'200 hours' of training: How one barista is prepping for Starbucks' global championship
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Starbucks to cut 13 drinks from menu amid restructuring
Starbucks cuts 13 drinks from menu, streamlining operations and improving service, with more reductions expected in coming months.
Straight Arrow News
For the past 15 weeks, Cali Hegeman's life has revolved around coffee.
By day, the 22-year-old Starbucks barista crafts lattes and mochas at the Chicago Reserve Roastery. In her off hours, she reads coffee books, listens to coffee podcasts and combs through YouTube for coffee recipes.
It's all part of her training for the inaugural Starbucks Global Barista Championship, a three-day event that kicks off June 9 in Las Vegas.
Hegeman is set to compete against 11 other baristas from around the world, each showcasing their talents and knowledge of the morning staple through blind coffee tastings, latte art, storytelling, store rush simulations and their own signature beverages.
The competition will showcase the winners of Starbucks' regional and Reserve Roastery championships, which featured more than 84,000 baristas. Starbucks named one champion for each of its six regions (North America, China, Japan, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and one for each Reserve Roastery location (Seattle, Chicago, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Milan).
Hegeman was named champion at the Chicago Reserve Roastery last year after competing in front of a crowd full of friends and family holding signs like 'Rally for Cali' and 'You can brew it.' Now, she spends four hours each week working with an assigned trainer to prepare for Las Vegas, perfecting her latte art and writing a script for the storytelling challenge.
Hegeman said she adds daily challenges during her regular shift hours as well, such as adding latte art to every tall order.
Starbucks unveils 2025 summer menu: See the new food, drink items
'The one thing I'm really missing is the longevity with coffee – I've only been a partner for a little over two years – so I definitely felt that pressure,' she told USA TODAY. 'My roommate thinks I'm crazy, but gosh, probably over 200 hours (have been spent training). It's a lot.'
The competition, which takes place during the Starbucks Leadership Experience conference, will be livestreamed on YouTube starting June 9. The winner will be named June 11, with the final four baristas competing in front of an audience of roughly 14,000 Starbucks employees starting at 7:30 a.m. PT.
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