Drink Up Month is in full swing, and today we're starting your morning with coffee knowledge from a World Champion barista coach, Holly Bastin.

Holly is the Director of Coffee at PH Coffee (2200 Lexington Ave., KCMO) and instructs the Coffee Geek Out Classes where coffee enthusiasts can learn how to make barista-level beverages. Editor Bella sat down with Holly to chat about her journey through the world of espresso in Kansas City.

Where did your love of coffee begin?

"I was 19 when I got into coffee, as I was going to be a music education major and very quickly that fell apart. But, I found cafe culture in Lawrence, KS and that's how I got attracted to it. It was more the culture — I didn't actually like coffee. The shop I was working at was bought by PT's Coffee, and that's really how I got my start."

How did you get involved on the coaching side?

"Well, I've been training people since 2004, plus I did judging in the barista competition circuits. The same time I left that job, someone I was coaching at the world level actually won. That's when I started fully doing consulting and training on a global scale. I traveled around the last ten years and have trained three world champions."

Tell us more about Geek Out at PH Coffee

"No one is teaching in this more public facing way, at least that I know of, integrating professionals and just people who love coffee. It was PH's owner who brought up the original idea. He had a friend who really wanted to get on the espresso machine, and Geek Out was born from that. Basically I adapted what I teach professionals to make it as accessible as I can, and we ended up stretching it into a series."

Join us for a KCtoday meet up at PH Coffee's "The-Pop-Up-That-Must-Not-Be-Named!" on Thursday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m.