When it comes to coffee, Gareth Hopkins knows his beans.
No cup of instant for this 23-year-old who has just crushed his opponents to win the Odeon heats of Costa’s Barista of the Year competition.
For the baristas (that’s Italian for bartender) at Costa there is nothing “instant” about coffee.
Gareth, from Marchwiel, near Wrexham, explained: “It takes about two minutes to make each individual coffee.”
But what really blew the judges away and put Gareth into the London finals of the competition this September was his winning creation – Turkish Delight.
“I made the coffee using rose water, which gave it the flavour of Turkish delight, and served it in a martini glass.
“I also used orange blossom water in the frothy chocolate which was added to the top and then I topped it with edible rose petals and encrusted the glass with pink sugar.
“I would love to think it would be added to the range but since the ingredients cost about £5 I doubt the customers would be willing to pay about £7 for a cup of coffee!” said Gareth.
Set up by the Costa brothers in 1971, Costa has concessionary outlets in 17 Odeon cinema complexes throughout the country. The Wrexham Costa is within the Odeon at North Wales’ premier shopping centre, Eagles Meadow.
The Odeon heat final featured 10 of the best and Gareth won. For the Wrexham Costa it was a victory two years on the run, since manager Phil Gallanders won the heat last year.
“We’ve won two years on the trot which means we are doing fairly well. The number one from each of the franchises, which will include Esso, motorway Road Chefs, Canary Wharf and others, will go forward to the final in September at the Costa Roastery in London.
“After that there is an international final to find the champion of champions with the winner getting a 10 day all-expenses holiday.”
Gareth went to school at Penley and then studied IT, business and mathematics at Yale College in Wrexham.
He started working in IT but after 12 months of looking at a computer screen he decided to move into retail.
“I thought there would always be plenty of variety and retail means you meet someone different all the time.
“I applied to the Odeon in general, not realising there was going to be a Costa included. On my second interview I was told I was going into Costa and I thought ‘well, that’s OK’ and now it’s the longest job I have had, two and a half years.
“I must admit I didn’t know much about coffee before, just that I liked drinking it,” said Gareth.
Costa take coffee very seriously – each barista is given a 400-page book on the company’s core standards!
At the competition, Gareth had to make four standard drinks, latte, single expresso, cappuccino and flat white, was then tested on knowledge of the company and its standards, and finally had to create a speciality coffee drink of his own.
Kevin Critchley, the Manager of Eagles Meadow, is one of Gareth’s regular customers and will be rooting for him when he goes through to the national final.
He said: “I can vouch for the excellence of Gareth’s coffee and I’m looking forward to trying the one made with rose water. I love Turkish Delight so it should be the perfect combination.”
