Eight Baristas from the region competed. Eight Baristas from the region competed.

Ace Valino from Bahrain has been named the best Costa Coffee maker in the region.

Valino battled it out against seven other baristas last week in the regional finals of the competition, and will go on to compete in the Champion of Champions final of Costa’s coveted annual international barista competition, Barista of the Year.

After a day of intense competition, judges named the regional champion, who impressed judges with his signature Midnight Snatcher beverage, which he describes as “a sweet, aromatic drink with a warm kick at the end”.

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Valino commented: “I’m incredibly honoured to have been named the winner here today. This has been one of the greatest challenges of my career so far, and I’m thrilled to be moving forward in the competition. In my four years of working at Costa, I have had the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally; I know I have been trained by some of the best in the industry, and that the Costa approach to preparing hand crafted coffee is second to none.

“I wanted to dedicate this drink to my father. His recipes always wake up my senses early in the morning as the aroma of his cooking spreads across every corner of our home, be it rice, or pudding or a dessert with pandan. This drink also represents my father’s character as both a disciplinarian and yet a very loving person,” he added.