Ona Coffee’s Vlasto Bartoska reflects on his journey from Slovakia to representing Australia on the world stage.
How has your hospitality journey led to where you are today?
I’ve been in hospitality for a long time, more than 12 years. I started working in coffee in my hometown, Nitra, in Slovakia, at a café/cocktail bar called Záhir Nitra, which was founded by my good friend and mentor Luboš Rácz. That gave me experience in both coffee and cocktails, and I was there for about six years.
After school I went to Prague, which was where I got more into coffee as a barista in grocery store cafés. I was there for about six years too. That’s when I started to get involved in competitions like the Brewer’s Cup, before moving to Australia.
I’ve been in Sydney for about three-and-a-half years. I was working with The Maybe Group, roasting coffee while also being a barista, and then I moved to Ona Coffee in Marrickville.
What inspired you to start competing?
I wanted to push the boundaries and step out of my comfort zone. My first time competing was the 2016 Brewer’s Cup and it was just beautiful. The whole industry tries to push boundaries and be better, and that was the moment I realised coffee can be more creative.
When I started working in hospitality as a teenager I had really good people around me. There was a bar in Nitra that was not just one of the best in Slovakia but one of the best in Europe. It was inspiring to work alongside bartenders who had great capacity in their jobs. They were my tutors and it really was like a small family. They had respect and passion for what they were doing and it’s the same feeling I have now.
How does Eastern European coffee culture differ to Australia?
There’s a huge difference in the coffee cultures of the different cities I’ve worked in. In Prague, many people prefer drinking coffee after 3pm and it’s more about black and filter coffee.
Australians love their coffee, but not many people living in the Sydney CBD take their coffee black. Instead, they work in an office and like the routine, so they always have a cup of coffee in the morning.
It was always a dream of mine to move to Australia, because my brother lived here for a few years. I visited him for the first time in 2013 and realised one day I wanted to come here by myself, and eventually the opportunity arrived.
How are you feeling about competing in the MONIN APAC Coffee Creativity Cup final?
I’m excited to deliver what I’ve been practising, not just for the past couple of weeks but for my whole time in this industry. I’m excited to share what I’ve been working on for almost my whole life. It’s such a good feeling to be able to compete in Kuala Lumpur and to have such good support from MONIN and Ona Coffee, and also from my partner, Claire at Condesa, who is coaching me.
It’s all about hospitality, so I would love to use the event to build a bridge between my background in the cocktail and bar industry and the coffee industry.
These competitions have so many competitors who are trying to reach the same level, who are trying their best. That’s a big challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.
Will you change your routine for the final?
I’ll be creating the same Tiramisu 2.0 cocktail, but I don’t want to spoil anything. All I will say is I’m planning to elevate the whole experience.
This article appears in the August 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
