World Barista Championship - Trieste, 2004   [Photos]
The 5th Annual World Barista Championships were held in Trieste, Italy in June 2004. This was Canada’s first time competing in the most prestigious competition in the Specialty Coffee Industry. Baristas from 35 countries competed and only the top 6 compete in the finals. Competitors have 15 minutes to prepare four espresso, four cappuccino and four signature drinks of their own creation. The drinks are presented to a distinguished panel of judges. Caffè Artigiano’s very own Sammy Piccolo represented Canada and became the highest ranking North American Barista by placing 2nd! A Silver Medal for Canada!


World Barista Championship - Seattle, 2005   [Photos]
As the Canadian Barista Champion for the 2nd time, Sammy Piccolo represented Canada once again in the 6th Annual WBC held in Seattle, Washington. Each year bar is raised and the competition gets more intense. This year was no exception. After months of intense training Sammy impressed the judges with his signature drink “Hemispheres” – a savoury drink incorporating caramelized pear, Zablione and Tahitian vanilla chantilly. Sammy brought home 3rd Place – Canada’s in the medals again and is still the highest ranking North American Barista! Way to go Sammy!


Canadian Barista Championships – Vancouver, 2003  
The first CBC was held in Vancouver. Baristas were given the challenge of presenting four espresso, four cappuccino and four signature drinks of their own creation to a panel of four tasting judges and two technical judges. Being watched on everything from cleanliness and customer service, to the foam density of the cappuccino the baristas were judged and the drinks were tasted and in the end Canada would have its first ever national champion! The winner receives the honour of representing Canada at the World Barista Championships. Caffè Artigiano’s very own Sammy Piccolo takes top honours and is off to Trieste, Italy to represent Canada. What a distinguished honour.


Canadian Barista Championships – Vancouver, 2004   [Photos]
The second annual Canadian Barista Championships were held in Vancouver in June 2004. The winner of this national competition has the honour of representing Canada at the World Barista Championships. Caffè Artigiano was well represented by Sammy and Zack. Vancouver truly has some of the best baristas in the country. Zack placed 4th in Canada and Sammy captured 1st Place for the second year in a row!


Canadian Barista Championships – Toronto, 2005   [Photos]
The third annual Canadian Barista Championships were held out east in Toronto. Regional competitions were in Vancouver and Toronto with the winners advancing automatically to the semi-finals. Zack was the winner of the Western Region Canadian Competition and took home the Bronze Medal at the national competition. First Place was once again awarded to Sammy Piccolo. Watch for Sammy to represent Canada once again at the World Barista Championships in Berne, Switzerland in 2006! Go Canada Go!


Latte Art Competition – Seattle, 2005   [Photos]
This years’ Millrock Free-Pour Latte Art Competition was especially exciting. With competitors from as far away as Taiwan, the competition was fierce. Caffè Artigiano has the distinction of winning each Latte Art competition that has been held in Seattle. The competition is also held in Las Vegas, Chicago and Washington, DC. This year, Caffè Artigiano was represented by Lindsay. The pressure was on to continue the winning streak for Caffè Artigiano and to also become the 1st ever female winner of the Free-Pour Latte Art Competition.

With only 5 minutes on the clock, competitors must free-pour latte art and are judged on the creativity, colour diffusion, and definition of the latte art. Like a true champion, Lindsay faced the challenge head-on and beat out other past winners to take First Place!