15 international baristas, 4 expert judges, unlimited creativity and 1 final winner: Kiah Parangue from the UAE has been crowned Lavazza Barista Challenge Champion of the first edition of the Lavazza My Mocaccino Barista Challenge.
Second and third prizes go to the other 2 female finalists representing the UAE.
La Centrale Nuvola Lavazza in Turin (Italy) set the stage for the International Finals of My Mocaccino Barista Challenge by Lavazza, the competition designed for the community of baristas belonging to the CEMEA Region. Proving their creativity and expertise, 15 international baristas tested their skills with their personal interpretation of the Mocaccino recipe, competing for the title of Lavazza Barista Challenge Champion.
After careful evaluation, Kiah Parangue working at Dubai Coffee Museum, in Dubai has been selected as main winner.Her signature mocaccino recipe, “Kafa Bloom Mocaccino”, consisted of.3 shots of chilled double espresso using Lavazza Kafa Forest Coffee, 15 ml white chocolate sauce, 20ml strawberry reduction, 15 ml dates with cinnamon reduction, blend and served chilled with 50g of ice and to the highlight the orange blossom aroma of the Lavazza Kafa Forest coffee. Kiah brewed dried orange and added dry ice to release a lovely floral orange blossom aroma.
SCA-ME coordinator’s assistant, and several time competitor for Local Latte Art Kiah holds several certificates of Volunteering the UAE national coffee competitions, but this is her first time competing at an international level and she ended up winning the whole International Finals.
“I am overwhelmed with emotions, so happy to have become Lavazza Barista Challenge Champion” comments Kiah Parangue. “I was excited at the idea of competing at international level and couldn’t wait to come to Turin. Now that the challenge is over and can’t help but feel honoured to have been awarded the first prize and to have shared the podium with the other two girls from the UAE. At the same time, I have to say the best part of this whole experience has been the sharing of knowledge and skills from different countries, alongside the unique possibility to interact with coffee experts and deep-dive into Lavazza universe – such an amazing opportunity!”
The UAE has actually won it all, with all three female finalists on the podium.Everlee Peran, an independent barista and Cherryl Guadalquiver from the Dubai Coffee Museum, have been awarded second a third prizes respectively, with their signature recipes “My Mocaccino Tentacion” and “Arancia-ccino”: an amazing success for the country and its barista community!
“The Final event has been extremely exciting, I feel so proud of the high level we have been able to reach with our participants” commentsDionysis Moustis, Lavazza Capabilities Manager. “All baristas have done their best, sharing their passion for coffee and gifting us with a spectacularevent, where expertise and talent have blended with unlimited creativity. Can’t wait to see where further innovation will lead us to – I think we should get ready for unexpected coffee experiences, thanks to the unrivalled talent of our baristas!”
The final event took place in Turin on January 26th and consisted ofone round only, revolving around the personalisation of the classic mocaccino recipe. A jury of 4 expertsevaluated the work of the 15 finalists: Dionysis Moustis, Lavazza Capabilities Manager, in the role of technical judge; Francesco Viarizzo, International Training and Food & Beverage Expertise Manager, Fabio Sipione, Events Training Manager and Mirko Giordano, Coffee Senior Trainer, as sensory judges.
Alongside the winner of the main event, EfstathiaMyrtoMantziou working at Kubrick Pure Social Club in Larisa (Greece)has been awarded “Best Liked Barista”, collecting more likes across the official Lavazza social media channels.
