David Kim is a specialty coffee professional, educator, and competition barista based in Calgary, Canada.

As founder of Paradigm Spark, he has spent over a decade exploring how science, art, and sensory experience meet in coffee. His classes are built to deepen understanding by bridging technical precision with creativity and purpose.

David brings competition-level insight into every lesson. He simplifies complex ideas like extraction dynamics into clear, practical applications that elevate daily brewing, café service and competition preparation. Students learn not only how to make better coffee, but how to think, taste, and design with intent.

Through Paradigm Spark’s training programs, David mentors baristas, café teams, and enthusiasts who want to refine skills or professionals prepare for competition. His teaching connects real café workflow, sensory development, and creative beverage design in one cohesive approach.

Headquartered within Paradigm Spark’s collaborative coffee workspace, the school brings together a community of coffee professionals and enthusiasts who share a curiosity for flavor, quality, and connection.

Training at Timberline blends practical skill with real-world insight—helping students build confidence behind the bar, sharpen their sensory abilities, and grow in their coffee careers.

In addition to its certification courses, Timberline offers shorter classes and coffee experiences, along with corporate coffee events and private workshops designed to make learning approachable and engaging. Every session is built around one idea: that great coffee is about more than what’s in the cup—it’s about the people and passion behind it.