Coffee Planet baristas prepare for the UAE Championships

Over the last few days Ajeyudu Pathuri and Raja Muthusamy have both been putting weeks of hard work to the test as they compete in the UAE Barista and Latte Art Championships 2012. They gave us an insight into how they've been preparing for the event.

Ajeyudu Pathuri has been working as a barista for the last two and a half years, training at the Coffee Planet roastary under the tutelage of their in house roastmaster.

What do you like most about the job? Keeping customers happy by serving extraordinary coffee

What is your signature drink or specialty? My signature drink contains orange and cashew nuts, but the way I use and present it is really special.

??Is this the first year that you have entered the UAE Barista Championships??       This is my first year and I am very nervous about it.

?How have you been preparing for it? I have been working really hard to prepare for this championship as I only decided to join in quite late on. But the things are under control now.

How would you feel if you won the competition??                                                       On top of the world.

Raja Muthusamy meanwhile is in charge of quality control for the coffee served at Coffee Planet. He has five and a half years experience working as a barista and trained at RAW Coffee Company in Dubai. Raja won the UAE Barista Championships in 2010 and is competing in the Latte Art section of this year’s competition.

What do you like most about the job? I am able to taste about 40 coffees in a day, it's fantastic!

What is your signature drink or speciality? I am competing in the Latte Art category, so I have to draw a signature design on top of the coffee. The design will be about the religions.

??Is this the first year that you have entered the UAE Barista Championships??         This is my first year competing in the Latte Art Championships, but I have competed in the Barista Championships twice. ?

How have you been preparing for it? I haven't worked with coffee machines for a year now because of my job role, but I have started to work with them again, trying different designs and seeing what works best.

??How would you feel if you won the competition?                                                     Very proud of myself!