What is Barista of the Year?
The Costa Coffee Barista of the Year competition began in the UK in 2006, with a vision to celebrate and showcase the incredible talent and skills of our Baristas. We took the competition global a year later and since then, it’s been the highlight of the Costa Coffee calendar
Heats take place in all of our global markets – UK & Ireland, Europe, China and MEA region (Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia) – and it all culminates in a Champion of Champions final. This is held in London in front of a live audience and live streamed globally.
How does the competition work?
Barista of the Year focuses on our Baristas passion for our Mocha Italia blend, the skill and heart they put into every drink, and their knowledge of the Costa brand. Seven Baristas will compete at the Global Final in front of a live audience for the coveted title of Costa Coffee’s Barista of the Year.
The final includes two challenges, The Special and The Detective. The Special is where our Baristas can showcase their creativity by developing and then creating their own speciality drink. The Detective focuses on our Baristas’ knowledge and understanding of coffee. They will need to taste a set of three coffees and then use their deduction skills to identify the odd one out.
We’re ultimately testing their coffee creation abilities and their knowledge of our Mocha Italia Signature Blend, in front of a panel of judges from across the Costa Coffee world.
Six extraordinary finalists wowed the judges with creativity, precision, and storytelling, but only one Barista could take home the trophy…
