Starbucks has crowned its first ever Global Barista Champion, with Japan’s Nobuki Shimoide winning the final against three other competitors in front of a crowd of 14,000 people at the company’s Leadership Experience 2025 in Las Vegas.
The three-day competition featured a total of 12 baristas from China, Japan, EMEA, Asia Pacific, North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean regions, following more than a year of competition involving more than 84,000 baristas worldwide.
Shimoide’s path to the final started with his victory in Starbucks’ Asia Pacific Regional Barista Championships in June 2024.
He is currently a store manager in Hokkaido and has spent nine years with Starbucks.
Shimoide won the eight-minute final challenge to deliver a single continuous routine including storytelling, brewed coffee tasting, crafting latte art, and presenting a signature beverage.
He says a combination of luck and skill helped set the stage for his historic win.
“To win, sometimes luck matters. When I was doing the latte art round, whole milk and a heart design were the first two cups. The heart is the easiest to draw (for me) and for all three rounds I got whole milk, which is the milk I hoped to get in this challenge. Looking back on the latte art competition I realise how lucky I was,” he says.
“I also had so much fun engaging with the other champions. First of all, we are colleagues, not competitors. We recognise and celebrate one another, allowing us to be ourselves.
“With being the first Starbucks Global Barista Champion, I want the next champion to go above and beyond.”
Shimoide will now co-create a beverage to be served in Starbucks coffeehouses to be released in the near future and will experience the six Starbucks Reserve Roasteries (Chicago, Milan, New York, Seattle, Shanghai, and Tokyo).
