Latest news with #WorldBaristaChampionship
Tom's Guide
14 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
I'm an ex-barista and I challenged ChatGPT to a latte-making contest — here's who won
Picture this: it's the final of the World Barista Championship (yes, a real thing, and no, I've never been). There's a human barista, who's spent years honing their craft, researching their passion, and inventing brand new drinks to hopefully take the title and be crowed the World's #1 Barista. Their coffee is nuanced, innovative, and clever. Then there's a robot arm churning out coffee after coffee to a precise, scientific recipe programmed into its motherboard. Its coffee is caffeinated, comfortable, and most importantly: consistent. There's nothing inherently wrong with either. When I lived in South Korea, I visited these robot-staffed cafes, because, well, I was curious. And while the coffee is drinkable, it's missing that oomph that human-made coffee does. Taste is mostly why I stay away from automatic espresso machines — I just don't think they can brew coffee as well as a human can. The best espresso machines are the ones that need a human hand. Prove me wrong. This is the espresso machine I used in this challenge. I use this machine every day, and while it's not perfect, it's an awesome all-in-one machine that stops coffee getting everywhere thanks to the internal tamper. At the weekend, I walked past one of my favorite cafes in my city. As the smell of freshly-ground specialty coffee permeated the air and meandered into my nose, I had to stop myself from going in and ordering my old faithful: an oat milk flat white. You have oat milk flat white at home, I told myself. So I moseyed back to my house and got brewing. Then I remembered those semi-cute-semi-scary robot arms in Korea, and the idea hit me: What if I ask ChatGPT how to make the best coffee? Although I love flat whites, I understand lattes to be a more common beverage, so I decided to pit two lattes head-to-head. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. I opened up ChatGPT on my laptop and prompted: "How do I make a perfect latte?" This is what ChatGPT said (note: scroll to see both images). If you know anything about espresso, ChatGPT's first mistake will be glaringly obvious. While it recommends 18g-20g of coffee (correct), it goes on to say a double shot is 2oz of espresso in 25-30 seconds. 2oz is around 56g, which is almost double the size of a double shot. This is more like a lungo shot, which I wouldn't recommend for a latte — it'll weaken the flavor. Generally, the optimum ratio is 1:2, which means I'd get 36g of espresso out of 18g coffee. And then to recommend I get 56g of espresso in 25-30 seconds? That means my coffee would need to be ground way too coarse to be espresso-fine. I was skeptical, but I committed to the bit and followed ChatGPT's advice exactly. The next issue was ChatGPT telling me to "let[ting] air in [the milk] for 1-2 seconds". This is simply not true. I knew just from reading these instructions that my milk would be way too wet. I also don't like medium or dark roasted coffee (much prefer a juicy light-roasted African bean), but I persevered for science. Still, I committed to the bit and followed the instructions exactly. Here's what happened in the battle of ex-barista vs. AI. Spoiler alert: I won. It resulted in a bitter, over-extracted taste. I was not impressed. I followed ChatGPT's instructions exactly. Using my Wacaco Exagram Pro scale (one of the best coffee scales, IMO) I weighed out 18g of finely-ground coffee (notch 3 on my De'Longhi La Specialista Opera). I tamped with the Opera's smart tamper and slotted the portafilter into the group head. I placed the scale underneath my latte glass and started extraction. By 25 seconds, I only had 31g of coffee. Still, I waited, adamant on following ChatGPT's guidance. I stopped extraction when the scale read 56g, which took a massive 40 seconds. This extraction time is about 15 seconds longer than I'd usually pull a shot for, and resulted in a bitter, over-extracted taste. I was not impressed. Now, the milk. ChatGPT told me to aerate for just 1-2 seconds, then plunge the steam wand into the milk until it reached around 140°F, so that's what I did. Reader, it was not good. I know from experience that you should probably aerate milk (gently) for around 5 seconds, or until it feels right. A lot of coffeemaking relies on feelings and vibes, which obviously an AI can't relate to. Because the milk wasn't aerated enough, I wasn't able to get latte art. Here's a photo of the ChatGPT latte. Now I'll walk you through my process. Using the same Wacaco Exagram Pro scale, I weighed out 18g of the exact same dark roast coffee in my portafilter. I tamped with the same tamper and slotted the group handle into the machine. After placing the latte glass and scale under the portafilter, I started extraction. I timed the shot with my scale. When the espresso reached 36g, at 26 seconds, I stopped extraction. Then I poured just under 8oz of the exact same whole milk and steamed it my way. For this, I made the little tss-tss-tss sound for about 5 seconds and created a whirlpool in the center of the jug. I moved the jug up and down to ensure my milk was steamed evenly and had a nice layer of microfoam. Here's a photo of my latte. No, the latte art isn't my best work. You'd have to check out my other reviews (like the De'Longhi Stilosa) to see some really nice art. However, in terms of both looks and taste, my latte was much more pleasant. The coffee was sweet and balanced with a little touch of bitterness, whereas the ChatGPT latte was overwhelmingly bitter thanks to the lungo shot. My latte was also more pleasing to drink thanks to the textured microfoam. Me. Duh. I joke — I actually wanted ChatGPT to win, to prove me wrong. I wanted to rise to the challenge. But there wasn't really much of a challenge. I was simply left disappointed by how misguided ChatGPT's recipe was. After crowning myself the winner, I thought maybe I shouldn't have been the only judge. Of course I'd give myself the title. Thankfully, I have a completely unbiased test subject in the form of my boyfriend (sarcasm intended). I gave him both lattes and asked him which was better. "This one looks better," he said (direct quote), while pointing to mine. He took a sip and said, "It tastes good." After I asked him which once tasted better, he shrugged and offered, "They both tasted good." Hm. He's the kind of person who wants hot bean juice and wants it now, whereas I'm the kind of person who'd rather drink no coffee than bad coffee. So maybe I am biased. Maybe ChatGPT's recipe isn't so bad after all. But I think for other semi-coffee-snobs like me, human touch can never be replicated.
