The Importance of Being Urnex Part 4 “Underneath the Gasket” featuring Benjamin Put from Canada and Jenny Borrego from Mexico

By Dr. Erika Koss

One of 2025 Canadian judges’ team, led by co-head judge Juhee Jaimee. 

In July, Canada hosted its annual National Barista Championship in preparation for the World Barista Championship in Milan, Italy this week. I (Dr. Erika Koss) was one of two dozen sensory judges, many of us travelling from across Canada from Vancouver to Halifax to join this special event.

All of us arrived a day early for a full day of calibration. This was by Trent Rollings, World Coffee Championship representative and the founder of Timberline Coffee School in Calgary.  Trent led a team of four head judges, who guided the sensory and technical judges’ teams.

What a highlight to spend four full days in a spacious and beautiful venue, the Oliver Exchange, downtown near the Saskatchewan River! It was a brightly lit, welcoming room complete with a sparkling chandelier and pink velvet sofas.

Our event host was The Colombian – an Edmonton roastery and café with a menu of specialty coffee from Colombia.  An organized, generous team of staff and volunteers led by Kristin Panylyk de Lopez, co-founder and director, was supremely hospitable. As a judge, it was a highlight to have an abundant supply of coffee and water. Breakfast pastries were provided each morning, with delicious, healthy Mediterranean lunches each afternoon. But most of all, her team’s professionalism and her kindness will stay with me.

The collective talent and passion of Canada’s baristas was a joy to behold. The preliminary schedule included 17 baristas on Thursday 24 July and Friday 25 July 2025.  From this group, nine emerged as semi-finalists, all who competed again on Saturday 26 July.  Six winners then advanced to the finals on a spectacular Sunday.

These finalists were:

·      Santiago Lopez (The Colombian);

·      Benjamin Put (Monogram);

·      David Kim (Paradigm Spark);

·      Kat Dziwenka (The Colombian);

·      Bonggyu Matthew Song (Seven Mystery); and

·      Nelson Phu (Rosso Coffee Roasters).

The winner was Ben with his 7th national final for Canada!

World Barista Championship in Milan this Week

More than 50 baristas from around the world plan to compete at Host Milan this week, each one representing their country, each one desiring to earn the coveted, prestigious title of World Barista Champion 2026.

It’s a high-stakes competition where each barista prepares a 15-minute set.  During this time, they serve 12 drinks — four espressos, four milk-based drinks, and four signature beverages — to four sensory judges in front of the espresso bar.  Meanwhile, two technical judges evaluate skills behind the bar, including cleanliness.  All this happens while the barista narrates a compelling story that connects their coffee to a broader idea of their choice.  It’s a celebration of skill and storytelling – and the vibrant community behind specialty coffee.

In Edmonton, I was pleasantly surprised to meet the 3-time National Barista Champion of Mexico, Jenny Borrego, who was visiting Canada.

Jenny travelled from her home in Tampico, Mexico, because she’s being coached by Ben Put and by Jill Hoff.  Jill was Canada’s 2021 National Barista Champion – the first woman to ever win the Canadian title and go on to represent Canada on the global stage.

Since the beginning of World Barista Championships in 2000, only two women have ever won the coveted title of “World Barista Champion”:  the first in 2018, Agnieszka Rojewska from Poland, and the second in 2019, Jooyeon Jeon from South Korea.

Jenny has worked as a barista for more than 15 years.  At first, she took the job to help her save money for college.  But over time, she realized that coffee was a way to make human connections to those who regularly visited the café.

She told me about the way her company was always – and continues to be –supportive of her desire to compete.  Jenny first started competing in 2016, and while she had few role models in specialty coffee, her company cheered her on.

I asked Jenny about what it’s like to now be a leader in specialty coffee in Mexico.

“As a woman, it really matters to me, because there is a real thing about why women don’t compete.  I feel there’s something about the structure of the competition that makes it harder for women to try to compete.  So many girls talk to me, and they tell me they want to, but they never have. I tell them to try.”

Partly why Jenny takes her responsibility seriously is because she vividly remembers her beginning in specialty coffee: “At first, there weren’t women in coffee for me to look up to.  But now, there are!  And I am here, and I want to be that person for others, especially women.  I see many women with dreams in coffee, and I hope to contribute a piece of inspiration to them.”

We discussed the ongoing need for women to be supported and encouraged to try to compete.  “I’m lucky in this way, I know,” Jenny continued, as she described the trust between her and her company owners. “When you compete, it should be like a relationship. I understand that it’s risky for the owner to invest. They might be afraid you’ll leave and go work somewhere else. But there needs to be trust – because we can grow together, both the owner and the barista – it can be a win/win.”

A clear Canadian example of this win/win is evident from Monogram Coffee in Calgary, Alberta.

Benjamin Put, co-founder and co-owner of Monogram, has now won the National Barista title for Canada SEVEN times!  It’s a record-breaking achievement that reaffirms his position as the most awarded barista champion in Canadian history. Like Jenny, his support team includes Jill, his long-time coach who also works as Monogram’s Director of Education.

Before the announcement of Ben’s win in Edmonton, we had the chance to talk for a few minutes about the importance of cleaning, both at home and in competitions.

Ben replied, “I can really feel it when I walk onto a machine that’s not clean or not properly cleaned. We almost take it for granted now, but I’m old enough to remember before we didn’t have cleaner for grinders. So, we’re very spoiled now, we need to realize the ability that we have now.  We can clean every part of the machine from start to finish and it’s absolutely essential.”

Erika: “When did cleaning become more conscious for you, both in daily life and competitions?”

Ben: “One thing for me is when I started to notice that coffee cleaning companies in general and Urnex specifically started to create products for home brewers.  When you first start as a barista you kind of detach yourself.  You clean your espresso machine at work, but what about at home? At my house, we keep Cafiza in our cupboard. If I need to clean to my pour over at home, I use Cafiza.”

Erika: “What is a part of the machine that takes intentionally to clean?  Not just the group head, but something that you rarely see cleaned properly?”

Ben: “Actually there is something in the group head: the gasket.  Sure, people will put Cafiza in the group head and run the cycle of water, but the water won’t get into the gasket, because it’s sealed. So, take a towel, fold it over, have a bit of cleaner, and then clean the gasket.  I can tell the difference between a very clean barista and someone who doesn’t know how to clean by looking underneath the gasket.”

Canada’s 2025 National Barista Championship, a five-day event, was made possible with the support of many sponsors and partners including:  The Colombian Coffee & Roastery; SCA Canada; Urnex Brands; Pacific Barista Series Canada; Eight Ounce Coffee; Ceado Coffee; ECM Prime; Water for Coffee; Timberline Coffee School; Victoria Ardurio; Swiss Water Decaf; RGC Coffee.