Will Priestley is no newcomer to the coffee scene and the art of the barista. At 26 years of age, Will is widely known and respected throughout the industry. He has competed in just about every barista and latte art competition throughout Australia, becoming the Australian Latte Art Champion in 2010 and placing second in the World Latte Art Championships the same year in London.
His work record starts in Tassie at Island Espresso, then moves to Cafenatics in Melbourne – well known for their mentoring and support of young and passionate baristas. Will has now come of age and has opened his own café, Pilgrim, back in his hometown of Hobart.
A little quieter than Melbourne? Not for one very motivated barista with a perfectionist attitude and the energy to match it. Café Culture recently caught up with this unstoppable force, Mr Will Priestley!
Hi Will. With the opening of Pilgrim in Hobart, would you say you are busier than ever?
Well, the opening of Pilgrim Coffee was a long time coming, and it certainly has kept me busy getting it open. Though … it is a different kind of busy; it’s all on your own back! Fortunately for me, that suits my personality type. I worked and worked and worked. However, now the café is open, I am truly busy.
What are the café opening hours, and are you in there all of this time? How many staff do you have? Are you the ‘head’ barista?
The café is open from 6.30am ’til 5.30pm, Mon – Fri, and we are about to open on weekends. We have six staff, and yes, I am the head barista. I was given the advice to play to my strength with the café, so I spend as much time on the machine as possible. It may be the only thing that keeps me sane! But Tyler (the protégé) kicks me off the machine whenever there is a hint of something else for me to do.
What is the style of the café – aesthetics and food philosophy?
The style of the café is ‘industrial chic’, I guess, but it’s hard to say yet. I think it needs to develop its own style. The aesthetics revolve around the building it’s in; it was built in 1830 and has a beautiful convict cut sandstone feature wall. However, everything else is left as raw as possible. The food philosophy is easy; it’s Tassie … We use locally grown produce, particularly featuring free range and game meats.
Does Pilgrim have its own coffee?
Axil Coffee provides me with their seasonal espresso blend; why would you need anything else? However, we do work with them on it; it’s nice being close to Zoe, David and Matt. Saying this, Axil is not the only coffee we use. Proud Mary’s supply us with some single origins, and we are on the hunt for some other suppliers too. I think variety is the spice of life, and it’s so nice working with different people and being able to learn from all of them.
Tell us a little about your background. How did you first get into coffee? Where did you work? Who had the most influence on your direction?
This is a huge question! I started working in specialty coffee at a place called Island Espresso with Dan’e Knezzavic. It all started with an espresso of Colombian single origin; after that, I was there every day trying to learn more and more! Dan’e was a huge influence on me, but definitely not the only influence.
More recently the two main influences have been David Makin, helping me train for almost every comp I have been in (I must credit him a lot for my success) and Joe Haddad, being an influence in coffee and business, pushing me and helping me for competitions and then pushing me to open my own café.
What started the fire in your belly for competition?
How super cool all the baristas were, of course! Or maybe it was a natural progression for me; I do have a little competitive streak. You can probably take your pick of the answers.
Are the Hearts on Fire and the Butterfly in a Tulip your own original creations?
Yes. I believed going into the comps I needed original designs to win. So I guess I will have to unleash some more new designs in this year’s comps!
What was the defining moment when you knew you were ready to open your own café?
Hmmm, I wanted to do coffee exactly the way I wanted to. Working for someone else, it can never be done like that. That, coupled with saving enough money and realising the opportunity was there to open my own café.
Is there life outside of coffee for you?
There is something else besides coffee? Tragically, I am super busy with the café, so all I get to do besides coffee is paperwork. That will change, though, and when I have some free time I really enjoy playing hockey and getting out on my fixie.
Have you been to origin? How involved in the ‘green’ side do you get or want to get? Is there a natural progression for you into roasting?
Going to international origin is at the top of my to do list. As we speak, I’m trying to line up some direct trade with farms in Nicaragua. As for roasting, I have a funny outlook on it. I believe extraction and roasting are two huge art forms, so it would be hard to master both. Luckily for me, I have access to some of Australia’s best roasters, so at the moment I’m focusing on extraction, but I would like to at least roast a little to understand things better. However, I think I will still be behind the machine in 30 years; it’s just who I am.
What is your style of coffee, e.g. short black, latte?
I’m a café owner. I have to drink everything; it’s my job.
What does the future hold? What’s next?
I would like to keep competing. I want to go back and give the World Latte Art Championships another shot. However, I would like to give the World Barista Champs a go too. I guess the café can maybe support my ridiculous competition dreams. I also did enjoy building my café … maybe another one of two on the cards eventually. Ask me again in 12 months’ time; I can’t wait to hear my answer.
Thanks Will. Congratulations on such a stellar career so far. We look forward to checking in with you again in the future for further updates on the Priestley factor.
