Berlin, Bridazul, and Beyond, A Conversation with June Simon, German Brewers Cup Champion 2025

June’s first love wasn’t coffee—it was baking. Growing up, she spent hours with flour and butter, dreaming one day she’d open her own café. Coffee? That came later. And unexpectedly.

It wasn’t until she moved to Berlin and started working in a small café that something shifted. One day, a colleague brought an Ethiopian natural and brewed it as filter. She took a sip. “I tried it and fell in love—the rest is history,” she said. That one cup changed the course.

HUDES | Worldwide Digital Magazine for Manual Coffee Brewers

Years later, June holds the title of Q Arabica Grader, co-founded Juel Coffee, and recently won the German Brewers Cup 2025. But through all the milestones, what stays with her is a way of thinking: don’t punish the coffee.

June Simon | Photo by Franziska Thalhofer

“During my Q training, I learned to focus on the good first. Ask yourself—is it really that bad, or is it just not your thing?” That mindset helped her separate personal preference from judgment, and gave her freedom to simply enjoy what’s in the cup.

That same attitude is woven into Juel Coffee, a project she co-founded not as a brick-and-mortar café, but as a fluid, traveling coffee education and catering collective. “We’re not tied to one place. We work across Europe, and build every experience based on who we’re working with.” From public cuppings to customized classes, flexibility is the foundation.

At the 2025 German Brewers Cup, June brought a coffee from Bridazul, Nicaragua—chosen not just for its profile, but because of the people behind it. “I loved who it represented,” she said. For her, good coffee is personal. It's built on trust, shared values, and fun. She credits much of her success to the team around her—people who “are experienced, passionate, and believe it’s possible.”

She’s no stranger to precision either. When training for Cup Tasters, she was working in the quality department of a green coffee trader. That meant cupping several times a week for months. “Sensory is all about practice and active perception,” she said. There are no shortcuts.

Still, even with a strong technical foundation, she doesn’t take a rigid approach. “Life and coffee are about learning and staying curious.” When brewing, she experiments with intent—changing only one variable at a time, always taking notes, always observing. She leans toward flat-bed brewers for their roundness and sweetness, but it’s not about dogma. It’s about listening to the coffee.

To home brewers, she offers one solid piece of advice: take notes. “Manual brewing has so many variables. It can get overwhelming. But if you write things down, you’ll find clarity. You’ll learn.” And maybe, if you have an idea that sounds ridiculous—try it anyway. “Sometimes the results are mind-blowing. And if not, at least it’s still a good learning.”

Next up? The World Brewers Cup in Jakarta. Then, Nationals again in September. A collaboration with Sibarist is also brewing in the background. And maybe, just maybe, Juel Coffee will one day find a permanent home.

But for now, June’s fine with flowing. Brewing, teaching, learning. One thoughtful cup at a time. (HUDES)