Starbucks Successfully Hosts Senior Barista Latte Art Competition
Creating Jobs for Seniors and Enhancing Barista Skills
16 Finalists, Awards Including Minister of Health and Welfare Prize
Starbucks Korea announced on the 5th that it held the 'Senior Barista Latte Art Competition' at the Gunpo Senior Club Starbucks Win-Win Education Center in Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi Province.
The Senior Barista Latte Art Competition is an event where senior baristas affiliated with the Korea Senior Club Association showcase the latte art skills they have honed while working.
Participants are showcasing their honed skills at the 'Senior Barista Latte Art Competition' hosted by Starbucks Korea. [Photo by Starbucks]
In its third year, this year's competition saw 158 senior baristas from 41 regions nationwide participate. After fierce preliminary rounds, the final 16 competed in the finals.
The senior baristas who reached the finals skillfully demonstrated advanced techniques such as making wave-shaped hearts, rosettas (leaf shapes), and swan shapes.
Award winners and participants are taking a commemorative photo at the finals of the 'Senior Barista Latte Art Competition' hosted by Starbucks Korea. [Photo by Starbucks]
Barista Kim Bok-soon from Daegu Buk-gu Senior Club received the grand prize, the Minister of Health and Welfare Award, and barista Yoon Kyung-ae from Gyeonggi Hwaseong Senior Club won the Starbucks CEO Award. The Excellence Awards went to baristas Kim Deok-hee from Chungbuk Cheongju Heungdeok Senior Club and Kim Na-kyung from Gyeongnam Geoje Senior Club, respectively.
The prize money for the Senior Barista Latte Art Competition winners is 1 million KRW each for the Minister of Health and Welfare Award and the Starbucks CEO Award, with a certain amount of prize money and gifts also provided to the recipients of the Excellence, Merit, and Encouragement Awards.
Earlier, Starbucks signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Senior Club Association in 2019 to create quality jobs for seniors and has been holding the Senior Barista Latte Art Competition since 2022.
Jang Su-a, Senior Director of Human Resources at Starbucks, said, "The latte art skills of the seniors participating in the annual Senior Barista Latte Art Competition are very high," adding, "We will continue to provide generous support so that more senior baristas can maintain their passion for coffee."
Meanwhile, Starbucks has been steadily providing barista training to senior baristas affiliated with the Korea Senior Club Association for six years since 2019. As of the first half of this year, a total of about 1,477 baristas have completed the training, with approximately 5,908 hours of training conducted.
In addition, as of last month, there are about 104 senior servicemen working at 21 Starbucks DT stores to manage pedestrian safety, with a cumulative total of 9,328 people active through the first half of this year.
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