In March 2025, Eversys hosted the inaugural Shotmasters Bootcamp at its Swiss headquarters. Indonesian Barista Champion Yessylia Violin shares her experience and what it means to be a Shotmaster.
As an international brand with its super-automatic espresso machines distributed in more than 100 countries, connection is a key component of what brings Eversys together. Being able to connect with people that use its machines and unique coffee communities all over the world is a central pillar of the brand’s ethos and success.
That’s why connection was the perfect theme for the company’s inaugural Shotmasters Bootcamp. Hosted at Eversys’ headquarters in Switzerland in March 2025, the first ever bootcamp saw 12 new Brand Ambassadors – also called Shotmasters – from all corners of the globe descend on Sierre for three days of training, cupping, and creative programming led by Global Ambassador and 2017 World Barista Champion Dale Harris.
Ultimately, the event served as a crash course in how to best use Eversys’ intelligent machinery while sharing ideas, knowledge, and experience with other Shotmasters.
“We’ve had an amazing group of Global Ambassadors for several years, but we wanted to connect more closely with our regional audiences and people in new markets. Introducing a larger and more varied group of Brand Ambassadors around the world allows us to show up in our communities,” says Miranda Caldwell, Eversys Marketing Director.
“As well as having boots on the ground, our ambassadors help us to understand the unique needs of their market.”
The brand’s pool of ambassadors now includes hospitality professionals from Australia, France, China, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. With so many talented individuals dispersed across the international hospitality industry, how does a company go about selecting just 12 to represent an iconic brand like Eversys?
“Funnily enough, it’s largely about feeling. We look at our individual target markets to see what’s going on there and then reach out to some of the key players. We want people who are aligned with Eversys, our products, and our community, but also those who think outside of the box,” says Caldwell.
“We also look for people with different perspectives. For example, our Brand Ambassador for France is a restaurant consultant who works with top chefs. He has a different perspective and adds diversity to the group, which is also a goal of ours. The coffee industry can be quite young and male dominant, so it was important to have a range of genders and ages.”
Yessylia Violin, Roastery Manager of Common Grounds Coffee Roastery and 2022 Indonesian Barista Champion, was one of the new faces to take part in the Bootcamp.
“I was excited to be asked to be an Eversys Brand Ambassador. I had worked with the brand previously at a tradeshow in Indonesia and was intrigued by the capabilities of its espresso machines,” says Violin.
“I wanted to see exactly how the machines work, discover what kind of espresso they could create, and question some of the assumptions people have about super-automatic machines. Attending the bootcamp meant, as a group, we could answer these questions and share ideas.”
Drawing on his experience with the machines, especially the Cameo collection, Harris hosted in-depth tutorials on the equipment and how to produce the finest possible cup. The aim of these tutorials was to help the Shotmasters get to know the machines – inside and out – so they could take the knowledge back home and share it with their local coffee communities.
“We wanted the ambassadors to get to know each other and get comfortable with the machines – kind of like a summer camp experience. We asked everyone to bring coffee, either their own or from their home country, which was a great way to get the conversation flowing,” says Caldwell.
“There were also discussion sessions in which everyone shared ideas and insights from their markets, which was hugely valuable to us. It was fascinating to learn how we could better serve our coffee communities around the world.”
For Violin, this shared space of connection was one of the highlights of the experience. With some of hospitality’s top minds all in the one place, she says it was important to engage with people of diverse professional backgrounds to share tips and tricks of the trade.
“Most people had a coffee background, but there were a few people who were in sales and others from restaurant and hospitality settings. It’s great to be able to chat to people who know different things about and have different perspectives on coffee – someone might be really knowledgeable about water whereas someone else might know a lot about processing,” she says.
“It was also interesting hearing about the cultural differences in each market, as well as the reception of super-automatic equipment like Eversys’ machines.”
The Shotmasters also received a tour of the Eversys factory to watch the machines being manufactured. This tour was vital for developing a deeper understanding of how to use the machines even more effectively, according to the Barista Champion.
“One of the most surprising things was most of the people working in the factory were women, many of them having previously made watches. The intricacy of their work was fascinating – there are many fine details and small parts to assemble,” says Violin.
“Before this experience, I didn’t know how the machine actually worked from the inside and how exactly it extracted the coffee. Seeing the factory and getting to know the machines in the Shotmaster sessions was really valuable.”
By the end of the three-day experience, the knowledge gained by Violin and the other Shotmasters about Eversys’ super-automatic machines was ready to be taken back home to their local coffee communities.
“I knew it was a high-quality machine, but I didn’t expect it to produce a very beautiful espresso – as good as a traditional machine or even better,” she says.
“One of the biggest operational issues at cafés is consistently producing a great shot. You can dial it in and get it perfect, but you then need to keep on reproducing that standard with different people throughout the day.
“With a traditional machine, there are many variables that can prevent that from happening, using a super-automatic machine minimises the chances of them occurring.”
Coffee as an industry is always on the cusp of the next great innovation, whether that be in the creation of new machines, roasting styles, signature drinks, or anything else along the value chain. According to Violin, there is still some apprehension around investing in the new era of super-automatic machines in Indonesia – but those wheels of innovation are starting to turn.
“Some people are still a bit afraid of the investment in this type of technology as they are often more expensive than traditional machines. However, I’m already seeing a big change in perspective. Café operators can see the benefits in terms of consistency and extraction,” she says.
“There’s a common misconception that super automatics produce shots with less viscosity than traditional machines, but I discovered at the bootcamp that notion just isn’t true. I’m excited to prove people wrong with Eversys’ machines and introduce more baristas to the potential of this technology.
“Representing a brand and getting people to connect with their products is now much more than giving out cups of coffee at a tradeshow. We want to provide more tailored experiences, like hosting workshops with customers to make sure they’re getting the most out of their equipment.”
For more information, visit eversys.com/en/
This article was first published in the July/August 2025 edition of Global Coffee Report. Read more HERE.
