Can you tell who just won? Congratulations, Jesus Gomez, Puerto Rican barista champion!
The first national barista champion to get his ticket punched for Bogota next year comes from the island of Puerto Rico which held its national championship over the weekend at the first ever Coffee Cast event. But actually, there are three baristas from the island who ended up with tickets to Colombia. Thanks to event sponsor Continental Airlines, the top three finishers will all be in Bogota. One to compete and the other two to help support him.
The top three baristas from Puerto Rico will all be in Bogota next year.
It’s fitting that Jesus Gomez, this year’s champion, will be traveling with companions since in years past, he’s trained and worked closely with two previous Puerto Rican champions. As the first national champion of the new cycle to claim his crown, Jesus will have plenty of time to refine his routine and perhaps his signature drink too. It’s pretty amazing that less than a month after the WBC in London, the whole thing is already starting again.
Coffee Cast was a cool and innovative event for the specialty coffee scene in Puerto Rico, and they’re already at work planning next year’s event with lessons learned from this year’s. Look for a field report from Puerto Rico in the next issue of Barista Magazine.
