On December 15th, the Taf Barista Challenge 4 was officially wrapped. A fiery evening for the coffee community organized by taf at The HUB Events (Alkminis 5, Athens). A night full of energy, amazing music and suspense, where many coffee lovers gathered to watch with excitement the skillful performances of the 16 competitors, with the tension increasing with each round until the finals.

The Taf Barista Challenge 4 participants were invited to compete in three incredible rounds. The first round consisted of three challenges. In the first challenge, the competitors were asked to demonstrate how well they knew the different varieties of coffee by guessing the variety of bean presented to them. In the second challenge, the participants competed in preparing their best brew, where the 3 judges of the Challenge picked the best tasting cup, without knowing which cup belonged to whom. In the 3rd and final challenge of the first round, the participants competed in latte art preparation, where symmetry, contrast, and creativity played a role in winning. In the second round, the eight qualifying players were asked to repeat the latte art challenge, but this time the challenge was much more difficult, as they had to skillfully create latte art using oat milk. In the third and final round of Taf Barista Challenge 4, the four qualifying competitors faced a final challenge of speed and precision, where they were presented with three trios of coffee cups and had to quickly identify which cup was different in each trio.

Four big prizes were chosen for the top four winners. The 1st place prize was a one-day visit to the La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso in Florence (accommodation and airfare covered), 2nd place, a Goat Story Arco Coffee Grinder, 3rd place, a Comandante C40 Grinder Nitro Blade, and 4th place, a Taloumis Family Limited Reserve Filter Kit.

Congratulations to the three winners of the Taf Barista Challenge 4: Byron Koukas, who won 1st place, Antonis Kapodistrias, who won 2nd place, Nikos Theodoros, who won 3rd place, and Yiannis Zoras, who won 4th place, as well as to all the 16 competitors who accepted the challenge and showcased their best coffee skills!

A big thank you to the team of judges, which consisted of Penny Chalkiadaki, Nikos Bellis, and Thanos Klouvatos, to the amazing Michalis Karagiannis, MC of the Taf Barista Challenge 4, to DJ Evi Sidiropoulou, who made this evening unforgettable through her music, as well as to our friends and partners, Yum Tales for providing delicious beverages and Oatly milk for the competition.

See you again at the next Taf Barista Challenge!