Could Marta become the world barista champion?

Gosport Costa barista Marta Slipczuk wowed judges in a series of challenges involving creating hand-crafted coffee drinks to an exceptional standard.

She now awaits the Barista of the Year Champion of Champions Final, which will be held in London in January.

There she will compete against eight other regional champions from around the globe in a bid to be crowned the best Costa barista in the world.

The 25-year-old, from Gosport, has worked for Costa for 13 months and her favourite Costa drink is a flat white with one pump of vanilla.

Her speciality for the competition is a raspberry kick, inspired by the fresh raspberry fruit juice her grandmother used to make when she was a child.

Marta said: ‘It’s so exciting to be in the final and I’m really proud to have made it this far.

‘I love that at Costa there are always new challenges and opportunities to progress and this competition is a perfect example of that.’

The Champion of Champions Final will be held at the Royal Horticultural Hall in London on January 12, marking the 11th anniversary of the prestigious competition.

If Marta is crowned champion, she will win a 10-day trip for two with spending money to a destination with a coffee connection.

Previous winners of the competition have since gone on to undertake roles across the Costa business.

One example is Kat Finch, who is from the UK.

Kat won the competition as a store manager in 2008 and is now the south east Asia HR and operations manager, and lives in Singapore.

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