Charlotte Roadnight, 22, has made it through to the national finals after succeeding at the regional heats, beating 1,000 other baristas from across the UK.
She has worked as team leader at the drive-thru for one year, located at Hartshead Moor, near Clifton, Yorkshire and has been a Welcome Break employee for four years.
The heats included two coffee tastings, taking the judges through a journey explaining where the coffee is from how it is grown, processed, flavour profiles and highlighting food pairings.
As well as a comprehensive coffee quiz and a ‘lucky dip coffee tasting’ Charlotte had to design her own her signature beverage that could be replicated and sold in store.
Rod McKie, CEO of Welcome Break, said: “It’s hugely important to us that the service offered at our Starbucks sites is exactly comparable to, if not better than, that received at Starbucks sites across the country.
“We ensure all our team members undergo rigorous training, and Charlotte’s achievement proves this has paid off – five of our other Starbucks baristas also made it to the regional heats.
“As an extension to our dedication to the Starbucks brand, we’ve made the decision to offer 24 hour opening at all our sites from June 1st; this widens the food and drink options available to those customers travelling throughout the night and marks us out further as a leader in this competitive market.”
Charlotte now progresses to the national championships, which take place at the Starbucks head office in Chiswick.
Welcome Break is an independent motorway service operators and has 27 sites across the UK.