Brunei 7th barista competition organised by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was held at the atrium of the Times Square Shopping Complex. Each barista showcased their skills in not only preparing the best espresso that they can but also their skill, technique, creativity and flair in preparing a cup of cappuccino and one of The Coffee Bean’s signature drinks.

Throughout the final, there were six judges present to score each contestant. Two technical judges, comprising long-time The Coffee Bean staff assessed contestants based on their technical skills, and four invited judges judged them based on taste, visuals, creativity and general skills in presentation and how they introduce their beverage.

The sensory judges were the Head of Corporate Communications of Royal Brunei, Azhani Daniel; the Marketing Manager of Times Square Shopping Centre, Lim Yee Liang; the Assistant General Manager and Personal Assistant to the General Manager of Aewon Brunei, Md Yusof Abdullah @ Joseph; and the Managing Director of City Neon Construction Dato’ Jack Ting.

Present to officiate the start of the competition was the Managing Director of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Abdul Mun’im Pengiran Anak Haji Tahiruddin.

Coming in second place and also winning the prize for the Best Signature Beverage was Nur Afifah Md Hazim, an 18-year-old barista who works at the Ministry of Finance branch of The Coffee Bean