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
84,000 Baristas, One Champ: Inside the Battle for Starbucks' Coffee-Making Crown
LAS VEGAS—Every second counts. Points are at stake. Controversies are brewing: Should anaerobic processing be allowed? How about yeast fermentation? Welcome to the competitive barista circuit, where coffee reputations are made and destroyed in 15-minute routines. Events that began around 2000 have mushroomed into cutthroat competitions grading everything from espresso shots to bespoke beverages. There are even pundits. On the 'Golden Brown Coffee' YouTube channel last year, the hosts dissected the one-point win by Mikael Jasin of Indonesia over Australian Jack Simpson in what they dubbed 'the most controversial World Barista Championship ever.' While Jasin adopted a 'day spa routine' with his flowing beige attire and references to the body and soul of coffee, Simpson went high-tech. He treated his espresso with 'ultralow frequency magnetic waves' and anaerobic fermentation for 150 hours 'followed by a thermal shock.' 'That's insane,' said one of the hosts about the tiny margin between completely different routines. Now, the company that made craft coffee mainstream wants in on the action. Starbucks is holding a global competition exclusively among its baristas to showcase their skills and pump up the brand. The coffee giant has held regional contests for around a decade, but now it wants to crown its own world champ. In Las Vegas this month, tension was high after 84,000 entrants were winnowed down to 12 contestants who sought to dazzle clipboard-toting judges with decades of coffee know-how. Hosts narrated the moves for cheering audience members. 'We've just seen the most beautiful rosetta from Sumayyah. That was gorgeous,' said one of the semifinal hosts, Laurence Unsworth, wearing a green and blue sequin jacket. Participants crafted beverages with toasted sesame and citrus notes, explained coffee roasts in Italian and Japanese, and connected their drinks back to their lives. 'I'm going for a cherry pie vibe here,' said Cali Hegeman, a 22-year-old barista from Chicago, who dyed her hair burgundy and described growing up eating cherries from her neighbor's tree to showcase her layered, fruity espresso drinks. The U.S. coffee scene has come a long way from Folgers and Maxwell House. The 'third wave' coffee movement starting in the early 2000s brought more sophisticated brewing practices to Americans, such as drinks made from coffee beans roasted in small batches. Competitions came with it, offering contestants a chance to win cash, equipment and trips to coffee-growing countries. After Dismas Smith went to his first World Barista Championships in Miami in 2001, he traveled to Denmark to boost his skills. One thing the Danes, who were then among the Scandinavians ruling the international coffee competition scene, imparted: Dress better. When they competed in the U.S. qualifiers in 2002, Smith and his team strode onto the competition floor in coordinated chef jackets. 'We looked like Cobra Kai,' said Smith, 54 years old, who is developing a new coffee roasting company. When Smith went to the world championships later that year, he placed sixth. He didn't realize his machine cleaning towel had become soiled. (Contestants accrue points based on rounds of assessments from technical and sensory judges, scoring everything from an espresso's aftertaste to whether it has an unbroken sheen on top.) 'My Danish friends make fun of me for it to this day,' he said. Competitions have grown more elaborate—and expensive. Hiring coaches, sourcing coffee from distant lands and acquiring a laboratory's worth of equipment can easily add up to tens of thousands of dollars in expenses. Agnieszka Rojewska, the 37-year-old World Barista Championship winner in 2018, built a table on top of her prep table to have more space for her routines. The Polish coffee master practiced for eight hours a day for three months. 'You put all of it together and keep repeating it until you don't like it anymore,' Rojewska said. Ryan Wibawa, the World Brewers Cup third place finisher last year, spent nearly $15,000 to prepare for his performance, in which he blended coffees from Panama, Colombia and Indonesia. The 33-year-old employed a 'double immersion technique with the V60 Switch'—a seeping technique —to bring out the sweetness in his brews. 'It's definitely a big investment,' said Wibawa, who is now coaching contestants himself. Starbucks paid for coaches for its competitors to refine their skills ahead of the Vegas showcase. Adrian Mata Pantoja, a 24-year-old Starbucks barista who last year placed in the top three in the company's North America championships, also turned to his cats and dogs to practice his presentations. With all the rehearsing comes a lot of caffeine. 'My coach has had to put a limit on how much I drink,' Mata Pantoja said. For the semifinals, latte art competitors had to make concoctions randomly assigned by a Plinko board. In the signature drink round, an Italian barista crafted a 'Golden Ticket Milano Express.' Contestants were battling for the chance to have one of their own drinks featured in Starbucks locations across North America. 'She is an inspiration to this. I love you mom,' said Victor Diab, a New York City barista, after brewing a beverage inspired by black forest cake. The final four contenders came from China, Japan and Jordan. During the battle royal, held before more than 14,000 ecstatic Starbucks store leaders, attendees gasped when they heard about some of the drink additions, like apple juice and a secret sauce of Japanese yuzu. Japan's Nobuki Shimode took the top prize with his 'Blooming Yuzu Espresso' and called to the judges to 'please take a cup and smell it.' 'I think you are destined for the Food Network next,' Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said to Shimode after his win. Write to Heather Haddon at Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Los Angeles Times
