Starbucks’ Partners from across India battle it out at the grand finale for the coveted ‘Coffee Champion’ title
Mumbai, 28 September 2016: Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd. hosted the grand finale of the second edition of its Coffee Championship in India, giving its partners an opportunity to compete with each other on their expertise and knowledge of coffee along with the accuracy of their beverage crafting skills. After many competitive regional rounds testing their coffee skills and acumen, this year’s competition once again highlighted the power of women at Starbucks India, with Geetu Mohnani from New Delhi earning the title of the ‘Starbucks Coffee Champion’ following the footsteps of Saili Rane who won the First Starbucks India Coffee Championship in 2015. Geetu was flawless in her display of coffee passion, bar and pour-over skills, matched with a sense of warmth and connection. Monica Kithodya from New Delhi and Atul Inderyas from Bangalore were announced as the first and second runner ups respectively.
The Grand Finale of the Championship was held in Mumbai amidst a panel of judges comprising of the Tata Starbucks leadership team. During the finale, partners competed in four exciting and challenging rounds which comprised of a Personal Coffee Tasting – Pour Over session in which they demonstrated both their knowledge & passion for coffee in an interactive coffee tasting, a Bar Skill round which tested their Beverage Artistry skills and the ultimate Blind Tasting Round to test the accuracy of their coffee palate. The last round was an elaborate Question & Answer round in which the six Coffee Masters were judged on the basis of their proposed presentations to elevate coffee leadership in their markets.
The Starbucks Coffee Championship unfolded with three competitive levels and saw an overwhelming participation from 450 Starbucks partners and Coffee Masters. These coffee experts were nominated from each of the six cities in India where Starbucks is present. The participants competed at the district level wherein only 84 contenders were chosen to proceed to the Regional Semi-Final round based on their Coffee knowledge and bar skills. Ultimately, 6 of the most outstanding and knowledgeable partners were picked to battle it out for the ‘Starbucks Coffee Champion’ title at the national Grand Finale in Mumbai. The winners of the India Championship will participate in the Starbucks Regional Championship to be held later this year in South East Asia.
“Building on the success of last year, we’re delighted with the energy witnessed at the second edition of the Starbucks Coffee Championship as we celebrate what our partners do every day in a special way. Our partners are truly the strength of our brand and play an instrumental role in delivering the unique Starbucks Experience to each customer in every neighborhood we serve,” said Sumitro Ghosh, ceo Tata Starbucks Pvt Ltd. “The Starbucks Coffee Championship gives them a chance to demonstrate their passion and pride for coffee, commitment to the brand as well as showcase their skills.”
Tata Starbucks Private Ltd
Tata Starbucks Private Limited, the 50/50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages Limited, entered the Indian market in October 2012 and currently operates 84 Starbucks stores in India across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, through a network of 1400 passionate partners.