Dubai plays host to Costa Coffee's Mena Regional Final of International Barista of Year 2009

The current National Champion baristas from the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria were competing for the title of Mena Regional Champion 2009.

Contestants really had to know their beans: they were judged on technical skill, presentation, personality and passion for coffee. The four ingredients, in fact, that Costa believes go into a perfect cup. It is not only about a technically perfect coffee, after all; it's also about how they go about doing it: adding a bit of creative flair here and a drop of intense passion there make the perfect barista recipe. In the final round of the competition contestants were tasked with creating their own unique signature drink which is judged on its taste, presentation and innovation.

At the end of a highly competitive day, winners were announced! Lourdes Roxas representing the UAE won the technical aspect and overall competition and Mohammad Kilani representing Jordan claimed first place in the speciality drinks competition. Lourdes will go on to represent the Mena Region at the Champion of Champions Global Final Barista of the Year 2009 competition to be held 21st October at the Costa Roastery in Lambeth, London where Barista's from the Mena region have historically done well with Gihan Weerasinghe coming in first place in 2007 and Carlos Martinez placing a respectable third last year.

The winning baristas demonstrated both their coffee making skills and knowledge of the coffee making process before a panel of select judges.

Lourdes Roxas, commented on her speciality drinks victory. "As any Costa barista will tell you, it takes a lot more than coffee beans to make the perfect cup of coffee. Before you pull a single espresso shot every barista goes through rigorous, professional training. They learn grinding, tamping, extracting, frothing, pouring and, most importantly, tasting. It's a pretty hard grind, but it's worth it. I'm so pleased to have won."

Roisin Caush, Costa Coffee's Operational Skills and Brand Standards Manager, commented, "At Costa Coffee, we pride ourselves on our commitment to excellence and on the quality of service that our baristas provide for our customers."

"This competition is formal recognition of the hard work and talent of all our baristas working in our stores. Costa is a truly global brand and the winner of the International Barista of the Year competition could be any Barista from over 1350 stores in 25 countries," added Caush.