Seven days before becoming the Belgian AeroPress Champion, Guiliem Slootmans had only just secured his place in the competition.
It was his first year in specialty coffee, his first coffee competition, and something he had not even been sure he wanted to enter.
After earning a ticket through an internal competition at Bouche, the coffee shop where he works, Guiliem suddenly had a week to prepare. He approached it without expectations of winning: his goal was to experience competition, meet other coffee lovers, learn something new and enjoy the day.
He still took the cup seriously, pursuing something punchy but balanced, clean and sweet — and continuing to experiment right up until competition time.
A week later, his first coffee competition ended with a national title.
We spoke with Guiliem about seven days of preparation, learning to trust what he tastes, and why becoming Belgium’s AeroPress Champion has not changed his belief that coffee competition should still be fun.
1. Tell us about your journey with the AeroPress. How long have you been practising, and what made you decide to compete in the Belgian AeroPress Championship this year?
It’s my first year in specialty coffee and my first time considering doing a competition.
It was really a last-minute decision. When the tickets were released, I was thinking about participating, but I wasn’t really sure whether I wanted to or not.
Afterwards, Bouche, the coffee shop where I work, organised an internal competition to decide which two participants would be able to get a ticket for the Belgian AeroPress Championship. From there, I got my ticket to participate, knowing I only had seven days until the Belgian competition.
I received the competition coffee on the Tuesday before the championship and started brewing to see what the coffee could offer.
The night before the competition, I got together with my colleague who was also participating, and we trained together until we had a recipe we were happy with.
2. What was your approach going into the competition? Was there a particular flavour profile or cup experience you were trying to achieve?
My approach was really to enjoy the experience, meet new people and see what competition was like.
I didn’t have any expectations or goals in terms of the result. For me, it was all about having fun brewing coffee and enjoying the day with my colleagues and other coffee lovers.
As for the cup, I wanted something that was a bit punchy while staying balanced, with a really clean cup and a lot of sweetness.
3. What coffee did you work with at the championship, and what did you learn about it while developing your recipe?
We had a fully washed Ethiopian coffee from Yirgacheffe, JARC 74110 and 74112.
I found the coffee floral, with some citrusy acidity, and I felt it had the potential to become a really clean, punchy cup.
4. How did APAX LAB help you shape the final cup? Were there specific qualities, such as sweetness, acidity, texture, or clarity, that you were trying to bring forward?
APAX really helped me add a sweeter touch to the cup as well as a silky texture.
Using LYLAC helped me achieve that texture and reduce some of the dryness I was tasting in the coffee. JAMM helped me bring out a honey-like sweetness, while TONIK helped me retain the acidity in the cup.
Even though I would say the final cup was quite balanced, that pleasant acidity really made it for me.
5. What was your winning APAX LAB water recipe?
My winning APAX LAB water recipe was:
6. AeroPress competitions involve a lot of experimentation and quick decision-making. Was there anything you changed or discovered close to competition day that ended up making a difference?
The decision to use APAX and arrive at this exact recipe was quite an experience. I was trying to get rid of a persistent dryness in the cup, and my decision to add more LYLAC definitely paid off for me.
I would also say that switching to a Comandante helped me achieve a much clearer and cleaner cup.
I had been constantly brewing with my ZP6, and during the final 20 minutes of tweaking, my colleague told me to try her Comandante C40. For me, it made a huge difference.
7. Now that you’ll be representing Belgium at the World AeroPress Championship, what are you most excited about, and how are you approaching the next stage?
Achieving this made me realise that I can be more confident with what I taste in a cup.
So right now, I would say I’m going into Worlds with the same mindset I had for the national championship. I love coffee and I enjoy making coffee. It’s like therapy in a way.
I’m definitely going to train and try to understand even better the parameters I need to lock in before Mexico. But for me, it’s still all about enjoying it, learning new things and meeting new people in this coffee world.
8. For someone looking to compete in AeroPress for the first time, what advice would you give them?
I would advise them to participate not just to win, but to learn and, like I said before, simply enjoy the moment.
At the end of the day, all the participants can make amazing coffee, so don’t take the result too seriously. If winning is the only goal, it can be disappointing when you don’t pass.
Coffee is fun, and competing shouldn’t feel different from that.
It’s all about having fun and sharing a lovely moment between coffee lovers.
Final Thoughts
Guiliem Slootmans entered his first coffee competition with just seven days to prepare and no expectation of winning.
There was no long championship campaign behind it. Instead, there was curiosity, a short window to experiment, and people around him willing to taste, share ideas and make changes together.
He still took the cup seriously. Water was adjusted to address dryness, a different grinder was borrowed minutes before the recipe was finalised, and each decision came back to what tasted better.
Winning gave Guiliem something he had not necessarily expected: greater confidence in his own sensory judgement. But it has not changed why he wants to compete.
Ahead of the World AeroPress Championship, he plans to train more and understand his brewing variables more deeply, while protecting the curiosity that brought him into his first competition in the first place.
As Guiliem puts it:
“Coffee is fun, and competing shouldn’t feel different from that.”
Congratulations to Guiliem Slootmans, the 2026 Belgian AeroPress Champion! We are proud to have APAX LAB play a supporting role in his first competition journey, and excited to see where that curiosity takes him next.
