Top title chance for Cardiff Barista
Published: 18 March 2011
A champion coffee maker who serves air passengers in Cardiff has beaten colleagues from over 600 outlets across UK to reach the final of a national barista championships.
Andrius Adamonis, manager of Caffe Ritazza at Cardiff Airport, will compete in the final of SSP UK barista championships in London on March 29th after finishing in the top eight competitors from a series of regional heats.
Andrius, aged 24, impressed the judges with his presentation, technical ability and coffee taste after making four cappuccinos and four espressos. He will now prepare a speciality drink to prepare in the final of the competition, which is organised by food travel experts SSP UK to recognise talent across their brand portfolio including Millie’s Cookies, Caffe Ritazza, Pumpkin and Upper Crust.
He said: “I put a lot of hard work and dedication into this competition and I am delighted to reach the final. I’ve worked with the company for two and a half years and am very proud of the coffee that we serve at Caffe Ritazza. Now I just hope I can do it justice and impress the judges in London.”
Graziano Moroni, National Coffee Specialist at SSP UK, said: Andrius showed a lot of passion and dedication to coffee making in his heat, not to mention technical ability, and he fully deserves his place in the final. The competition will be tough but we are looking for somebody to shine in the final and there is no reason why it can’t be Andrius.”