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In college he began to come in contact with coffee when he’d go to coffee shops with Chee, who was then his girlfriend. The two got interested in the subject, and would frequently go online to leave posts on coffee forums. Wu took great pleasure in brewing coffee for others’ enjoyment. “From a young age, I loved cooking and making desserts. I’d give a go at cooking whatever I wanted to eat, and I particularly enjoyed cooking for family and friends. It’s my personality. For the same reasons, I like making coffee for people.”

Starting by brewing with a French press, Wu was immediately captivated by brewing and even considered opening a streetside coffee stall. And so, despite having a prestigious degree in electrical engineering from National Taiwan University, on weekends and holidays he’d ride a tricycle stand of his own design around the Jing­mei and Gong­guan areas of Tai­pei to sell coffee. Fascinated by the feedback he got from his customers, he eventually made plans to open his own coffee shop.

After graduating, he worked as a patent engineer up until 2011 when he decided to quit his high-paying job and open a coffee shop. “I made the decision thinking that even if the shop didn’t have a large clientele I could use it for my personal training.” Wu recalls that process of starting a business and participating in competitions: Even when business was slow, he would still stand at the bar and practice his brewing techniques quite happily.

When he first watched the 2008 WBC in Denmark, Wu was excited at seeing the superb performance of champions from around the world. “Everyone on stage was a world-class barista,” he recalls. “I was thinking how awesome it would be if one day I could be up on that stage.”

Since 2009, he has competed for a chance on that stage every year. He fell short the first two years, but since 2013 he has been crowned Taiwan champion three years in a row. In 2014, he competed for Taiwan at the WBC for the first time and earned seventh place, and the mistake in 2015 did not discourage him. Finally, in 2016, his innovative use of chilled portafilters and his technique of infusing essential oils into an expresso drink with nitrogen helped him earn the highest marks from the judges.