For coffee lovers: UK Barista Championships are coming to Chichester

The regional final of the UK Barista Championships will take place on Friday, February 10 at The Assembly Rooms in Chichester from 9am until 6pm. Members of the public from across the Chichester district are being encouraged to pop along to cheer on the contestants and enjoy some free coffee.

At least two of the district’s own baristas will be taking part: Louis Harrison who works for the Trading Post Café in South Street, and Dominic Pulleyn who works for Cast Iron Coffee Roasters based in Maudlin, just outside Chichester.

Louis began work as a barista while he was studying at the University of Chichester: “During my time working behind a bar, pulling shots and steaming milk, I began to appreciate the detail and technicality behind the barista’s craft. There was far more to it than initially meets the eye, and I quickly understood how much of the barista’s skill is reflected in the finished drink.

“I’ve always been attracted to niche specialisms, so the further I fell down the rabbit hole: reading books, and watching videos, the more I learnt about how interesting and exciting this simple drink could be. I saw that there was a whole world and community within the specialty coffee industry that I previously had no idea about, and with that, there was a wealth of knowledge to learn.”

As well as the regional competition, on Thursday February 9 between 6pm and 9pm Chichester District Council has also helped to organise the city’s first ever Latte Art Throwdown to celebrate. The throwdown - also taking place at the Assembly Rooms – will see local baristas competing against one another to create the best coffee art.

A coffee trail is also being organised across the city by the Chichester BID. People interested in coming along to watch the competition should register for a free place at: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ukbc-regional-heats-chichester-tickets-512905633557?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Members of the public interested in coming along to the Latte Art Throwdown can register for a free ticket at: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sca-uk-community-latte-art-throwdown-tickets-523671203667

The championships are run by the Specialty Coffee Association UK and aim to celebrate baristas’ wide range of technical and creative skills and to promote high quality coffee. The national winner will then take part in the World Championships in Athens, Greece.

The event has been organised through Chichester District Council as part of its Events Strategy which aims to bring a bigger and more varied programme of events to the district.

“Chichester really has ‘got beans’ and we’re so excited to be hosting this year’s regional final, especially as some of our own local baristas will be taking part,” says Councillor Alan Sutton, the council’s Cabinet Member for Licensing, Housing, Communications and Events.

“We are always looking at what different sorts of events we can bring to the district and so we are delighted to be able to host this contest, which usually goes to much bigger cities such as Bristol, Manchester or Leeds.

“The event will be celebrating the coffee community of the district and we hope that people will come along and see the amazing skills and creativity that go into making your espressos and lattes. The coffee community is huge, especially with younger generations, and I know that baristas have a massive fan base on social media, and that people from all over the world will be logging on to watch the competition which is also being livestreamed on YouTube.

“We’re also incredibly grateful to the Chichester BID for organising the coffee trail and I hope that people will enjoy discovering some hidden gems. If the event is a success then we would look to see if there was a regular coffee-themed event that we could help develop in the future.”

Helen Marshall, CEO and Chair of Chichester BID, says: "Chichester city centre has a thriving independent coffee community and so to celebrate the city's love of coffee we are launching a new ‘Chichester's Got Beans’ Coffee Trail on our LoyalFree App. A total of eleven city centre businesses are taking part, who each grind their own coffee beans. When visiting any of these businesses, the public can scan the QR code found on the counter using the LoyalFree App. The more coffees you buy, the more entries you gain into a fantastic Coffee Lovers Prize Draw.

"Full details on the trail and the prize draw can be found on our website. In the meantime, we'd like to wish all the entrants in the Latte Art Throwdown competition good luck! We'll of course be rooting for one of our amazing city centre baristas to win!”