National Barista Championship 2016

7th December 2015:  First prelims of the Coffee Board’s prestigious annual competition the National Barista Championship 2016, is being held at the Delhi Institute of Hotel Management in New Delhi today.

The Coffee Board of India took up the initiative of organising the National Barista Championship from the year 2014 onwards and this is the 3nd year of competition. This competition is framed to identify the technically skilled and best Baristas in this profession. The competition mainly focuses on promoting the excellence in coffee value chain, strengthen and encourage the skill development and also to promote cafe culture in India. 

Dr. Aarti Dewan Gupta, Director of Finance, Coffee Board while inaugurating the NBC event, said that the coffee industry in India has evolved over the last decade with café culture penetrating into our urban lifestyles. The Indian consumer has also become discerning, thus the role of a barista assumes greater importance. Coffee Board of India is committed towards bringing in professionalism and expertise in this field.

Dr. K Basavaraj, Head, Coffee Qulaity, Coffee Board, while welcoming the participants, elaborated the way of conducting of the competition and said that, the competition is being held in three stages – the First prelim at New Delhi, the Second prelim at Bangalore and the Finals at Mumbai coinciding with the India International Festival 2016. He further said that, there will be a total of seven categories to be won by the contestants. They are Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Best Signature Drink, Best Latte Art and Best Communication skills. The competition was conducted as per the World Barista Championship rules and regulations. The winner will represent India in the World Barista championship at Dublin, Ireland in June 2016.   

There is an overwhelming response from the industry and as many as 17 participants registered for the First prelims of the NBC championship being held here in New Delhi.