Coffee expert Martin Hudak spills the beans on the future of caffeinated liqueurs
This week saw International Coffee Day – a celebration of all things caffeinated. We sat down with Martin Hudak, a global coffee expert and ambassador for coffee experts Mr Black Roasters and Distillers.
Martin started his career in London at the American Bar at the Savoy, and hasn’t looked back.
Tell us about you and your career within the coffee industry?
I started back home in Slovakia at a local cafe right after I finished my studies. All I did was coffee in the morning and cocktails at the night! I moved to the UK to work at the American Bar at the Savoy, which won World’s Best Bar at Tales of the Cocktail during my time there.
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Whilst at the American Bar, from 2010 I participated in the National Barista Competitions focusing specifically on coffee cocktails. I was thrilled to make it four times to the World Finals, and was awarded second place twice, followed by best in the world in 2014.
In 2016, I became World Coffee in Good Spirit champion in Shanghai, and in 2017, I was overwhelmed to be awarded the highest scores in the history of the competition. I’m now running my own coffee cocktail program in my bar in Australia, and I’ve recently just launched my own coffee brand – Spiritual Coffee. Alongside that, I’m the Global Coffee Ambassador, building interest in incredible coffee brands, Mr Black being the key focus.
Can you give us some insight on the coffee industry as a whole, including how things have changed from Covid-19?
I think people started to appreciate the role of coffee shops as places for social interaction during isolation. At the same time many coffee shops had to change their strategies and focus more on eCommerce and take-away services only, which were adjusted by additional offers of food, groceries, alcohol etc.
At the same time with fewer customers, global demand for green coffee dropped, which made major issues for farmers. Also take away service increased global usage of paper cups again which is hugely damaging for our planet.
Can you tell us about how the craft coffee revolution has paved the way for the success of cold brew coffee liqueurs?
Talking about craft or third wave of coffee, we don’t have to dig too deep into history. We’re talking about early 2000’s. With first specialty roasters and coffee shops it was only a matter of the time for the first specialty cold brew coffee liqueur to be born.
Back in 2013 when Mr Black was launched, it was first cold brew coffee liqueur of its kind; many other brands have followed this trend to success. But cold brew in general as a beverage is way older than we think. It was originally born in Kyoto in16th century and then made a come back in the early 2000 in the US thanks to Toddy cold brew systems.
Tell us about your work with Mr Black?
My role is more educational than sales as you might get from usual brand ambassadors. I travel to the new markets and host trade seminars for professionals where I touch base about the history and origin of coffee, together with processing and roasting, and then I walk them through creating coffee cocktails.
It is very important to make professionals believe that coffee deserves more respect and should be treated that way. It is natural for the best of the best in our field to use Mr Black as they understand our ethos, quality and story. I am happy to see it across the globe in the best bars, restaurants and coffee shops. It is a statement for us that what we do is the right choice.
What do you think is the future of coffee?
People will appreciate coffee more; they will choose only the best on offer with an understanding of the story behind the brand, which gives full transparency and traceability. Same for coffee liqueurs and coffee cocktails.
Remember more coffee and less sugar, that’s the future of coffee liqueurs!
Mr Black is launching a new limited edition coffee liqueur: Single Origin Ethiopia in time for World Coffee Day. Mr Black cold-brew coffee and liqueurs are available here.