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Phuti Mmotla, from South Africa, has just been named 2022\u2019s best Starbucks barista in EMEA after the championship final in Milan.<\/p>\n
An annual competition that seeks to identify the leading barista talent, this year\u2019s final saw all ten finalists battle it out for the top spot in the heart of Starbucks coffee expertise \u2013 the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan and Mmotla came out on top.<\/p>\n The 32-year-old from Ga-Matlala in Limpopo works for Rand Capital Coffee, the Starbucks licensee for sub-Saharan Africa. Mmotla, now based in Cape Town, is a District Beverage and Coffee Coach, supporting the business and its partners at the store to drive excellence through training and coaching of baristas and store-level barista trainers, coffee education, and driving quality standards.<\/p>\n In a recent interview with IOL Lifestyle about his love for coffee, Mmotla said he fell in love with coffee in 2014, when he first started as a barista in the South African coffee industry \u2013 the passion and spark ignited when he poured his first latte art patterns- a difficult skill to master.<\/p>\n \u201cMy love and passion exploded further when I joined as a barista for Starbucks South Africa five years ago, and I set a goal to be a coffee master,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n About being a finalist and preparing for the competition, Mmotla said: \u201cIt is a dream come true to be a \u2018National Barista Champion\u2019, as it\u2019s taken me five years of perseverance to get to this level and proudly represent all our Rand Capital partners at a global level.<\/p>\n \u201cI love sharing my passion and skill for coffee and developing others, and I am obsessed with quality. My favourite part of my daily routine is connecting with people over a shared passion. My job helps me to meet and connect with a diversity of people from this beautiful land and from across the globe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For the competition, Mmotla has been preparing with practice sessions for latte art, a personal coffee tasting, and an iced coffee beverage \u2013 these are the three categories that he had to showcase in Milan. He used their Kenya core coffee as it is one of his favourite coffees and represents Africans and his story \u2013 the coffee is bold and complex, similar to the African elephant, which is depicted on the bag. The story behind the coffee is very similar to his journey in coffee.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Kenyan coffee history relates to my challenges in life. I read about how the Kenyan coffee farmers fought for their independence at a time when they were being controlled and not allowed to farm coffee \u2013 the hero of the story who helped the farmers break free from the controls and restrictions was an introvert like myself,\u201d added Mmotla.<\/p>\n Have you checked out the latest IOL Food & Drinks digital magazine? Read it here.<\/p>\n