Last week he was lying in a hospital bed in Seattle, so sick he couldn't walk - now he's the world's best barista, walking into his Manuka cafe draped in an Australian flag with a trophy under his arm.
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Canberra's world champion barista Sasa Sestic returned home to a rapturous welcome on Thursday afternoon, with friends and family gathering for a surprise party at ONA on the Lawns.
A cheer went up as Sestic stepped out of a rented van bearing the World Barista Championship trophy aloft.
The former Olympian and founder of ONA Coffee was named the world's best barista at the championships in Seattle on Monday, beating out top baristas from more than 50 nations.
Sestic also revealed he had been so sick that he was taken to hospital the day before he competed.
But though he was still exhausted from severe bronchitis and a 24-hour plane trip, Sestic pronounced himself extremely happy.
"It's a dream come true," he said.
"And to come to this shop and share that moment with all the regular customers from Manuka who have been coming here for a long time from the day we started, family, friends, co workers."
Competitors had to prepare four espressos, four cappuccinos and four signature coffees in just 15 minutes during the championships and Sestic won judges over with a signature drink that borrowed from winemaking.
He uses carbonic maceration, where grapes are fermented in a sealed container filled with carbon dioxide, to make his coffee and added extra Canberra flavour - shiraz viognier grape juice from Clonakilla winery.
Sestic said he was very proud to fly the Canberra flag.
"Every time I travel I meet people in LA or god knows where and they say, 'Ah, you're from Australia. You're from Melbourne?' And I say, 'No, I'm from Canberra and I'm very proud to be from here,'" he said.
"We have a really small community here and it's very humble and an amazing community and winning this means we can do some very special things in our little city."
On the eve of the competition, Sestic was taken to hospital, too weak to walk or stand, suffering severe bronchitis, a high fever, and a chest infection. But he never entertained the possibility of not competing.
"I would go there in a wheelchair and do my presentation. No way in the world I was thinking I couldn't compete," he said.
He also kept his illness hidden until after he won.
"I didn't want to tell it to anyone in case I finished number two or number three, I did not want that to be an excuse why I did not win," he said.
Since his win, Sestic has received "a million offers to go to Brazil, Colombia, Taiwan, New York, Vancouver" and the rest of the world but he wants to be an ambassador for specialty coffee.
He's ONA's designated "bean hunter" and worked closely with his Colombian producer Camilo Merizalde to come up with the perfect blend. And he wants to write a book for growers on processing beans and different coffee regions.
"I need to inspire as many people worldwide to make the industry better and stronger," he said.
"Having this title is going to make it a lot easier to communicate my message and experiments I've done. I need to quit my job. I need to do a bit of a restructure so I'm not involved in the business as much.
"My coffee competition chapter is over and there's new exciting chapter I'm going to start in my coffee life. Before when I speak up there's only this small amount of audience that will follow me but now when I speak up there's the entire world watching me. "
