Aurore Ceretta's Journey Through the World of Coffee Tasting from Germany

In the world of coffee competitions, the art of cupping is often seen as a niche, yet it’s where the essence of coffee is truly explored. Aurore Ceretta, the 2024 World Cup Tasters Championship runner-up, embodies this art form. From her early days in Berlin’s emerging coffee scene to the global stage, Aurore’s journey is a testament to dedication, passion, and the pursuit of sensory mastery.  

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In this interview, Aurore shares her path to the championship, the challenges she faced, and the practices that have sharpened her remarkable ability to taste and distinguish coffees. She opens up about the competition, her thoughts on sensory training, and how she balances family life with a passion for coffee.  Join us at HUDES as we dive into Aurore’s story and discover the world of competitive coffee tasting through her eyes. 

Aurore Ceretta, never give up mentality | photo: Matthew Temple doc.

HUDES: Aurore, how did you first get into the world of coffee cupping? What does coffee tasting mean to you personally?

AURORE: As a teenager, I used to drink coffee but never quite enjoyed it, I decided to stop and did not drink any for around 5 years. In 2009, I moved to Berlin for my studies and got a job in a coffee shop, where the specialty coffee scene was emerging at the time. 

I had my first ever cupping at Chapter One, a Berlin based coffee shop, and was completely overwhelmed. Until then, I didn’t realize how diverse and stunning coffee could taste. This is not just a set phrase; I really was stunned as I couldn’t grasp what was happening with my taste buds. 

After that I knew what I really want to do: taste coffee every day. I spoke to Philip about my coffee revelation, who I met in Berlin. Back then, he wasn’t into coffee or hospitality but working as a sound engineer. 

Somehow, I managed to convince him to open up a café with me. Today, we’re happily married and have two lovely boys. In 2014, we opened our first café, just 3 months after the birth of our first son. Four years later, we opened Günter Coffee Roasters and our second café, shortly after our second son was born. 

And here we are, 10 years later: I’m the 2024 German Cup Tasters Champion and runner-up at the 2024 World Cup Tasters Championships, and he is the 2024 German Coffee Roasting Champion. We’re very happy to work in coffee and how everything turned out.

I am a very intuitive person and really sensitive to smells and tastes. From the time of my first cupping, I was really interested in tasting the many different flavors that the wonderful coffee species has to offer. 

Coffee tasting doesn’t feel like work for me, it’s my passion!

HUDES: Could you walk us through your path to becoming the runner-up at the 2024 World Cup Tasters Championship? What motivated you to compete, and who supported you along the way?

AURORE: I worked in the coffee space for five years and already owned my first coffee shop when I experienced a coffee competition for the first time in 2015 in Germany. Cup Tasters was part of it. 

It felt like a pretty wild and weird spectacle to me and I couldn’t really understand what was happening on stage. In the finals however, as the MC began to shout “POINT”, I was hooked! 

Mateus Petlinsky won back then and also earned the world’s runner-up title, just like Denes Raymond, who got in 2^nd in 2022. That makes me the third person from Germany to win a second place in the World Cup Tasters Competition. It still feels unreal. Denes inspired me a lot and is always super helpful and kind.

photo: Matthew Temple

Like many future competitors, I couldn’t imagine myself to compete one day back then, let alone to stand in front of so many people and perform. That’s why I returned as a visitor to the competitions in 2016. Again, I was fascinated. This time around, I signed up to compete in the 2017 French Cup Tasters Championships. I came in as a happy 4^th, which really motivated me to push harder. In 2018, I competed in Germany and won second place, followed by a third in 2019, a sixth in 2020, and a fifth in 2022. In 2023, I finally did it and won the German championships. I even defended my title in 2024. What I learned is that focus, calmness and a positive mindset are key for me. You have to keep pushing and trying to succeed!

I know I did. I participated in every German Cup Tasters Championships since 2017, no matter what was going on in my life. When we opened up our roastery in 2018, I competed while my second son, then 8 months old, was waiting for me in the audience. It really wasn’t easy to be a self-employed woman, a breastfeeding mother, and take part in the competition, all while managing a very moderate caffeine consumption. Nonetheless it was possible and I’m happy to see other women, who are taking on this same or similar challenges, to make their personal and professional dreams come true.

