Who is Jordan Dabov?

Who is Yordan Dabov – musician, barista trainer, coffee seeker, lover of the perfect cup of coffee?

Born in Pazardzhik, who emigrated to Prague as a young man, Yordan settled down in the Czech capital. He studied jazz trumpet at the Prague Conservatory and was one of the most sought-after jazz trumpeters in the Czech Republic and Europe at the time. He recorded music, played concerts, but in the meantime worked as a bar manager in a chain of Italian hotels in Prague.

Changing direction – from jazz to coffee

Things changed when he was appointed Food & Beverage Manager of the entire chain from a manager of one of the bars. This also led to his close acquaintance with coffee as part of the portfolio he took care of. In 2007, Jordan enrolled in a barista course. This course completely changed his ideas about coffee and subsequently his life. His appointment as Food & Beverage Manager was a step forward in his development, which prompted him to delve into economics and enroll in MIE at Metropolitan University in Prague. An education that he did not manage to complete because he moved to Bulgaria the following year.

For a better cup of coffee

The year is 2008. After becoming acquainted with the specialty coffee culture that is beginning to blossom in Prague, Jordan (despite his 12-year stay in the Czech Republic, which is almost half of his life) decides to return to Bulgaria and start offering the Bulgarian market a better cup of coffee. This mission of his – a better cup of coffee every day, day after day – accompanies him in making decisions of all kinds.

Step by step to the perfect cup of coffee

When he arrived in Bulgaria, he realized that the Bulgarian consumer was not yet ready to start demanding a better cup of coffee. With this realization, he understood the need for constant training for baristas, restaurant managers, and even coffee lovers. In 2009, he took the SCAE exams and was certified as a barista trainer. Since then, he has been enriching the coffee culture in Bulgaria and the region by conducting numerous courses, seminars, tastings, and training for anyone who wants to.

Jordan knows that training and imparting knowledge to those seeking good coffee is not enough. In order to get a better cup of coffee, the right equipment is needed. Jordan introduces some of the best in their field to the Bulgarian market – Kees van der Westen and Crem International coffee machines, Anfim coffee grinders (later part of the Hemro group – Mahlkonig and Ditting), which are a revolution in the Bulgarian coffee sector, grinding coffee on demand.

All this time, the demand for specialty coffee in Bulgaria was growing, and from a coffee distributor, Yordan decided it was time to go his own way, opening his own bakery in 2010, specializing in sourcing and roasting specialty coffee.

And if for roasting, Jordan has decided on Probat and Loring – some of the best machines in the world, then for finding specialty coffee, he focuses on the best in this segment, namely the Alliance for Coffee Excellence – an organization whose goal is to determine the best coffees of the season through a high-level international competition in each country.

ACE becomes the best partner that provides access to unique coffees. That is why in 2013, Jordan became a member of the association, and in 2014 he attended the Cup Of Excellence competition for the first time. The bar is high, but after he passed it and went from being an observer to a judge, every year he travels to different parts of the world to choose the best coffee for his clients. So in

2015, for the first time in Bulgaria, a coffee that won the Cup Of Excellence – the coffee is from Costa Rica, the farm is Doña Ileana. The entire harvest was bought up and sold for two whole years. Therefore, in 2016, Yordan again made a cardinal decision - to buy the best coffee in Guatemala (and second in the world for the same year), competing in the auction with the most powerful Asian and American companies. And he succeeded! The victory went to Europe, because up to this point, a whole batch of number 1 coffee had never entered a Cup Of Excellence auction in Europe. To date, Yordan has added 9 COE coffees to the DABOV catalog, 8 of which are from the Top 10 of the respective country.

Another great success was his participation in Best Of Panama - a competition of Panamanian coffees, which a European judge has not attended for years. In 2018, Yordan Dabov was part of the prestigious jury, composed of Asians, Americans and Australians. And one European - Yordan Dabov. In 2019, he was invited again among the judges.

Once the highest-quality coffees are secured and Jordan is confident that he can offer a better cup of coffee every day, day after day, his efforts are directed towards winning over more and more farmers with whom he can build long-term relationships, so that his coffee is constant and reliable. Although Jordan started buying directly from farmers in 2010, he realizes that it is not easy to reach the best farmers who are motivated to produce better and better coffee every season. It is also not easy to convince them to sell to DABOV Specialty Coffee, once they have established relationships with Asian buyers. Winning over renowned farmers in the specialty coffee industry is a long and slow process, a process of mutual understanding and trust, which is built step by step, year after year.