surprised by the complex and delightful flavors I encountered. This experience marked the beginning of my journey into the world of specialty coffee.
Upon returning home, my flatmate and I decided to dig deeper into coffee brewing. We purchased grinders and experimented with different methods to replicate the amazing flavors we had discovered. While we failed a few times because it was just so difficult, this marked the start of my coffee exploration and a realization that there was much more to coffee than I had ever imagined.
HOW DID YOU FEEL PRODUCING CONTENT IN ENGLISH AS A NON-NATIVE SPEAKER?
The coffee community is open and inclusive, transcending cultural boundaries and uniting people from diverse backgrounds. The fact that language poses no barrier within this community also highlights the remarkable dedication of barista competitors and champions who have memorized scripts in English, despite it not being their native language.
Initially, we shied away from being the face of the content, instead preferring to act as conduits for experts. However, we soon realized the limitations of this approach. As non-native English speakers, we recognized that our unique perspectives brought clarity and simplicity to our content, making it more accessible to a global audience with varying linguistic backgrounds.
This approach resonated with coffee enthusiasts worldwide, enabling them to engage with the complex world of coffee without language serving as an obstacle.
WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU CAME UP WITH EUROPEAN COFFEE TRIP?
Before launching European Coffee Trip, I had a background in telecommunications, working as a telecommunications engineer. However, I always had a strong inclination to combine technology with business, management, and marketing.
Over the years, I gravitated towards tech startups. During my time in Zurich, where I worked at a tech startup founded by friends, my passion for specialty coffee continued to develop. I discovered that the coffee scene there was less prominent than in Prague, which led me to connect with like-minded individuals and sparked the idea of creating a platform for learning about European coffee.
When I returned to Prague, I decided to start my own business, and my enthusiasm for coffee led to the inception of European Coffee Trip.
WERE YOU ABLE TO JUMP INTO THAT FULL-TIME AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, OR DID YOU START IT AS A SIDE BUSINESS FIRST AND THEN TRANSITION TO FULL-TIME?
European Coffee Trip initially started as a side business. However, we quickly realized its potential and decided to pursue it full-time to make it sustainable. In the spring of 2014, I had the idea for the project. I knew that to showcase specialty coffee shops effectively, we needed someone to handle photos and videos, as the visual aspect was crucial.
I discussed the concept with some friends, and Radek, who eventually co-founded European Coffee Trip with me, happened to be on a gap year at the university, making it the perfect time for him to join. Our motivation was to learn and challenge ourselves since we had no prior experience in making videos, writing in English, or being baristas.
The positive response, feedback, and energy we received from people were incredibly motivating. This encouraged us to give it a serious shot. After a few months, we secured a sponsorship deal with a coffee brand to create videos, providing us with evidence that we could transform this project into a sustainable business.
COULD YOU BREAK DOWN YOUR EXPERIENCE OF DEVELOPING THE ECT APP?
For us, the initial phase was the most challenging, involving extensive travel and personal networking. It might not be as glamorous as other aspects of the project, like outsourcing development, but it was crucial for building connections in this niche field. The first step allowed us to better understand the coffee scene.
The second phase came with the realization that the network and scene were rapidly expanding. To keep up, we transformed our project into a database, creating a website that welcomed suggestions from our readers. This transition positioned us as content creators and curators, rather than just explorers on the ground.
Looking ahead, the next step involves scaling the project to make it more user-friendly and to address new challenges. As the number of cafes grows, finding a place to drink coffee is less of an issue. It's more about finding cafes that meet specific criteria, such as serving a particular type of coffee, offering breakfast, or providing Wi-Fi for remote work. Our focus will shift to collecting more data, developing tools and platforms, and exploring monetization opportunities. These are the three distinct phases of our journey.