About Us > Our Coffee Experts

Belaroma believes people make the difference. That is the reason why our investment in partnering with coffee experts is both ongoing and increasing. Our coffee experts are involved across all parts of the business. They include green bean traders, food technicians, professional 'noses' (for cupping and quality assurance), master roasters, production managers and trainers (of Café staff who are the ultimate users of our products). Across the company we strive to employ the best of the best, from technicians through customer support staff to world recognised baristas.

Paloma Steiger
Head Trainer and Assessor, Paloma has provided incredible support for our customers both onsite and at the Belaroma Coffee Academy. She has helped hundreds of accounts improve the quality of coffee being served. Paloma is not just a skilled trainer, she is a professional barista who understands what it's like to work in a pressurised environment whilst maintaining delivery of a consistently excellent coffee. With a long resume in hospitality, most notably full time barista at our Belaroma Coffee Centre, working within a team that serves 100kg+ of coffee per week, Paloma is very passionate about her role of heading up the Coffee Academy. She strives to ensure all students have a fun interactive time at the classes, leaving with as much knowledge and skill as we can pass on.

Matt Brown
A real Coffee Geek! Coined by his work colleagues as the 'coffee encyclopedia' Matt is well researched in all aspects of coffee - from seed to cup. He has 9 years experience in the industry, from working with boutique coffee roasters to being head barista in some of the best regarded espresso bars in Sydney. Matt brings with him the latest barista techniques and equipment knowledge to ensure your espresso is the best that it can be!

Scottie Callaghan
Scottie is Belaroma's Ambassador and Coffee Champion.  Scottie's knowledge and talents in coffee are broad ranging; from roasting, to tasting, and of course, to his incredible coffee making and barista skills which have been consistently recognised by his impressive list of achievements:  2 times Australian Barista Champion (2007 and 2010); 2006 Latte Art World Champion, and 2010 3rd Place World Barista Champion. Scottie also oversees the roasting of these specialty coffees as he has an extraordinary ability to bring coffee to its full potential at every stage.

Sharon Jan
Sharon Jan is a food technologist with over 25 years experience in the food industry. Her expertise is in the areas of quality assurance, food processing and product development.   Her good sensory ability was acknowledged working on odour panels as a professional 'nose'.  Shaz's sensory skills developed further over the next 10 years with coffee and tea tasting.  Her experience ensured she passed with ease through the rigorous Q Grader program to become Belaroma's first Q Grader, a professional accreditation by the Coffee Quality Institute. At Belaroma, Shaz is involved in raw material buying, quality assurance and research & development.  She was instrumental in the set up, and oversees the maintenance of Belaroma's HACCP System for Food Safety and Quality.

Peter Battista
Peter's love for coffee began in 1973 when he had his first stovetop espresso with double cream and sugar at the age of 5. From there Peter has been accredited with several coffee certifications such as the hard-to-get Q Grader. To be granted the Q accreditation, candidates must pass a series of tests demonstrating that the individual knows how to objectively evaluate the quality of a coffee. Exams comprise 22 sections on coffee related subjects, such as green grading, roast identification, coffee cupping, sensory skills and sensory triangulation. Peter has also judged Barista championships and is our master roaster at Belaroma, working in conjunction with our QA and Production teams to make sure every roast performs the best and is packed and stored according to our rigid procedures.