The Search For Britain’s Best Barista Begins

The award that accesses the best coffee makers in the UK is to be held at the London Coffee Festival, which runs from the 27th-29th April 2012 at the Old Truman Brewery, London.

Run by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe UK Chapter (SCAE UK) the UK Barista competition aims to find a highly skilled and technical barista to represent the UK in the World Barista Championships.

Last year saw over 70 baristas battle it out for the title of UK Barista Champion. London-based John Gordon from Square Mile Coffee followed up his win in 2010 with another last year and has since been highly successful, competing in and coming sixth in the World Barista Championships, held in Bogota, Colombia in June.

At present, some dates and venues of heats are still being confirmed, however, if companies are interested in hosting a heat or a training day, please go to www.scaeuk.com for more information on how to apply.
Kenneth Cooper, SCAE UK co-ordinator comments, “We are very excited about holding the 2012 UK Barista Championships final during London Coffee Festival for the first time, and also once again be working with ExpoWest, in the delivery of the South West heats. Re-instating the Northern Ireland heat has also been extremely satisfying and we hope that we see a host of fresh talent from this region in the competition. 

“We had a fantastic turn-out to the championships as a whole last year and we are hoping for more of the same in 2012. I encourage all baristas to take part as it is not only a great platform for learning and developing new skills, but it helps keep coffee topical and constantly works to improve the performance of the industry nationwide.”