Brewing Culture by Hand: A Conversation on Craft, Coffee, and Fingerboarding - Mich Sy
- Noah Yang
- Apr 26
- 6 min read
Updated: May 27
In a world that moves fast, there’s something deeply grounding about watching a slow pour over a coffee dripper, or seeing a fingerboard flip through the air. Both demand precision, patience, and a kind of poetic rhythm — brewed or performed by hand, shaped by feel more than formula. What does a perfect coffee pour have in common with a fingerboard trick? Both are acts of balance — of timing, control, and flow. They reward those who slow down, listen closely, and let their hands move with intention. At first glance, specialty coffee and fingerboarding may seem worlds apart. But speak to a barista who crafts each cup with care or a fingerboarder who spends hours refining each line and landing, and you'll find shared values: a respect for process, a love of tactile expression, and a belief that the smallest details often speak the loudest. For this episode of Grind&Slide, we had the privilege of inviting someone very passionate in both worlds. Her name is Mich Sy, Champion of the 2019 Philippine National Cup Tasters.
Whether behind a bar or a desk, Mich brings the same steady focus to both worlds — one steeped in steam, the other in grip tape and motion. What follows is a conversation about that shared mindset: where coffee meets creativity, and craft becomes a way of life.
Here is the conversation with Mich on the shared language of passion, patience, and flow between specialty coffee and fingerboarding.
(NY) Please introduce yourself to our readers!
(MS) Hi Everyone! My name is Mich, I am a passionate advocate of Specialty Coffee. Back in 2019, I competed for the Philippine National Cup Tasters Championship and became the 1st National Champion to represent my country at the world stage in Berlin. This became the turning point in my life to introspect on what continues to fuel my growth and happiness. During this time frame, I was juggling work as a full time banking professional while building a Coffee Equipment Distribution company, alongside a Coffee Roastery, meeting the needs of coffee enthusiasts and cafes alike. I am currently full time in coffee now, and enjoy learning, traveling, and judging coffee competitions overseas. During the pandemic, I was rekindled back to fingerboarding when I found my old Techdeck from ages back. I connected with Vector FB Shop in the Philippine for access to awesome fingerboarding gear.
(NY) Both fingerboarding and specialty coffee involve meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail. How do you see these shared values reflected in your daily practices?
(MS) Small details make a big impact for both specialty coffee and fingerboarding! For coffee, the onset of quality starts from the farmer and processor, to the roaster, and the barista. This chain safeguards and protects quality and transparency from the source. Small lapses in each part of the chain starts to blur the line between transparency and quality. For fingerboarding, so much attention to detail is spent in designing the board, trying to find balance in wheel base, dips, kicks, and pop feel before finalizing the mold. At one point, I have tried to make a mold for myself, but it is easier said than done!
(NY) Fingerboard enthusiasts often talk about expressing personal style and creativity. How does this idea compare to the creativity you see in specialty coffee roasting or brewing techniques?
(MS) I see mostly a mix of fingerboarders who enjoy doing clean and technical tricks, while there are others who are very chill, fingerskate leisurely, and do more flow oriented tricks. In coffee, particularly in roasting, this creativity is reflected in each person's style or approach to bring out origin characteristics of the coffee while balancing out the sweetness and over all roast development. Like in fingerboarding, the same fingerboard used by a different person has a unique style and approach, and pretty much can be said with coffee roasting, and even coffee brewing!
(NY) Specialty coffee has seen a rise in artisanal methods, sustainability, and community-building. How do these trends resonate with the fingerboarding community?
(MS) Communities offer a safe space for people to grow and connect. These communities foster growth and keep specialty coffee and fingerboarding relevant. Whether it is a coffee crawl, coffee meet up, brew party, "pitik" session as they call it locally, or a competition, these events foster a sense of community building, allowing small pockets and niches of people and groups with shared values to further grow and build local communities.
(NY) In both fingerboarding and specialty coffee, there seems to be a deep appreciation for authenticity and originality. How important is authenticity to you in each of these worlds?
