Haskins Garden Centres is celebrating its partnership with Costa Coffee, after Michaela Wilson, 28 years old from its West End centre in Southampton, was named one of the best baristas in the world, taking third place in the Global Barista of the Year competition.

Costa Coffee has partnered with Haskins Garden Centres for over 14-years, with Haskins being the only garden centre brand in the United Kingdom to serve Costa Coffee within its centre restaurants.

The popular coffee brand has been running a Barista of the Year competition for 15-years, with local, regional and national heats taking place to curate a list of finalists from across the world. Once the finalists have been decided, they progress to take part in a final competition to name the brand’s Global Barista of the Year.

The international competition final was a two-day event at the end of April, comprised of a behind-closed-doors technical coffee making challenge, with the second day open to a live audience, focusing on creativity and customer service skills.

Michaela impressed the judging panel of coffee experts with her technical prowess and uniquely curated speciality drink, ‘Autumn Walks’, a delightful pumpkin-spiced coffee drink forged from fond memories of her childhood.  After a UK final featuring 20 of the top baristas nationally, three progressed to a world final of 6 international entrants. After the two-day event, Michaela was named Costa Coffee’s No.3 barista globally, in a competition featuring entries from Qatar, China, the Middle East and Europe. Michaela was the highest-ranking finalist from the United Kingdom.

Speaking about the experience, Michaela said: “The final was massively nerve-wracking but went well. The speciality drink element of the competition is one area where I don’t think I could have done anything differently.

“Being able to represent Haskins at such a prestigious event was a brilliant opportunity, and I am grateful for the support from my West End centre team, which has enabled me to develop as a coffee expert in my time with the company. Overall, it was a fantastic experience to have and one that I will be proud of and remember for many years to come. I cannot wait to bring my learnings and experiences from this event back to my role at Haskins’ West End centre.”

Sandy Gourlay, Senior Account Manager at Costa Coffee, added: “Michaela wowed the judges with her technical ability in handcrafting perfect drinks whilst demonstrating exceptional skills, performed under a huge amount of added pressure from lights, cameras, and a live audience! Michaela’s speciality drink ‘Autumn Walks,’ was based around her childhood Thanksgiving celebrations, featuring a homemade family pumpkin spice mix combined with Costa Coffee’s Mocha Italia coffee. The judges commented on the balance of spice, chilled coffee and hot oat milk creating an imaginative and unique experience.” 

Jason Froggatt, Group Catering Manager for Haskins, said “The Haskins group aims to promote personal development and growth of its colleagues as often as possible, and we have been running in-house ‘Barista of the Year’ competitions for several years. Our relationship with Costa Coffee allows our restaurant offering to stand out from other garden centres, and we are proud that this partnership has now enabled one of our very talented team members to achieve the recognition they so richly deserve.”

Haskins has five garden centres across the south of England and owns Birdworld in Farnham. The business is celebrating 140 years in the horticultural industry this year. The business is proud to have been a Costa Coffee partner business for over 14-years and is the only garden centre brand in the United Kingdom to serve Costa Coffee within its centre restaurants.

To find out more about Haskins Garden Centres please visit the https://www.haskins.co.uk/