Starbucks Korea said on the 27th that Kim Do-hyung, the company's coffee ambassador, won the Best Signature Beverage category, newly created this year, at the Starbucks Asia-Pacific Barista Championship.
The competition, held in Manila from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, drew 25 Starbucks baristas from 13 countries including South Korea.
Kim entered a drink that applied milk refining and cold-aging techniques to a standard caffe latte. Using a milk clarification method that coagulates and filters out the proteins in milk, he refined the milk three times and aged it at a low temperature to bring out the sweetness of the whey.
For the coffee, he used Starlight Blend beans, sold only in South Korea. He cooled the extracted espresso to below 20 degrees Celsius and applied an aeration technique that injects air to create a soft foam.
The preparation itself reflected the competition theme of "Human Connection," with the demonstration structured so that judges took part directly in the milk refining process. Starbucks Korea plans to push ahead with a domestic launch of the winning beverage.
"We will continue to support our partners so they can demonstrate their capabilities, and broaden our common ground with customers through the diverse stories contained in coffee," said Shin Dong-woo, chief executive of Starbucks Korea.