Kateryna Vasylets´ journey in coffee began with a simple spark – visiting a few cafés where great service and quality coffee left a lasting impression. She wanted to be the reason people came back to a place, the person behind the cup that made their day better.
Today, she’s a barista and manager at Po drodze, a cosy café in Warsaw where she’s spent the past five years. The space is more than a workplace – it’s where she’s built strong ties with regulars, mentors new baristas, and grows into a competitor on the National and World Stage.
Her debut in the National Championship resulted in snatching the Polish Cup Tasters Champion title. Katia competed in Geneva at The World Cup Tasters Championship with the top 50 champions, but she’s far from finished. Katia is already preparing for her next competitions, driven by the same focus and curiosity that first pulled her into coffee.

Katia, what is your first memory with coffee?
I suppose the first one is connected with my mom drinking coffee every Saturday morning. Brewing some black coffee in a mokapot or ibrik, adding some sugar and a splash of milk (sure thing). And the smell we could feel in every corner of our home.
What inspired you to pursue a career in the coffee industry, and how did you get started? What did you do before coffee?
Truly speaking, it all started when I visited a few nice places with great service and good coffee, and it just clicked. I wanted to become a reason why people are visiting THE place. My first job was in a city cafe, and we got along with all the baristas who worked there and for me, everything they were doing looked like something magical.
After graduating from university, I moved to Poland and went through a few workplaces. One of the places was a factory producing car airbags (yes, I can sew), and then I was a one-person band in a vegan restaurant doing everything at once. And then I got my first job as a barista, and it was where it all started. So many different coffees, brewing methods, knowledge and information, first championships (which were freaking stressful, but so cool), and here I am now.

Tell us a bit about the place you work at. What is your role there?
I currently work in Po drodze – I call it my happy place, cause for the last 5 years I’ve been here at my best and my worst times, which definitely made me who I am. I love the rush on weekends, when all the regular guests come for a cup of coffee, so you are definitely gonna have a good talk, sometimes a hug and even a tiny chance to pet someone’s dog! (I’m obsessed).
My team for me is kind of a family already; they believe in me a lot, and I’m trying my best not to let them down. I’m a barista, so definitely doing some shifts behind the bar; as a manager, I’m always trying to keep up with everything needed for smooth work. Also, I’m looking for potential new members of our team, and those who start their journey with us usually spend a lot of time with me in the beginning.
What kind of experience do you want your customers to have when they visit you at the cafe?
First of all, a great cup of coffee can make a bad day a bit better. And this is pure pleasure: you can comfort someone by doing your job. Secondly, it’s all about flavour and balance. The best thing about all of it – when someone comes to you and says that it’s definitely the best coffee they’ve ever had.
What is your favourite part of the day in your cafe, and why?
Definitely morning, sometimes it’s hard to wake up, but when you do have the whole place for yourself for an hour, listening to your favourite music, setting up an espresso and doing all the stuff – it’s awesome.

How do you stay motivated and inspired to keep improving your coffee-making skills?
It can be really challenging when you’re stuck in a routine and don’t have enough time and energy to learn something you, but I believe that competitions/championships and preparations for them give you a huge space to work on and improve my skills.
What are some common misconceptions about our industry that you’ve encountered, and how do you address them?
The most common one is that making coffee is easy. I mean, it looks pretty easy when someone does that. But we all know how many factors you have to think about while brewing every single cup of coffee. I personally always try to tell people more about coffee in different aspects: how things like the weather outside could impact the taste of your cup of coffee, or the fact that you don’t have to add anything to your coffee to make it taste fruity or chocolate-like. And that it mostly depends on where it grows and how it is processed. Most of the guests are really curious and ask a lot, and it always makes me happy to share my knowledge.

You have some amazing achievements in championships. Can you tell us more about them? What are the next championships you’d like to compete in?
It was my first try in the Cup Tasters Championship ever. And truly speaking, it was kinda challenging. The first step is to get on the list. Registration ends so fast that you just pray to all the Coffee Gods you got on the list. And then you just have to spend a lot of time getting ready. The last 3 weeks before going to Kraków looked like one day on repeat: you wake up, go to work, and after work, you spend all of your free time slurping coffee. On and on. Sometimes I had bad days, and it was pretty frustrating. But it was tiredly worth it. I’m gonna compete in PreOpen De Cata in Warsaw, and also, I’m on the list for next Nationals as well.
How did it feel to be for the 1st time (for sure not the last one!) on the World Stage?
Damn! It was so exciting! One year ago, I couldn’t even imagine I’d be in the World Top-50 Cup Tasters. It was such an honour to share this stage with all of the Champions. They are so amazing and so supportive. And I’m for sure looking forward to meeting them all again next year, so I definitely should try my best this year as well!

What is in your opinion the most important thing to have in mind when you start to compete in coffee championships?
Everything is possible, you have to trust yourself, be consistent, confident, trust the process and enjoy!
What are your passions and hobbies apart from coffee?
I love to spend time in the mountains, it’s a great chance to connect with nature and just calm down. Also, I do some martial arts such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing. Both learn you to stay focused and think about your next move.

Quick Fire Questions for Kateryna Vasylets:
Filter coffee or espresso-based?
Filter coffee.
Milk coffee or black coffee?
Black.
The most underrated coffee drink?
Iced Filter coffee.
The most underrated coffee brewer?
Delter.
Which method to make coffee you use at home?
Delter or drip bags.
The number one place in Europe that every coffee geek should visit?
MAME in Switzerland!
Favourite city outside your own for a coffee tour?
Kyiv 🇺🇦 I suppose, cause even if you don’t live there, you’re always gonna feel like at home because of the awesome coffee community <3