Hello, my name is Lejla. I am 26 years old and I was born in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a child, I grew up surrounded by the scent of coffee, with my grandmother who roasted coffee daily, and at an early age, a love for coffee developed between us.

At the age of 15/16, I started working as a helper in a café while still a student. At 19, I was introduced to specialty coffee, marking the beginning of my ongoing adventure. Since then, I have attended numerous barista training sessions, learning how to roast coffee and prepare it in the best possible way. For the past 3 years, I have been working as a Head Barista and Shop Manager.

Last year, I finally launched my own academy for future baristas. Additionally, I have participated in various competitions where I have been awarded multiple times. My journey with coffee has been both fulfilling and rewarding, and I am excited to continue growing in this industry.

Are there any specific disciplines in the competition that you're particularly excited about?
Brewing

Describe your journey in the coffee industry so far
When I was little kid my grandmother owned coffee rostery so I fell in love with coffee from the young age. When I was 16 I started working in Coffee shop, since then I learned a lot bcs I fell in love in making and roasting coffee. Unfortunately bcs I'm from Bosnia so I couldn't get good coffee education here so I traveled to Italy to get my Barista certification and in Bosnia I was one of few people having SCA certification. For the last few years I done lot of work shop teaching people about coffee. Last year I finally opened my Coffee Academy in Sarajevo. For the last 3 years I'm managing the best speciality coffee shop in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I created the best team of people who also win lot of competition in Balkan. I tried to make my story short but I have lot more!

Lejla's signature drink - Dark Night