14-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
11 coffee shops along the Santa Barbara coast for your next weekend road trip
In my Prius, a notification pops up in the form of a coffee cup topped with steam squiggles and accompanied by a message inquiring, 'Would you like to take a break?' This safety feature is designed to alert drivers to potential drowsiness, but it always makes me smile, because when I'm traveling, coffee shops are often my intended destination. Yes, I would like to take a break. On a recent drive to Santa Barbara wine country, the roads winding north led me through the charming towns of the Santa Ynez Valley, each with a coffee destination, from historic taverns, bakeries and cozy community hubs to modern temples of espresso. With four locations across Santa Barbara and Goleta, Dune Coffee has been roasting rare single-origin and signature blends of coffee beans since 2009. In March, barista Kay Cheon became the 2025 U.S. Barista Champion. During the competition, he explored how the theme of building blocks in coffee — from bean variety and roast to brewing techniques and ingredients — can combine to create something exceptional, even adding colorful Lego props for visuals. This fall, Cheon will compete at the World Barista Championship in Milan, Italy. 'A big part of our community has come along for the barista championship journey, and that's really special to see,' says Cheon. Heading deeper into the Santa Ynez Valley, specialty coffee bars have opened in converted Airstream trailers and Old West saloons. Stop into the airy and bright Little King in Buellton and you are likely to sip a cortado next to a lauded local chef like Brad Mathews of Bar Le Côte in Los Olivos. 'The love for coffee is real in the Santa Ynez Valley,' says Ryan Pelton, a barista at Queen Cup, a shop with locations in Santa Ynez and Los Alamos. 'It's like Sabrina Carpenter's 'Espresso' on repeat.' On your next road trip to Santa Barbara wine country or elsewhere along the Central Coast, follow this trail to some of the best scenic views, tasty baked goods and delicious cups of coffee.
Zawya
16-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Africa's coffee culture comes home
South Africa, Uganda and Kenya topped the podium at this year's Africa Barista Championship. But the real winner at this year's Africa Barista Championship was African coffee culture itself. From 24 to 28 February 2025, the scent of homegrown coffee filled the air in Dar es Salaam, as 23 baristas from 14 countries competed for continental recognition before packed crowds. Held alongside the 21st African Fine Coffees Conference and Exhibition (AFCA), the event marked a turning point: a bold celebration of local talent, regional markets, and Africa's fast-growing appreciation for its own specialty coffee – especially robusta. 'This isn't just about coffee-making,' said Régine Léonie Guion-Firmin, an Authorized Specialty Coffee Association trainer (AST) based in Nairobi, Kenya. 'It's about youth creating new career paths, fostering café culture, and driving demand for high-quality, locally produced coffee. You could feel the energy and pride.' Behind the spotlight on brewing mastery, a deeper transformation was underway. With growing consumer interest across the continent, local roasters, baristas and entrepreneurs are championing African coffee for African consumers – redefining value not through export alone, but through domestic engagement. In Cameroon, Thierry Djanga of TerrifiCoffee is part of that movement. His coffee placed second in a tasting competition at the event, but his priorities lie closer to home. 'I'm happy to pay a premium for quality robusta from African producers,' he said. 'Not just to export it, but to serve it locally. Consumers here are ready to pay for excellence. It's a virtuous circle that benefits everyone.' The event also spotlighted technical capacity-building. A Barista Bootcamp, co-led by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Robusta Coffee Agency of Africa and Madagascar (ACRAM), trained more than 20 baristas in sensory analysis and brewing techniques aligned with World Barista Championship standards. The initiative, part of the ACP Business-Friendly programme, is helping professionalize the coffee sector and deepen local market appreciation for specialty-grade robusta. Mozambique's participation was an eye-opener for many attendees unfamiliar with the country's emerging coffee sector. Meanwhile, Egypt's growing café scene brought new energy to discussions on regional trade and branding opportunities. As coffee professionals, producers and policymakers shared ideas throughout the week, one message rang clear: Africa's coffee story is no longer confined to its export potential. The continent's producers, baristas, and consumers are reclaiming the narrative, one cup at a time. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.
