UK Barista Champion Review

SanRemo Logo

It’s been a gruelling few weeks as the team of 20+ organisers and helpers travelled the country, setting up the regional heats, semis and final. With a new format and stage set, we’ve loaded up two big vans full of kit for each heat and driven more than two thousand miles round the country with the set, equipment and SanRemo machines. The first heat took nine hours or so to set up and get right – and that’s all before there’s a competitor in sight!

This year’s heats in Glasgow, Exeter, Sheffield and London have attracted more competitors than ever, including some new faces, which has made the competition all the more exciting. By the time we got to the final at Hotelympia on March 1, the atmosphere was electric and the intensity high as the finalists battled it out for the UK title.

The Glasgow heat was a close-run competition not least because five competitors joined Glasgow from the cancelled Belfast event. There was a great atmosphere and the day showed how the standard of baristas keeps rising in Scotland. Some of the cappuccinos and signature drinks produced were of a fantastic standard and it was exciting to see some new faces to the Scottish competition showing serious promise for the future. Winner Jonathan Sharp, owner of the Kilimanjaro Coffee House in Edinburgh, made a strong impression with his single origin coffee from Gerbicho Rogicha in Sidamo Ethiopia. The Gerbicho was a favourite with a number of competitors this year, with its strong citrus overtones making for some interesting signature drinks.

Next we were off to Exeter where the competition this year also included the UK Latte art championship. Coming through a very tough heat, newcomer Jose Melium won the South West title, impressing the judges with his espresso made from a single origin coffee from Finca Los Altos, Nicaragua. He’s great character and really expressed the spirit of the competition Newcomers have to experience pressure of the day for the first time, which can be daunting.

Everyone gets half an hour practice time, familiarising themselves with the SanRemo machines, then 15 minutes to get their competition kit on to the stage and 15 minutes to set up before the competition itself. Although it might sound easy to prepare 12 drinks in 15 minutes, the pressure is intense as each barista is performing to exact standards and is making every effort to get each component perfect and the presentation faultless. This makes those 15 minutes fly past on stage. Like all great technicians, baristas make it look easy when it’s not at all.

The North and Midlands heat took place at the Millennium Galleries in Sheffield and this too proved an excellent heat, with Will Corby from Black Mountains Coffee in Cardiff taking the top spot. It was an agonising competition as Andy Carter, who gave a fantastic set to very high standards, made a technical error at the last minute which cost him his place. When this happens it’s heart-breaking for the competitor as they spend months preparing and rehearsing to get the set absolutely spot on and we all felt for Andy.

The London heat once again demonstrated how much it is down to the efforts of the local sponsor to make this a vibrant and exciting competition. This heat was the best ever and it was all down to Square Mile Coffee. The heat was held on a Saturday in a public venue – and it was packed out with an electric atmosphere. Neil Le Bihan from Exchange Coffee at Lewisham Market was the winner.
The semis and final at Hotelympia were always going to be electrifying events and the set, stage and support really elevated the competition to a new level. Again the pressure was on to get everything ready, set up and working. The road crew all deserve huge credit for the efforts they went to at every venue.

The final was in a new format this year, with 20 people performing on one day. This made for great pace and terrific crowd interest. The front of house impression was slick, organised and professional – very impressive. Behind the scenes it was frantic as the backstage teams had to keep pace with the ever changing sets out front and get each competitor ready. . As the event honed down on the final six, the atmosphere was incredibly tense – at this level the competition is executed to such exacting standards. At one point James Hoffman had to investigate a claimed technical problem – this was proved wrong- but even the slightest change in pressure at this level can affect quality and speed of performance and competitors have a right to expect the very best – that’s why SanRemo machines perform so well in this competition.

At last on Monday March 1, we had a new UKBC Champion – John Gordon from Gorilla Tampers and London-based Square Mile Coffee. Deserving runner up was Dale Harris with Neil Le Bihan in third place.

This year’s competitors were undoubtedly the most competitive to date and this bodes well for the future of the competition in the UK. With a good showing from newcomers we can be sure that the regional and national titles will continue to attract a lot of interest which is good for the competition and the coffee drinking public. Roll on 2011!