MARTA TAKES SSP UK TOP BARISTA TITLE

Marta, who works at Caffe Ritazza at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, impressed the judges with four espressos, four cappuccinos and four of her signature drink in front of a live audience at Dickens Inn, London. She beat off competition from colleagues at more than 600 units across the company portfolio, which includes Upper Crust, Pumpkin, Millie's Cookies and Camden Food Co. Judges at the final, which saw eight baristi go head to head, said Marta showed "passion, dedication and a strong understanding of the whole coffee process." Marta, aged 28, will now take part in the Caffe Ritazza World Barista Championships, following in the footsteps of SSP UK's Matt Roberts, who reached the finals of the SCAE UK Barista Championships last month. Marta said: "I'm delighted to have won the competition and it's opened up some fantastic opportunities for me. I have worked at Caffe Ritazza for three years and am very passionate about the coffee that we serve so it feels great to be recognised by the judges in this way. "I chose a refreshing mint-chocolate drink for my signature creation because it gave a real feeling of summer, served cold. I'm just glad the judges liked it!" Graziano Moroni, National Coffee Specialist at SSP UK, has developed the internal competition over 18 months to reward and recognise barista talent within the company. He said: "The standard of competition was phenomenal and all of the finalists deserve a lot of praise but Marta stood out as a fantastic barista. Her presentation and technical ability was flawless, not to mention the taste of her drinks. "This competition is part of a wider strategy to develop a culture of great coffee within SSP UK. We serve 22.5miillion cups in the UK each year so it's crucial we get it right but we are putting a lot of energy into developing people who are really passionate about good coffee. "In the last 18 months we have established 13 coffee training schools across the UK, training 42 head baristi and over 1,000 senior baristi. We have even reduced downtime of coffee machines as more staff become experts in the entire process of coffee making and the feedback from customers so far is very encouraging."