What a fantastic week! We held our company final to find out who was our Starbucks barista champion. And what a difference from the last 2 years!

The competition itself was amazing with all the finalists showing what they could do - from making their own blends, to roasting their own coffee, creating amazing ice shaken espresso drinks and flat whites to sharing amazing stories about the range of coffees we sell, our CAFE practises program and how these benefit the farmers.

It was wonderful to see our 10 area finals come together along with their supporters at our Sheffield Carbrook Hall store. The partners loved being able to get together to share stories and laugh in the sunshine!

But ultimately there was serious business to conduct - to find out who was going to be our 2022 barista champion that would go on to represent 23.5 Degrees in the Starbucks UK National Barista Championship final next month. All 10 finalists were brilliant and should be so proud of their achievements - I know I am incredibly proud of them all and was so honoured to be part of the day.

However, there can only be one winner and that is Joe Wood from our Bradford Union Mills store. Massive congratulations Joe and I know the whole business will join me in wishing you all the best for the UK final.