World Champion Barista announced

Finch proved she had the X Factor when she created the perfect cup of hand-made coffee in front of industry expert judges such as wine expert and TV presenter, Charles Metcalfe and Costa's master roaster, Gennaro Pelliccia. Metcalfe commented, "Who would have thought that the best barista in the world would have come from a humble motorway service station. M5 travellers can now drop in for a cup of coffee at Costa and get served by the world's best barista." He continued: "For me, coffee and wine share various fundamental aspects, such as acidity, fragrance and mouth-feel. Altitude and climate are as crucially important to coffee growing as to vine growing." The challenge celebrates the art of coffee making and recognises the tough but rewarding job that its baristas face on a daily basis. It is also about performing and creating coffee from the heart. Finch made drinks with flair, creativity, speed and consistency. Finch named her winning coffee creation 'Heaven and Hell', which was made using a combination of coffee and chillies. She explained, "With its sweet chocolatey taste balanced by a dash of devilishly hot red chillies, its a naughty but nice concoction which I know will make the judges warm to me!" After picking up her award she commented: "I cannot believe I have won such a prestigious competition? I'm lost for words. I never thought industry expert judges would be praising my very own coffee creation and I'm thrilled that I managed to convince them that I really do have a passion for coffee. Winning the award for best barista in the world has truly blown me away. I was so shocked, I could not stop crying when they handed me the trophy." Finch was presented with a trip to a coffee growing region for two including spending money, a custom-made winner uniform shirt to proudly wear in store and the Barista of the Year Trophy for 2008. Guillermo Florez who works in the Costa in Argyll St, London was runner-up with his Café Refrescante creation and Carlos Martinez from Dubai came third in the competition with his Copacabana signature drink. Finch was presented her award at Costa's world class Roastery in London last week.