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Graz Moroni’s first year at BM: coffee, community and raising the bar

It’s hard to believe I’ve already been at BM for a year. It’s gone incredibly quickly, but looking back, we’ve managed to fit a lot into those 12 months.

Joining BM was a bit of a full circle moment. I’ve worked in coffee for more than 15 years and was involved in the early days of Perkee and BM’s relationship with the Soppexcca cooperative in Nicaragua. To come back years later and have the opportunity to help shape what comes next for coffee at BM was something I was really excited about.

A year on, I still am.

Bringing our baristas together

One of the things I wanted to do when I joined was find more ways to bring our baristas together.

We have some very talented people working across the business, but when everyone is based in different locations, there aren’t always many opportunities to get together, share ideas and learn from each other.

So, we’ve started a barista community to help change that.

We held our first gathering at Notes Coffee Roasters, where our baristas spent time together and watched a latte art demonstration from the current UK champion.

It was a really enjoyable first event. People talked about coffee, picked up new ideas and had the chance to meet other baristas from across BM. That’s what I want these gatherings to be about. Everyone is welcome to join these activities as they see fit.

Giving our baristas opportunities to learn, try new things and spend time with others who share their enthusiasm ultimately comes back to the coffee and the experience they create for our customers every day.

By giving our baristas more opportunities to learn from one another, we’re also helping create more consistent, engaging coffee experiences.

Raising the bar with BMBC

The BM Barista Championship has been another highlight of the year.

We made some changes to the competition, bringing it closer to the UK Barista Championship format and inviting external judges from the coffee industry to be part of it.

The standard was incredibly high and Calvin was crowned our 2026 BM Barista Champion after a final that saw six of our baristas competing in front of more than 60 guests, judges and fellow competitors.

We also had another reason to celebrate when Yejin Kang competed in the UK Barista Championship and reached the semi-final.

That was a brilliant achievement for Yejin. Competing at that level takes a huge amount of preparation, knowledge and confidence, and it was fantastic to see one of our baristas reach the semi-final.

It’s also great for our other baristas to see what’s possible and where developing their skills could take them.

A new chapter for Perkee

Another big part of my first year has been Perkee.

Perkee celebrated 10 incredible years, and it felt like the right time to give it a refresh.

Perkee already had a strong story behind it and we didn’t want to lose that. We wanted to give it a fresh look and take it forward while keeping the things that have always mattered: good coffee, responsible sourcing and strong relationships with the people who grow it.

We’ve also been introducing new coffees, giving people the chance to try something different and discover new flavours. Coffee may be part of the everyday routine, but there’s always an opportunity to discover something new.

That’s one of the parts of my job I really enjoy. There are so many interesting coffees out there, and every one has a story that starts long before it reaches the cup.

Three Great Taste stars for Santo

Another highlight came when two of our coffees were recognised at the Great Taste Awards.

Santo received three stars, the highest Great Taste rating you can achieve, while Aponte West received one star.

Three stars is a big deal. Thousands of products are entered into Great Taste each year and only 2.3% receive the top award, so seeing Santo among them was a very proud moment.

One of the things I like about Great Taste is that the judging comes down to what’s in the cup. The products are blind tasted, so ultimately the coffee has to stand up on flavour.

There’s a lot of work behind a cup of coffee, from choosing and sourcing the beans through to roasting and, finally, the way it’s made and served. Seeing that recognised with three stars was fantastic.

For our clients and customers, awards like these provide independent recognition of the quality standards we strive to deliver every day.

Always more to learn

Training has also continued to be a big focus over the past year.

Coffee is one of those subjects where there’s always something new to learn, and I want our baristas to have opportunities to keep developing their skills and knowledge.

We’ve introduced new training over the past year and we’ll continue to develop it. It’s not just about making a great cup of coffee. We want our baristas to understand what they’re working with, from where the coffee comes from to how it’s processed, roasted and brewed.

That knowledge gives them confidence, but it also means they can talk to customers about the coffee they’re serving and make the whole experience that bit better.

Not everyone wants to enter competitions, and they don’t have to. It’s about helping people develop at their own pace and giving those who want to take their coffee knowledge further the opportunity to do so.

What comes next?

There’s plenty I’d like to build on in year two.

The barista community is just getting started, our training will continue to develop and there are always new coffees to discover and introduce, along with new activities and field trips to arrange.

I’m also looking forward to seeing where we can take Perkee next. Ten years is an important milestone, and it certainly doesn’t feel like the end of the story.

What I’ve enjoyed most about my first year has been meeting our teams and seeing how much enthusiasm there is for coffee across BM. There are a lot of talented people who want to learn more, and that’s exciting.

Because ultimately, all of this comes back to the cup of coffee we hand to someone each day. If we can keep making that better, while giving our baristas opportunities to develop and enjoy what they do, then we’re heading in the right direction.

Great coffee has the power to bring people together and that’s what I’m excited to keep building in year two.