(MS) With regards to authenticity and originality, the context always lies in transparency. One of the grappling concerns with specialty coffee is the rise of infused or fruit co-fermented coffee. While there is a preference for these types of coffees, there is also an opposition on how this mislabeling can mislead consumers. For fingerboarding, there are a lot of companies like Flatflat, CatfishBBQ, Prete, Black River, etc. who have been mainstays in the industry. Their dedication to the craft and sport, as well as vision continue to sustain the industry and community.
(NY) Both industries can be considered niche hobbies with dedicated communities. How has being part of such niche communities shaped your perspective or approach to your craft?
(MS) I quite enjoy the sense of belongingness and being a part of something greater, and at the same time, the feeling of it being niche also makes it interesting and cool. It's kind of figuring out a hole in the wall cafe or a fingerboard deck maker who is not mainstream. You'd like to keep it to yourself, but the sense of enjoyment is not as great without having a few friends who also appreciate the craft and goods.
(NY) Can you describe a moment when insights or techniques from fingerboarding influenced your approach to specialty coffee, or vice versa?
(MS) Practice makes perfect! While an ollie or pop shuvit may be easy, other tricks take time to master, and so does making your own good cup of coffee!
(NY) Composing a fingerboard setup involves selecting components carefully to achieve a specific feel. How does this compare to the selection and blending of coffee beans for flavor profiles?
(MS) For me, when I set up a board, I try to target a feel or style of play that I would like before setting up everything. My last set up was from 8equalsD with 29mm BRT, Oak Wheels M, South Soft bushings (soft), BRT Blue pivot cup. This pop and feel is very relaxed in play and lands very realistic tricks. It is the same for coffee as well, preferences come to play, but it is mostly drinking for pleasure rather than pure caffeination. On some days, you feel that you are up for an delicate, floral, and elegant cup of coffee, then it will most likely be an Ethiopian Washed or Panama Geisha. While on other days, you would want to have a fruit and berry forward coffee, then it would most likely be a natural processed coffee.
(NY) Both specialty coffee baristas and fingerboarders often experiment and innovate to push boundaries. Could you share an example of an experiment or innovation you undertook in either field?
(MS) For fingerboarding, it took a while to find the perfect feel that I wanted. Since most boards accessible locally have high kicks and concaves, it took a while before I got the chance to set up a mellow low concave board, and also to dial in the truck (height and weight), wheel size (for pop and realism), and bushings and pivot cup softness for that soft feeling. For coffee, it also involves finding out what works for you! The same recipe may have baselines but like penmanship, each brewer may approach it slightly differently (flow rate, agitation, etc.). Through the process of trying out different drippers and coffee, you eventually find out what your preferences are, and the likelihood of certain coffees matching certain dripper and extraction styles. At one point I was enjoying blending the same coffee grounds from different grinders because the output would yield different particle shape (apart from size) and this significantly affects extraction, either enhancing mouthfeel/body and sweetness or acidty.
(NY) What do you believe draws people to appreciate the nuanced experiences offered by both fingerboarding and specialty coffee, and how might this appreciation enhance one's overall perspective?
(MS) For coffee and fingerboarding, there is satisfaction in improving and growing in the craft and this can be very rewarding.
(NY) Specialty coffee grapples with balancing novel processing methods with sustainable practices, while fingerboarding evolves with tech like integrating new materials. How do both fields honor tradition while pushing creative boundaries?
(MS) For specialty coffee to advance, it needs to honor its roots/origin while also looking at tech and innovation to evolve and be more sustainable. While coffee has been around for so long, Specialty Coffee has seen a spike in interest much recently. In order to grow, it needs to venture into sustainability, such as hybrids or new cultivar to grow healthy, sustainable, while foreseeing climate change. For fingerboarding, its roots will always be there so long as techdecks continue to be manufactured while remaining accessible and affordable.
Mich Sy
Instagram: @othermich
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