Starbucks brings together 30 countries to compete in this year’s EMEA Barista Championship Finals

Today in London, the home to the Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters, baristas from across the region are settling in ahead of the biggest multi-country championship the company has ever hosted. All with one goal, to be crowned best barista across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The Starbucks Barista Championship were born in EMEA and 2019 sees the most countries competing, ever! It’s a record year for the most nationalities in one Starbucks Barista Championship - from Saudi Arabia, to Spain, Sweden and South Africa - these are just four out of the 30 nations competing.

Each barista is already a champion, having been crowned as National Champion of their home country. The search has taken nearly nine months and involved approximately 15,000 Starbucks baristas who entered this year’s competition.

Over the next two days, each Barista Champion will share their knowledge of Starbucks ethically sourced coffee along with showcasing their coffee craft. The competition will be whittled down by  almost 50% on Thursday before heading into Friday, when the final 16 will battle it out in the nail-biting latte art throw-down. The latte art throw-down was invented in Seattle, the birthplace of Starbucks, and sees competitors go head-to-head – only the best latte art, created with perfectly steamed milk, makes it through.

The latte art throw-down will determine the final four, then a panel of experts will decide the overall champion and name 2019’s best barista from over 30,000 Starbucks partners (employees) in EMEA.

Starbucks EMEA Barista Championship 2019 in numbers:

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