It’s not everyday you get your cup of coffee made by the country’s best barista.
Really, Pete Licata, the coffee quality manager and barista trainer at the Honolulu Coffee Co. at Ala Moana Center — and reigning U.S. barista champ who placed second in the world this month — only works five days a week.
Originally from Kansas — and a huge beer connoisseur — Licata earned the runner-up spot at the World Barista Championship held earlier this month in Bogota, Colombia. Competing as the U.S. champ, Licata progressed through the field of 54 baristas to reach the final round, pitted against five other finalists from Japan, Spain, Australia, El Salvador and the United Kingdom. They each prepared four espressos, four cappuccinos and four original signature coffee drinks to exacting standards in a 15-minute performance judged by an expert panel. Licata lost to Alejandro Mendez of El Salvador to become the first Hawaii barista to ever make it that far in a world competition.
And he’ll make you a soy latte if you catch him on his shift.
We stopped by to chat with the second-best barista on the planet and got him to brew us some coffee, too.
3 Comments
Cat you are one funny woman. Loved this interview, you are getting better the more of them you do. Only you could tell a coffee guy you don’t drink it and then tell him to go make you a cup at the end. LOL. Funny as hell that bossy local surfer chick thing you got going on there.
Yeah, I felt bad about being so bossy. Kinda. But he did make me a MEAN iced coffee that tasted like candy. I wasn’t disappointed. 🙂
To this day I still don’t know how you survive without coffee Cat…
NIce interview and interesting topic to base your post on.