2015 Starbucks Chinese Coffee Minister and latte Art Champion newly released

Starbucks baristas, shouldering the important practice of the last 10 feet of the coffee journey, are not only a perfect master of espresso craftsmanship, but also communicators of coffee culture and Starbucks humanistic spirit. In the heart of every Starbucks barista, there is an ultimate dream, that is to win the biennial Starbucks China Coffee Minister.

On September 15, the 2015 Starbucks Coffee Minister Competition National Finals officially kicked off at Starbucks stores in Chengdu Huazhi Square. After layers of selection and strict assessment, 12 excellent coffee masters competed together to compete for the title of "Coffee Minister", which ultimately represents the highest honor of Starbucks baristas. At the same time, there was also the Starbucks Chinese Latte Art Competition, where 20 Starbucks experts from all over the country exchanged skills on the spot and launched a fierce competition.

In the end, Guo Mingquan, from Starbucks' Qingdao Vientiane City, won the title of the new Starbucks China Coffee Minister by virtue of her rich coffee knowledge and excellent skills. At the same time, Yu Zhuo, a coffee master at Starbucks' flagship store in Beijing Kerry Center, won the unanimous favor of the judges for his superb skills and wonderful taste of his works. won the champion of this year's Starbucks latte Art Competition and the Best Taste Award.

Photo: 2015 Starbucks China Coffee Minister Champion and second Runner-up (Guo Mingquan in a brown apron in the middle)

Coffee Minister: the Almighty King of knowledge, skill and enthusiasm

From the star barista in the green apron to the coffee master in the black apron to the coffee minister in the brown apron, this is the partner growth ladder that Starbucks provides to continuously improve its coffee attainments. On the way to the peak honor, coffee minister candidates need to break through layers of hurdles and go through strict comprehensive assessment and evaluation of coffee knowledge and skills in the region before they can enter the national finals. only after winning the best review by a panel of judges composed of Starbucks coffee experts can they be awarded the honorary title of "Starbucks China Coffee Minister" with a term of office of two years.

Winning the brown apron is the highest honor of every barista, and every step of growth embodies a high degree of professionalism in the enthusiasm for coffee and the continuous pursuit of excellence. He should not only master a comprehensive theoretical knowledge of coffee-from coffee history and geographical origin to coffee agriculture, procurement, raw bean quality control, baking and mixing art, but also be familiar with the skills of handmade Starbucks coffee drinks, have excellent coffee taste identification ability, and spread Starbucks humanistic spirit coffee enthusiasm that is good at sharing coffee knowledge with others.

"the title of coffee minister is not only an honor for me, but also carries the mission of spreading Starbucks coffee. In the future, I will spread my love for coffee to more partners and provide customers with a more perfect Starbucks experience." Guo Mingquan, the new minister of coffee, said after winning the crown. In the next two years, she will shoulder a wider range of coffee dissemination mission, help more Starbucks coffee masters and star baristas grow together, and provide customers with first-class coffee experience and communication services.

Photo: Ms. Wang Jingying, president of Starbucks China, presented the award to Starbucks China Coffee Minister 2015.

Latte Art: a Model of the Integration of Technology and Art

If "Coffee Minister" is the pinnacle of Starbucks all-around coffee competition, then the latte art contest is an example of the perfect integration of coffee technology and art. In the latte competition, each cup of exquisite latte drawing art is a wonderful combination of Starbucks baristas' superb skills and visual creativity.

From a coffee bean to a cup of coffee, it takes an average of 34 hands to reach the Starbucks store across 7458 kilometers, and the latte art draws a beautiful end to the last ten feet in the store. Starbucks baristas need to go through repeated study and training to ensure that each carefully prepared latte not only focuses on high quality, but also projects surprise and pleasant latte art to customers.

"I'm excited to win the championship! Today's competition is very fierce, and the performance of other partners is also very wonderful. I very much enjoy learning and communicating with partners from all over the country. " Yu Zhuo, winner of the latte competition, said, "the result of the competition is not the end for me, but a higher starting point." In the future, I will work harder to improve myself and strive to win the championship in the next term! "

Photo: JeffMiller, vice president of Starbucks China Operations (right), presented the award to Yu Zhuo, the champion of Starbucks Chinese latte art (left)

Although the competition is over, another door to the coffee hall has been opened. Two years later, the splendid coffee feast has begun to be invited, and every Starbucks barista is likely to win the highest honor and light up his dream of coffee with his passionate youth.