Lok Chan─“Craft Coffee Roaster” owner and roaster
At the three-day World Cup Tasters Championship 2017, Lok Chan emerged from the 30-odd contestants from different countries to win the title in the final, by scoring a perfect 8/8 in six minutes and 26 seconds, or about 12 seconds on average. He was ahead of his Japanese rival finishing second by nearly one minute while stopping Juan Gabriel Céspedes of Costa Rica’s two straight wins. As winner of the 2017 World Coffee Taster Champion, Hong Kong’s coffee industry basked in the reflected glory of his success.
Lok Chan dabbled in coffee as a student and at 21, he had already begun to study coffee, and was even trained as an apprentice in Taiwan to learn how to brew and roast the drink. Coming back from Taiwan and despite his consuming passion for it, he did not devote himself to the industry; instead, he was still engaged in the printing business. Following about a year, he gradually realized that the industry was actually very interesting, so he decided to quit and join it. After switching to a coffee career, it was not until he buzzed around expanding roasting business that he realized he has a keen sense of taste. However, keeping a balance between dreams and reality was no easy task.
After entering the profession, he had been working part-time at a coffee shop and spent his spare time learning how to roast beans and brew coffee with his friends. About half a year later, Chan and his friends, wanting to promote their roasted coffee beans to the public, opened "Craft Coffee Roaster" at Tai Kok Tsui near the Olympic MTR Station, and they became coffee shop owners.
After entering the profession, he had been working part-time at a coffee shop and spent his spare time learning how to roast beans and brew coffee with his friends. About half a year later, Chan and his friends, wanting to promote their roasted coffee beans to the public, opened "Craft Coffee Roaster" at Tai Kok Tsui near the Olympic MTR Station, and they became coffee shop owners.
As a champion in the competition with a perfect score, Chan was not swollen with any haughtiness. He is now working on a book describing a new batch of raw beans' farm history, ideas, and climates, so that more customers can get to know what they have sipped in their cup.