Jo Mepham

Jo started making coffee when she was about 19 in Wellington. During that time she entered the Mojo 2007 Barista Competition, and won. She was sent to India on a trip to visit coffee plantations and see how the beans went from berries and were picked, dried, sorted, bagged, and shipped. She learnt all about how different processes on certain beans make them gain different characteristics. Jo’s excited to share her passion and skills training STREAT’s young people to make great coffees.

When you’re walking on a street, you like to...

Daydream!!! I like to watch other people walking past and make up stories for their lives where they're going, what they do, who they are. Need to be careful crossing the road when you're a day dreamer.

What’s your favourite thing to cook?

I'm a baking sort of lady, I love to bake cupcakes, muffins, cookies all things delicious and generally not very good for you.  My favourite cupcakes to make are rainbow cupcakes!! Divide the mixture up into 5 different parts, colour each portion a different colour and layer spoons of the different colours into paper cupcake cases.  It's so exciting biting into one and it's a rainbow!!

Where is home to you?

Home is where I feel loved and comfortable.  I've moved around a bit so don't really feel as if just one place is home.  I call New Zealand home because that's where my family are and I call Australia home because that's where I am.