Barista Lavazza’s signature ‘Grand Barista Championship’ returns for 3rd consecutive year

Colombo’s favourite coffee house chain Barista Lavazza staged its signature annual ‘Grand Barista Championship 2015’ on 1 December. 

The much-awaited event took place at Barista’s Gandhara outlet in Colombo 6 and was held for the third consecutive time this year.

The championship first commenced in 2013 as an internal competition to motivate staff members. However the success of the first event led to a much larger event last year. The aim of the event is to crown the ultimate ‘brew master’ from among the Barista Lavazza staff from their outlets spread across the island. The winner receives an all-expense paid educational tour to India. Commencing at 9 a.m. this year’s championship saw six highly skilled competitors battle it out for the grand prize.

After a gruelling and well-contested championship Nirodha Sankalpa emerged the champion ‘brew master’ while the 1st runner-up was Thuwan Surajdeen. The second runner-up position was clinched by Roshan Subesinghe.

This year’s competition was adjudicated by a renowned panel of judges comprising Business Development Manager of Illy Coffee Alexandra Rocci, CEO of the Colombo School of Hospitality Management Steven Bradie, Training Manager-Inflight Service Delivery at Sri Lankan Airlines Divakar Gnanakan, Business Development Manager at JAT Holdings Jerome de Silva and Operations Manager at London House of Coffee Kiyaz Borham. The eminent panel followed stringent international barista championship guidelines thereby ensuring a truly world-class competition.

Commenting on this year’s championship, Barista Coffee Lanka Ltd. Training and Development Manager Tharanga Perera notes, “A Barista Championship was held in a small scale two years ago and as a result of continuous training we later branded the championship as GBC (Grand Barista Championship) last year, giving the championship a unique identity. Last year GBC was held in a grand scale and this year we made it an even bigger deal as a means to appreciate the talent within our ranks. We are extremely happy with the competitive spirit with which each of the participants took part and even more so of the high level of coffee based drinks they came up with. Competitions such as this only showcase how much young talent our country possesses and that we can take on the world if this talent is groomed in the right manner.”

Darshana Sampath was the winner of GBC 2014 and was sent to India to visit a Lavazza coffee factory to experience firsthand how the coffee used at Barista outlets is made. He also participated at special coffee trainings conducted by global experts which in turn have enabled him to enhance his brewing techniques. Speaking on his achievement Sampath said, “After becoming the Barista Champion and visiting the Lavazza coffee factory in India I returned with more passion for coffee than before and continue to make great coffees.”

This year’s winner Nirodha Sankalpa also adds, “It was really exciting for me to have my friends at Barista cheer me on while I was competing. I’m now looking forward to adding more knowledge to my skills through further training.”

A brew master at Barista Lavazza is a respected profession in the world for their specialized skills in brewing perfect espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes etc. Most of the coffee house chain’s brew masters have joined fresh after school from various parts of the country and from different walks of life. Many of them have experienced a subtle but effective transformation as they become part of an organized learning experience.