Diego Campos is Colombian, a barista, lover of good coffee, and on Tuesday, Oct. 26, he won the world champion of baristas in Milan, Italy. 

 

"Colombia this is for you, the baristas, the coffee growers, for all the people who get up every day to dream, to want to achieve things. This is for everyone," said the champion in a video published by the Departmental Committee of Coffee Growers of Tolima.

Campos has more than 13 years as a barista, has been national barista champion on three previous occasions (2014, 2016 and 2019) and was the international champion at China 2019. However, the title won in Italy is undoubtedly the most important of his career. 

 

The Tolima Government, where the young barista is from, highlighted his triumph on Twitter, specifically touching on the value given to the coffee tradition within the competition.

 

"We are the best ambassadors of the coffee tradition of Tolima, our barista Diego Campos won the 2021 World Barista Championship held in Milan, Italy," it wrote.

 

Campos has been working as a barista is currently part of the company, Amor Perfecto. To achieve the triumph in Milan, he prepared for two months prior to the announcement of the competition, which was postponed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

Second and third place in the competition went to Andrea Allen from the United States and Hugh Kelly from Australia, respectively. Both competitors also used Colombian coffee in their preparations.

The barista championships consist of preparing three types of beverages: one with milk, one espresso-based and one original designer drink. These are served in four portions and must be made in a maximum time of 15 minutes.

 

The four judges award points for a variety of factors, including taste, drink balance and presentation. The judges' points are added together to produce a final score for each barista in each round. The baristas with the highest score advance from the first and second rounds, and the barista with the highest score in the final round wins the title.