Meet our newest member of our team , Ivy-Jo Lucas! Originally from Wales, Ivy has been living and drinking coffee in Berlin for more than 8 years, and joins the Field family as a Sales Manager.
Ivy, welcome to the team! Please tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in the beautiful mountains of Eryri in North Wales. I studied my undergraduate degree in psychology, and once I finished my degree I was craving some adventure and city life, so I decided to travel. First I went to Paris for a week, then I came to Berlin ... eight years later I'm still here!
In the past 8 years I have learnt German and gained my Masters degree in Global Change Management. I have worked in multiple lovely cafes including Silo, Röststätte and Le Bon and have built myself a nice little Berlin family of friends - I love it here!
You've worked in a lot of different roles in hospitality - tell us more about them.
I have been working in hospitality for around 16 years. I’m pretty sure I have worked every role possible! My first job was waitressing at the age of 14, and I have since worked in 4 pubs, 3 restaurants, 4 cafes, 1 hotel, 1 spa resort and a holiday park. So a bit of everything, really.
My roles have included everything from pot wash, bar staff, waitressing, sales, baker, cook, cleaner, host, receptionist and pretty much everything in between, so it's safe to say I know my way around the hospitality industry! In my last job I worked as a Business Developer for a company called Small Giants selling edible insects!
What has drawn you to working with coffee?
I have to admit, growing up in North Wales I was quite sheltered from the world of coffee - for the longest time coffee to me was a means to an end, I would drink it only if I needed a boost! That is until I met Nicole Battefeld-Montgomery in my job as a Baker at Röststätte. She showed me her passion and taught me to drink coffee and pay attention to the flavours. I had never before thought about coffee in this way, and it really opened up a whole new world to me!
Since then, I have gone from barely drinking coffee to seeking out specific flavour profiles and sharing my knowledge with friends and family back home - especially my dad! I am looking forward to this role in particular because I like the company's focus on sustainable coffee production and economic sustainability of the coffee farmers. Sustainability is something which is close to my heart so it's important for me to work with people who are like minded in this respect.
What is your favourite part of the hospitality industry?
I love to work with people. My favourite positions in hospitality to date were the ones where I get to meet and talk to all kinds of folk all day long; hosting, and waitressing for example. I get the privilege to meet people who I otherwise wouldn't meet.
There are some customers from the cafes or bars I have worked in for example who were so kind, or funny, or interesting that I won't forget them, that kind of stuff stays with you.
Do you have a favourite coffee?
Currently I really love any coffee that is fruity and or floral, I generally drink filter and use my Clever dripper (it feels impossible to make a bad coffee with a Clever!). I find natural process coffees tend to be the fruity-est so that's a winner for me, and in terms of origin, Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees are my favourites!
When you're not drinking/working with coffee, what are some of your favourite hobbies?
I am a big nature lover, so I like to be outdoors as much as possible in my free time, whether that means going on a hike or just a walk around town, I am rarely indoors for long! But on rainy days, I also really like to read. My favourite books I read last year were; Entangled life by Merlin Sheldrake (non fiction), and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (fiction).
What are you most looking forward to as a member of the Field team?
My previous job was remote and I always worked from home - so I am really excited to have my coffee buddies to see every day! I’m looking forward to further expanding my knowledge on coffee, and getting to try some really wonderful coffees from around the world. And of course, I'm excited to meet all the clients, and discovering new cafes, bakeries and shops around Berlin!
What's something fun people don't usually know about you?
I’m a native Welsh speaker and my party trick is to say the longest town name in Europe, the Welsh town of: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Interested in chatting to Ivy about Field coffees? Get in touch with her via ivy@field-coffee.de