TL;DR
- Sierra Yeo, Swiss Brewers Cup Champion 2026 and UK Brewers Cup Champion 2022, joins CremaLoop as our R&D and sensory specialist.
- We are engineers. We can measure grind size, motor speed and temperature, but we always knew our own palates had limits.
- Sierra tastes what our instruments can't. No prototype gets launched without her input on the sensory benefits it adds to the cup.
- Our tools have always been built on science and data. Now they are built on taste too.
What engineers can't measure
We love to design and tinker. When something in our coffee routine bothers us, we take it apart, measure it and build a better version. That is how the Slow Feeder started, and how it ended up on the World Brewers Cup stage in Brussels.
But we have always been honest with ourselves about one thing. We can measure particle sizes, motor speed and brew temperature. What we can't do nearly as well is taste the difference those numbers make in the cup. Our palates are those of keen home baristas, not of someone calibrated to world-level competitive brewing and professional sensory standards.
A coffee tool is only as good as the cup it helps you make. So we needed someone who can taste what our instruments can't see.
That's where Sierra comes in
Sierra Yeo has won the Brewers Cup in two countries: in the UK in 2022 and in Switzerland in 2026. In June 2026 she brewed on the world stage at the World Brewers Cup in Brussels and came 9th in the world.
Her background
- Two national titles: UK Brewers Cup Champion 2022 and Swiss Brewers Cup Champion 2026.
- Evolved Q Arabica grader: trained and certified to evaluate coffee quality with a standardised sensory protocol.
- Coffee science: she has worked at the ZHAW Coffee Excellence Center, the coffee research group of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
- Educator and writer: she teaches, speaks and writes about coffee for the specialty community.
Competition, sensory training and coffee research: that combination is rare, and it is exactly what our products were missing. Above all, Sierra has been a barista for 12 years, which helps us to balance efficiency, ergonomics and good design within all of our products.
What she brings to our products
As our R&D and sensory specialist, Sierra works with us from the first prototype. She brews with our tools, looks at them with a barista’s eye, and tells us what changes in the cup: clarity, sweetness, balance, and how to evolve the product from something on the page into a real tool brewers can use.
Our data tells us what a tool does. Sierra tells us whether it makes the coffee taste better. From now on, no prototype gets launched without her input on the sensory benefits it adds to the cup.
Science, data and now taste
We like to compare competition coffee to Formula 1. Tiny gains decide everything, so that is where real innovation happens. But F1 only matters because the technology ends up in everyday cars.
Sierra shares that vision. Together we develop at the competition end, where the stage is a hotbed for innovation in brewing, and bring what works to your counter at home. We have always built tools that make an impact, backed by science and data. With Sierra, they are now backed by taste too.
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Frequently asked questions
Who is Sierra Yeo?
Sierra Yeo is the Swiss Brewers Cup Champion 2026, the UK Brewers Cup Champion 2022 and a Q Arabica grader. She joined CremaLoop in 2026 as R&D and sensory specialist.
What does Sierra do at CremaLoop?
She tests our prototypes and products, brews with them and evaluates how they change the taste in the cup. Her feedback goes straight into product development.
Will Sierra be involved in new CremaLoop products?
Yes. No prototype gets launched without her input on the sensory benefits it adds to the cup.