Blogs
An Extraordinary Barista Championship and Coffee Carnival
2019 came around in the blink of an eye and the preparations started for our third Barista Championship (#BMBC2019). Every year we aim to improve and enhance the championship and carnival and so the planning and work behind the scenes starts early.
The Barista Championship (#BMBC2019)
We had some amazing talent in this year’s championship and it was great to see how far the baristas have come within our business. I have chosen to mirror the rules and score system from the National SCA Chapter which is also used for the World Championship. This will lead to our champion being able to represent Perkee coffee and bartlett mitchell in the Nationals in 2020 and so serves as preparation for what’s to come.
Every year I continue to be impressed by the skills and enthusiasm shown by all the baristas. After an exceptional final, we were delighted to be able to announce the winners of this year’s Barista Championship #BMBC2019.
- Winner – Sarah Reynolds
- Second – Norbert Hegyi
- Third – Milka Valkanova
This year we saw competitors from a very diverse range of businesses, and the standard was higher than ever. It’s a pleasure to see our baristas showcase their skills with such finesse and passion. Huge congratulations to Sarah and all the other finalists.
The Coffee Carnival
After 3 months of heats and semi-finals it was great to celebrate the final with the Perkee Coffee Carnival. Following our successful inaugural event last year, I wanted to ensure this year was bigger and better! But how do you achieve something better than you’ve done and better than something never done before? Working with the suppliers surrounding our coffee environment was the key. If any one of them could bring something great to our Carnival it would only be amazing!
Our coffee partners, Bewley’s Tea and Coffee seemed to be the natural place to start. Their help was extraordinary, from finding the right location to ensuring everything worked together. We just had to add the highlights of the day, such as the insightful talks from Well Grounded and Dilmah tea, along with latte art demonstrations from Oatly. Together with some great Street Food from our own chefs, we had all the ingredients to make it an exceptional event.
Nearly 160 guests attended, a mix of clients, managers, baristas and operational teams added the final sparkle to the event. Not only were they able to try our special seasonal coffees, but we also revealed our new uniforms, new light equipment and coffee machines.
A Great Launch Pad
It was an amazing event and a fabulous time to launch to our Perkee Decaf , which uses our Nicaraguan single source bean. We also launched a new loyalty app and some cool new merchandising which includes a Foundation cup designed by our marketing team in partnership with Huskup, so you never need to be without a cup of Perkee Coffee.
It was a full and wonderful day. We are truly excited for next year’s championship and the planning has already started, so see you there!!