Since I think that it’s also important to shed light on the flops, let me tell you this: In the 2025 German Cup Tasters Competition I didn’t get any nice awards. It was only one week after the finals in Chicago and simply too much. I was exhausted from the whole experience of being on a world stage and traveling around the US and back to Germany, so I came out 5^th. That won’t stop me from competing again next year, though.

If you want to be successful as a competitor, you have to learn from your losses and also endure them. They’re part of the game.

When it comes to support, there are many many people that I am very grateful to. From co-workers to family and other coffee professionals who value community over competition, and sponsors as well. Sometimes random encounters can help you discover new paths you wouldn’t have found on your own. 

My first sensory workshop back in 2016 was such an occasion. It was organized spontaneously by André Eiermann. The same applies to the training sessions right before the competition in Chicago, organized by Young Baek, and so many more moments that helped and motivated me through the years. All those opportunities happened because of coffee events and competitions. It’s the best way to be a part of a vibrant coffee community and that’s why I primarily begun to compete and still enjoy doing so very much.

Taking part in competitions first of all means a huge time invest. I am lucky that my husband also likes to compete because it means we can spend a lot of our free time towards enhancing our skills and support each other, we are basically each other’s coaches. 

We took our children with us to Chicago, we combined holidays and competition and it was a great trip for our family but also a comforting feeling to have them in first row cheering for me during the competition days!

With her children | photo: Nicolas Kittel doc.

HUDES: Sensory training is a key part of cupping. How did you develop your sensory skills, and what practices helped you sharpen your ability to distinguish flavors?

AURORE: In my first competition years, I didn’t know how to train or become better at cup tasting, as there wasn’t much information about sensory training in coffee, or cup tasting in general as a discipline.

I used aroma kits for training a lot, like Scentone or Le Nez du Café. They are expensive but it’s the easiest way to train quite effortless: you can train basically anytime, anywhere. For example, when you have a free minute at work or in the evening by the TV. 

In my first years of competitions, I didn’t have the time and equipment to set up cup tasting training sessions, so I only had this option to improve my skills. This changed in 2018 when we opened Günter Coffee Roasters, and held weekly production cuppings (we still do). 

As I won the first time in the 2023 German competitions, I changed my training routine completely, I had to prepare myself for being on stage at the World of Coffee in Athens. To be on world stage one day was an incredible thing I never thought I would achieve, so I had to make a change to have all chances on my side. 

I first invested in equipment such as cupping bowls with black inside walls, as stated in the SCA rules and regulations, three Moccamasters to brew different coffees simultaneously, and a big table I could train on. Then I started to have trainings every day for 2 months until the competition day, and also did lots of sports to enhance my cognitive abilities.

On competition day, I felt well prepared, as I already had stage experience and I knew how to deal with stress. However, I completely underrated that being on world stage is way more stressful than at the smaller national competitions. There was a lot going on; so many people to say hi to, loud music, I was clearly not able to stay focused. 

I came out 22nd but could definitely put my finger on what went wrong. The year after, I was lucky enough to defend my title of German Cup Tasters Champion which gave me the opportunity to apply my learnings from Athens in Chicago. 

I trained my sensory skills exactly the same way as described before. This time however, I also tried to work on myself: At my first competition I felt like I do not deserve to be there, I’m not good enough and I am not able to compete with other competitors, who also won their national competitions, had more experience than me, and were supported by coaches. 

It became very obvious to me that with this kind of mindset, I couldn’t have gotten a better place or even win. It was time to work on my mindset. I tried to change my point of view and began to trust in myself and my abilities. I trained by putting myself in uncomfortable or challenging situations in my everyday life to learn to overcome and outgrow them and myself. 

