Costa

Barista of the year

THE BEST OF THE BEST

We're incredibly proud of our Costa baristas. These guys really know their beans. And here's their chance to prove it.

COSTA BARISTA OF THE YEAR, 2008

This year's Barista of the Year competition involved baristas from over 1,000 Costa stores around the world. Contestants were judged on technical skill, presentation, personality and passion for coffee. The four ingredients, we believe, that go into a perfect cup.

Six UK finalists, and four finalists from China, India, Europe and the Middle East and North Africa made it through to the Champion of Champions Final, held at our Roastery in Lambeth on Wednesday 29 October 2008.

Winner takes all

Make no mistake, the competition here was seriously hot!

The official 2008 world Barista champion is Kat Finch, from Costa at Strensham Roadchef Service Station. Kat, aged 20 from Malvern has won a trip to a coffee growing region for two including spending money, a custom-made winner uniform shirt to proudly wear in store and the all-important Barista of the Year Trophy for 2008. Kat, along with the other contestants, were also tasked with creating their very own speciality signature coffee drink. Kat aptly named her winning coffee creation 'Heaven and Hell', which was made using a combination of coffee and chillies, perfect for the season.

Guillermo Florez who works in the Costa in Argyll St, London was runner-up with his Café Refrescante creation and Carlos Martinez from Dubai came third in the competition with his Copacabana signature drink.

JUDGED TO PERFECTION

Judges for the 2008 competition were as follows:
Gennaro Pelliccia, Costa Roastery Technical Manager
Charles Metcalf, Wine expert and TV presenter
Alexandre Lapierre, Culinary Manager, Monin
Flavio Urizzi, Export Sales Manager from CMA, one of the world's leading manufacturers of professional espresso coffee machines

BARISTA ROLL OF HONOUR

Here's a list of our past winners: