Pedro Baumgarten has lived enough lives to fill several CVs. Musician, tattoo apprentice, DJ, designer, IT candidate: before landing in coffee, he moved through careers the way some people move through hobbies. The thread that eventually stuck came from an unlikely place, a cashier job in Brasilia, where a small café corner, run by three veterans of the Brazilian specialty scene, introduced him to something he had never encountered before. He has not really looked back since.
Nine years later, Pedro is one of the co-owners of Protest Kitchen in Porto, Portugal, a place built by a group of immigrant friends who wanted to work in hospitality on their own terms. The concept is deliberately unpretentious: good food, good coffee, no performance.
Originally from Porto Alegre and having spent most of his life in Brasilia, Pedro now lives on the Portuguese coast, where he finds his clearest thinking looking out at the ocean. He holds no formal certifications in coffee, but his skills are confirmed by street credit. He does have nearly a decade of genuine curiosity, a sharp eye for the customer experience, and a deep conviction that a great cup of coffee can change the way someone thinks about what is in their mug.
Pedro, what is your first memory with coffee?
My father was doing his moka pot in the morning before we went to school, and I touched it to see if it was hot… not a great idea!
What inspired you to pursue a career in the coffee industry, and how did you get started? What did you do before coffee?
My hyper focus on coffee, I’ve done way too many things, from being a musician, tattoo apprentice, dj, designer… I think I can check almost all the boxes of hipster jobs.
It all started in the store where I worked; they had a little cafe space on it that was not going well, so they sub-rented it to these three dinosaurs of specialty coffee in Brasilia (where I’ve lived most of my life). There were three really good baristas with 10+ years of experience in specialty coffee, something that I’ve never heard before. And since my job as a cashier in this store was a little too boring, I was presented with one of the most amazing things in life.
I’ve switched my whole interests to coffee. I’ve learned about brewing methods, dialling in espressos and processes. At the time, my little adventure as a barista with them was for pure pleasure; I was still working as a cashier. After that I was offer a completely different job in a completely different line of work, where I’ve learn a lot about people management and company responsibilities. But I was still doing some freelance shifts in this amazing roaster in Brasilia called Acervo (highly recommend them, you can check it out, they do some pop-ups here in Europe time to time).
After that, when we moved to Porto, I was planning to work with IT, even had a few job interviews, but my wife kinda pressured me to send my cv to a coffee shop, and I fell in love again with hospitality.
Tell us a bit about your place, Protest Kitchen.
Protest Kitchen was born of a group of friends who met in Porto (we’re all immigrants) and were trying to avoid the toxicity of working for other people in hospitality. We were trying to do something that we would really enjoy to do. Enjoy something different, but good, fair, with a soul.
It is meant to feel like a chill place. Somewhere you can come to meet friends for brunch, or have a really good coffee without any pretension. If people leave feeling like they had a great meal, a few good laughs, and a place they want to return to, then we’re doing it right.
What kind of experience do you want your customers to have when they visit your place?
We jokingly say that our motto is average vibe, ordinary food, drinkable coffee, but the truth is, we care a lot about the details. What we really want is for people to walk in and feel comfortable right away. Like they’ve found a place that doesn’t try too hard, but still does things properly.
What is your favourite part of the day at work, and why?
When I arrive and make the first pour-over of the day, cuz I really need this coffee. Jokes aside, I do feel that we’re doing a good job when a client comes to me and says it was one of the best meals they had in Portugal, that the coffee was great.
How do you stay motivated and inspired to keep improving your coffee-making skills?
I’m a gadget person, and I love to research new things. Right now, I’m obsessed with the OXO Rapid Brewer.
What do you think is the most important quality for a barista to have, and why?
To understand what you’re working with and how to deliver the best experience possible for your customers. Cause that’s how you can change someone’s perspective about coffee, not just a means to an end, to really appreciate it.
If there were one piece of knowledge about coffee you’d like everyone to know, what would that be?
That espresso doesn’t necessarily have more caffeine than other coffee beverages!
Where in Porto do you find your best inspiration?
I do quite like to see the ocean.
What coffee challenges are you looking forward to? Any new projects or collaborations?
Right now, there’s nothing concrete that I can talk about. But there is some stuff on the horizon!
Quick Fire Questions for Pedro Baumgarten:
Filter coffee or espresso-based?
Filter coffee.
Milk coffee or black coffee?
Black.
The most underrated coffee drink?
Iced pour-overs (they’re way superior to cold brew!).
The most underrated coffee brewer?
Ibrik.
Favourite piece of barista equipment?
Scales hehe.
How do you make coffee at home?
Espressos and milk drinks for my wife.
No.1 café in Europe that every coffee geek should visit?
Motors, Paris.
What’s your dream place to have a coffee tour?
I do believe Brasilia is buzzin right now!
