James Hoffmann, the barista champion of the United Kingdom, is now the barista champion of the world. James is a terrific person, a great barista and will surely be a wonderful ambassador for specialty coffee and of the barista profession to the world.
He replaces Klaus Thomsen in the role, and since Klaus did such an outstanding job as our previous year’s World Barista Champion, James will have some big shoes to fill. Luckily, for us and the world, James will surely be up to the challenge. We wish him all the best, and everyone in the coffee community will not doubt support him to the best of their abilities throughout the year.
Congratulations, James! With your hard work, tremendous skill and kind disposition, you’ve earned it!
In other news, I also want to take this time to wish Klaus the best of luck in his new position (pictured below). If he’s half as good at this as he was as WBC champ, we’re all in for a treat.