By that I was able to tell myself: “Ok, if you can do this, you can also win a coffee competition.” I did things that I wouldn’t normally do and stepped out of my comfort zone: For example, I put myself in the first row at my fitness training, where I usually hide in the back, and I rode the highest roller coasters at an amusement park near Freiburg, which I would’ve never done before. I also heard about some competitors in other disciplines like barista or brewers cup talking about manifestation, like imagining yourself winning and holding your trophy, so I tried that as well. 

As you can surely tell by now, sensory training is really important on the journey to the world stage. However, it is not everything. There are so many more aspects that need your attention so you can quickly connect your brain with your senses and make a sound decision! In Chicago, I wasn’t quick enough, which separated me by 10 seconds from winning the world championships. There’s always room to improve.

HUDES: For those who are looking to refine their palate, what do you think is the most important aspect of improving one’s sensory skills in coffee tasting?

AURORE: To start refining your sensory skills, sensory kits are really helpful but it’s even better to visit sensory workshops. If you want to compete, try to find a coach. Training by yourself with trial and error is a good way to learn but it costs a lot of time and there is nobody to make you aware of mistakes you may do over and over again until you realize them yourself. A coach can be very helpful in those and other situations.

HUDES: During the competition, you must have slurped many cups of coffee. Do you think it’s essential to slurp loudly when cupping? How does that affect the tasting process?

AURORE: During my trainings and different competitions that I took part in, I had the opportunity to observe a lot of competitors and their techniques. I saw many different approaches, some are really loud, some are nearly silent. Some people are so loud, it feels like whistling and can be disturbing for some other competitors on stage.

I’m quite silent when I cup. To be loud is not really important for me, I rather save my much-needed energy for the next round. Think ahead! I try to vary the intensity of my slurping when I cannot recognize a cup directly. For me it’s more important to swallow the coffee and then breathe out after.

If you slurp really loud but then instantly spit and don’t breathe out, all the coffee volatiles will not be able to reach your olfactory receptors. That way you’ll lose time and energy.

HUDES: Can you tell us about the types of coffee you cupped during the competition? 

AURORE: All the coffees were arabica single origin, all brewed the same way, as defined in the SCA criteria (you can read it up in the rules and regulations.)

About the coffees themselves and how they taste, it's difficult to say anything about it: generally, competitors are not informed after the event what was on the table. You will find some naturals and washed coffees from many different countries, but nothing funky or of exceptional quality.

HUDES: As a coffee expert from Germany, how do you see the coffee culture evolving in Europe? Do you think events like the World Cup tasters Championship will shape the future of coffee appreciation?

AURORE: Cup tasters is still a quite unknown competition and sadly doesn’t have the same popularity or attention like Barista or Brewers Cup Championships.

Most of the time it is a competition which doesn’t need a lot of effort, money or training. It’s an opportunity for a lot of baristas, me included, to make their first experience being on a stage but sometimes it suffers from this status as easy competition, as you can sign in without taking risks.

There still are many coffee professionals that aren’t into competitions and don’t know what the Cup Tasters Championships are about. 

As long as these events are so unknown even to coffee professionals, we can’t expect them to shape anything beyond the small specialty competition community. The events need more attention and exposure, especially Cup Tasters. It’s fast paced and all about the sensory skills. My regular customers are happy for me and know I’m 2nd in the world for something related to coffee but they don’t know for what exactly.

In my opinion, it could be because olfaction and taste are not so well researched in comparison to our other senses like sight or hearing. There isn’t a good, universal or (semi-)standardized way to share our experiences when it comes to smell and taste, as there is for music or movies, for example. Everybody can agree that blue is blue but it doesn’t work this way for taste and olfaction.

My wish is to have a spotlight in science in the coming years about sensorics related to olfaction and taste, to broaden the understanding of how our tongue and nose works. I would hope that this way a bigger audience than only us coffee professionals and some other small groups can access and share our experiences with smell and taste better, because, after all, every single one of us uses those senses every day without really paying much attention to them in a conscious way.

I think it’s frustrating for the customer to not understand what we are speaking of when it comes to different aromas in coffee, and some of us are frustrated not to be understood from our customers, with whom we want to share our passion for great, diverse coffee notes. This frustration is the result of a lack of information about olfaction and taste, which render us unable to speak the same language about our experiences.