By Karl Angelo Dabu
FIGARO Coffee Company, one of the premier Filipino coffee shops in the country, ensures to provide quality coffee and cater effective services to its customers by organizing different activities that promote learning and skill development among its baristas.
Aside from the annually held Latte Art Competition, Figaro also started a barista cup way back in 2013, wherein all the participants come from different Figaro branches in the country. Each Figaro franchisee or corporate store conducts an elimination round to determine the best barista who will represent the particular store for the cup. And the winner for the in-house battle will take pride in representing Figaro in various local and international competitions such as the highly anticipated Philippine National Grand Barista Cup.
Following its successful debut on 2013, the Figaro Barista Cup 2016 was successfully held last April 23 at the Figaro branch in DBP building, Makati City.
For the Figaro Barista Cup 2016, the following nine contestants competed against one another to pave their way for the highly anticipated title and prizes: Joharie Sarip of Dasmarinas, Cavite; John Mark Trapani of Sct. Magbanua; Angel Santos of Brickroad, Sta. Lucia; Sherin Malayo of Theater Zone, Sta. Lucia; Mhat Vincent Mariano of Tomas Morato; Roy Chavez of Shangri-La Mall; Mario Juntila of High Street, BGC; Kurt Kevin Hispano of Liberty Center; and Ian Lester Matela of DBP Bldg. Makati.
In order to determine the most skilled and creative barista, renowned coffee experts and food enthusiasts adjudicated the competition under two major criteria. The judging team consisted of Mr. Joseph Malinis, Ms. Clarissa Malabanan, Mr. Urbano Razon Jr., Mr. Marlon Aldenese, Mr. Christopher Balonan, Mr. Alejandro Taag, and the head judge was the FCSI Executive Director, Mr. Justin T. Liu
The first criterion for judging is the sensory skills, which is all about the taste, creativity, and the aesthetics of the coffee art. The judges observed the presentation of coffee, its flavor, and how the barista came up with an original signature beverage. The second criterion was the technical skills, which is more crucial criterion. Mr. Justin Liu explained, “It’s easier to judge sensory because any coffee drinker or enthusiast can judge by looking at it. On the technical aspect, it’s really more of the skills of the barista, how they extract the coffee, how they grind it, the timing of the extraction, the temperature. So this is more highly specialized and not everyone can be a judge for the technical skills. You have to have a high level of expertise in the preparation of coffee.”
After stringent deliberations, the judges proudly announced the following winners: 5th placer is Ms. Sherin Malayao; 4th placer is Mr. Ian Lester Matela; 3rd placer is Mr. Joharie Sarip; 2nd placer is Mr. Mario Juntila; and the Figaro Barista Cup 2016 Grand Champion is Mr. John Mark Trapani.
It was indeed another successful event for Figaro. The Figaro Barista Cup does not just aim to determine its most competitive barista but also encourages and promotes further learning and skill development in the coffee art.
