COLOMBIA 5th June 2011

At the first World Barista Championship held in a producing country, Alejandro Mendez of El Salvador became the 2011 champion.

His assured and imaginative performance in the Championship, held in Bogotá in early June, netted him the top prize, surpassing second place Pete Licata of the US and Matt Perger of Australia in third place.

Javier Garcia of Spain came fourth, with Japan's Miki Suzuki in fifth place and John Gordon of the UK taking sixth position. The contest attracted the best baristas from 53 countries.

Full details of the 2011 WBC, as well as video streams covering many of the competitors' performances, are available on the WBC website, www.worldbaristachampionship.com.