Croydon barista Polina Shcherbakova finished a well-placed runner-up at Costa Coffee’s Barista of the Year competition staged in Liverpool this week.
Coffee star: Croydon barista Polina Shcherbakova
Television presenter Joel Dommett hosted the event, which was being staged for a 17th year. The competition is open to all Costa Coffee baristas, providing them with an opportunity to showcase their technical skills, knowledge and passion for all things coffee.
Shcherbakova, 20, has worked at Costa Coffee at 129-131 North End for almost two years, and reached the final after overcoming competition from hundreds of baristas from across the country.
The final 12 baristas took part in a variety of challenges which put their expertise to the test. They were tasked with crafting four high-quality core coffee drinks, including incorporating a plant-based milk, as well as creating two identical flat whites or cortados.
And finalists were tasked with making their own speciality iced drink, using their coffee knowledge and skills to create and deliver an innovative beverage. Shcherbakova’s speciality drink, a Tiramisu Frappe, featured a customised tiramisu-flavoured whipped cream.
“What a fantastic journey the past few months have been!” Shcherbakova said.
“I’ve loved every moment of being involved in the Barista of the Year Competition and will take home so many memories, skills and friends away from this incredible opportunity.”
The competition’s winner was Joanne Osborne, from Evesham in Worcestershire. Shcherbakova will be back serving frothy coffees on North End next week.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
FREE ADS: Paid-up subscribers to Inside Croydon qualify for a free ad for their business, residents’ association or community group, just one of the benefits of being part of our online community. For more information about being an iC subscriber, click here for our Patreon page
PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our near 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, which is featured on Google News Showcase and followed by 16,000 on Twitter/X, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
