Philippines wins The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s 13th Asia Pacific Barista Competition

[Editor’s note: The winners will be competing in the International Barista Competition happening next year. Below is their press release.] 

MANILA, Philippines – The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf announced the champions for its 13th International Barista Competition which was held at Seda BGC Hotel. Divided into three categories – Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East (ME), and World -, each contestant in each category served espresso shots, cappuccinos, and their original signature drinks to a panel of judges within an allocated time. 

A total of fifteen contestants traveled to Manila, Philippines, to compete for the title of the world’s best barista. This year’s APAC and ME champions along with the American champion will go head to head in next year’s International Barista Competition under the World category. 

The contestants for each country are listed below: 

2019 APAC Category 

1. Rocky Xavier Costa (Bangladesh) 

2. Roselina Mat Kassim (Brunei) 

3. Rahul Gupta (India) 

4. Salleh bin Arula (East Malaysia) 

5. Faten Shuhaila Binti Shuhaimi (Malaysia) 

6. Thet Htar Su (Myanmar) 

7. Timothy John Sahagun Sabandal (Philippines) 

8. Nurul Farahin Bte Ruslan (Singapore) 

9. Changhee Choi (South Korea) 

Champion 1st: Timothy John Sahagun Sabandal (Philippines) 

Best Signature Drink: Timothy John Sahagun Sabandal (Philippines) & Changhee Choi (South Korea) – TIE 

2019 ME Category 

1. Mariam Beruashvili (Georgia) 

2. Rosauro Jayson Orlina (Kuwait) 

3. Khurram Latif (Pakistan) 

4. Sarah Liwag (Qatar) 

Champion 1st: Sarah Liwag (Qatar) 

Best Signature Drink: Rosauro Jayson Orlina 

2018 World Category 

1. Said Galal Elsayed Elbakry (Kuwait) 

2. Sally Chen Huangjin (Singapore) 

Champion 1st: Sally Chen Huangjin (Singapore) 

Best Signature Drink: Said Galal Elsayed Elbakry 

The winners for each category were selected based on their technical and presentation skills and received cash prizes in USD, trophies, and certificates. Best Signature Drink awards were also given out separately to the contestants who managed to captivate the judges with the originality, creative presentation, and taste of their signature drink. – Rappler.com