Gillie Mokoena - Master of the Macchiato

There aren’t many things that I’m pedantic about in life; on the contrary, I like to consider myself quite an easy-going person. But if any of my good friends will tell you one thing about me, it’s that I like to be prepared for any situation. It’s funny though, how life never really works out that way and I’m quickly coming to learn that the best things in life often happen unexpectedly. Let me present a scenario to demonstrate my point: on Friday morning, my mother, my granny and I had come to the end of a wonderful vacation in Clarens. We had packed up, given the key back to the lodge where we stayed, and for the last time, we sat down to have a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant at ‘Highland Coffee Roastery’, our favourite coffee hangout during our stay. Throughout the daily coffee runs that we’d had there, a woman with the most gorgeous smile (Jess, as we later found out) had been our waitress. Upon hearing that it was our last day, Jess formally introduced us to the whole coffee community that worked at the roastery. Waiters and managers streamed forth, and in their midst, was Gillie. I’d caught fleeting glimpses of him behind the La Marzocco coffee machine throughout the week, and talked to him when I ordered at the counter from time to time, but when he started a conversation with me and my family, we all looked at each other, thinking the same thing… it was obvious that Gillie was in great want of an interview for Smooch Africa!

So that is where our story begins, me shaking the hand of a stranger, and leaving the espresso bar with a new friend and a backstory. Nervous without the comfort of my interview notebook, I strode through the shop towards the steam rising from the coffee machine, and the top of a beanie visible from behind it.

“Hi Gillie! If you’re not too busy right now, I was hoping that you’d be willing to sit down for an interview with me?”

A surprised face looks up. “Me?” I nod. “Okay, sure… when would you like to do it?”

“Well… we’re on our way out of town after this, so what are you doing at the moment?”

We find a quiet spot in the corner of the shop and sit down next to each other to talk about his life so far. I soon discover that you really cannot always tell a book by its cover, partly because its intricacies are buried deep within the pages; hidden treasures that only a dedicated explorer will ever know. The story of Gillie’s life is a lot like such a book, and as his story unravels itself, I come to know that there is a rich history behind the master of the macchiato…

“I never thought that I’d be a barista. I never even knew the meaning of the word,” Gillie begins. He was actually working at the Lesotho Highlands Water Project when he first came into contact with the world of coffee during a chance encounter at the local pub one evening. He began talking to a man called Chris, who owned a company called ‘Highland Coffee Roastery’. At the end of the night, Chris invited him to the company to take a look into the complex coffee industry. “I went there for about three days just to check out what the scene was all about, and I realised that there was a science behind making coffee. I got inspired by it, and I wanted to be a part of that world.” So after some deliberation, Gillie handed in his resignation at his previous job, and began work in the coffee industry. Three years have since passed, and except from a slight location change, ‘Highland Coffee Roastery’ still boasts Gillie as their resident barista.

Still, I wanted to know more. Gillie was one of the most charismatic people I had ever met, oozing an infectious positive energy. What was it that really made him tick? He answered the question quickly, but with a lot of detail, as if he had given it a lot of thought throughout his life. “For me, the only way to move forward through my life is giving my all to God. I believe that God is going to ground me. In my entire life, everything that I have achieved, the only person who has guided me has been God Himself.” It was then that I realised why he was such a happy person; because he had a firm grounding in his belief, and through putting his heart in the hand of his God, he knew that he would be contented throughout his life.

Although his life has not always been easy, Gillie is a firm believer in hard work and practice. Being a barista is not an easy task, but I know from experience (and many, many cups of coffee I ordered) that each cup he turns out is perfection. I was particularly fascinated by the delicate foamy patterns that detailed the top of the cup, each one different. And as I said earlier, there is always a story behind the thing that you see and take for granted. Gillie used to practice his latte art patterns using steamed soapy water, and watched many tutorials on YouTube to become a master of the miniature artworks. “Latte art is one of the most difficult skills I’ve ever learnt, because you really need to focus on the detail. Presentation is such an important part of the coffee experience,” he affirms.

As for the way forward, he had this to say: “My dream is to travel the world one day and see different places and meet new people, but Clarens is my home, and I will always find my way back here. I want to see my kids one day growing up in a safe environment.” The powerful message that transcended all of his words was the unflinching belief that although he knew not what the future had in store for him, he knew that through his belief in God he would be successful. Through hard times and easy ones, Gillie’s faith has carried him through life, and it is truly inspirational to hear the passion with which he speaks about it.

The mesmerising thing about Gillie, is that the second chapter of his book has not even begun to take its course yet. He speaks of so much that he still wants to do, and his words inspire the definitive point that everything he dreams of is still yet to come. It is a beautiful thought that he sees how far he has come in the journey of life, and simultaneously realises how far he still has to go. As he speaks, his eyes shine with the possibility of the unknown, and somehow, I have no doubt within me that he will still achieve all that he sets out to do.

One of my favourite quotes by Oscar Wilde reads: “It takes great courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still to love it.” But after meeting Gillie, somehow this no longer seems true. Maybe it is because Gillie has seen all of the good, with all of the bad, and accepted the world as a magnificent tangle of both. Because in his eyes, this is the world that the Lord has made, and for that, it is beyond precious. It is not often you meet somebody as pure of faith as Gillie, and for that, he is truly a gem. So perhaps there is more than one lesson in the story of how I met Gillie. Firstly, don’t always expect to be prepared, because often, the best things happen unexpectedly. Secondly, never judge a book by its cover, or a barista by his macchiato – there is always a backstory. And lastly, maybe the world would benefit from a little less judgement and a lot more love.