With a reimagined format, the espresso competitors turned Mexico’s capital right into a espresso competition—and residential staff Karla Bravo and Victor Granados walked away as champions.

BY VASILEIA FANARIOTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT

Images courtesy of The Barista League

What to know:

• Espresso competitors The Barista League made its 2026 Latin American debut in Mexico Metropolis
• Six groups competed in entrance of a reside viewers, with dwelling staff Karla Bravo and Victor Granados taking dwelling the win

After debuting its redesigned competitors format in Prague earlier this spring, The Barista League touched down at Mexico Metropolis live performance corridor Foro Indie Rocks a month in the past for the primary Latin American cease of its 2026 season—and this time, it took over the entire venue. 

A Roasters Village that includes names from throughout Mexico, a second stage for talks and panels, and a full-day competition expertise surrounded the primary occasion: six groups competing in entrance of a reside viewers and a judging panel drawn from a few of the most revered roasters, champions, and producers in Mexico and Colombia.

Underneath the brand new format, service and idea account for 62 p.c of a staff’s complete rating. Judges act as café prospects, participating in reside dialog all through the efficiency, and groups are evaluated as a lot on the expertise they create as on what leads to the cup. 

It was a format that suited the power of the room, and no staff appeared extra at dwelling in it than Karla Bravo and Victor Granados, who introduced Mexican-made recipes, infectious heat, and a bar-shift ease to the stage that was troublesome to look away from. When the scores had been tallied, that they had gained.

We sat down with Karla and Victor to speak by means of how they ready, what the expertise was like from the within, and what comes subsequent.

Barista Journal: Congratulations in your win! How did you put together for The Barista League competitors? Did you might have a method entering into?

Karla & Victor: Thanks! We began by studying by means of the principles rigorously, and from there concepts started to movement naturally with out dropping sight of what we actually needed to speak. Our technique was so much like the way in which we work day after day—a brainstorm that feels overwhelming at first however steadily takes form over time.

How did you purpose to face out from the opposite groups, whether or not in method, type, or power?

We put most of our effort into making the judges really feel genuinely snug. We constructed our recipes round Mexican substances, developed from scratch by us, and we targeted on making our service as pleasant and energetic as attainable. That heat is simply who we’re behind the bar.

What makes The Barista League totally different from different competitions, and what did you’re keen on most about it?

The liberty. The liberty to create, to serve, to only be ourselves—with out setting apart method, however with the main target firmly on service and idea. And competing below the identical circumstances as everybody else, with the identical provides and instruments, creates a real sense of equal alternative that you simply don’t at all times discover in competitors.

How did the staff dynamic work between the 2 of you? Any humorous or memorable moments from backstage?

Our dynamic felt like a standard shift behind the bar: those the place you share the counter, preserve issues enjoyable, preserve transferring, and attempt to see the very best in each scenario. All the time dancing, at all times transmitting the power and love that we would like folks to really feel once they’re being served by us.

One distinctive side of The Barista League is the reside interplay with judges. How was that have for you, particularly having the ability to reply and interact in actual time?

We discovered it actually enjoyable to have the ability to clarify what we had been doing in an off-the-cuff means, and to have the judges ask real questions and get real solutions again. That change is what makes it really feel alive.

Let’s rewind. What obtained every of you began in espresso, and what’s stored you hooked?

For me (Karla), it was the tradition and the connections the craft creates. For me (Victor), a love of enology led me to one thing that felt surprisingly acquainted—after which I fell in love with espresso, with how deep and versatile it’s.

Who or what evokes you most within the espresso trade proper now?

We like to be taught, to observe, to compete—that’s how we enhance each day and the way we really feel we are able to contribute extra to the trade and to the espresso worth chain. Progress that’s energetic, not passive.

Wanting past the competitors itself, how had been the months of preparation, and what was your general expertise working with the TBL staff and everybody concerned?

The TBL staff was extremely attentive. Communication was nice, they had been at all times shut by—answering questions, checking in to see if we wanted something. We by no means felt forgotten or missed. We love everybody at TBL.

Now that you simply’ve taken dwelling the win, what’s subsequent for you? Any large targets, initiatives, or espresso desires on the horizon?

Persevering with to compete, to continue to learn, to maintain sharing what we all know with the folks round us. We now have plans the place we’re working to convey extra folks into competitors and to be a constructive affect for the colleagues we work with each day.

In case you needed to describe your Barista League expertise in three phrases, what would they be?

Enjoyable. Equal. Enriching.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vasileia Fanarioti (she/her) is a senior on-line correspondent for Barista Journal and a contract copywriter and editor with a major give attention to the espresso area of interest. She has additionally been a volunteer copywriter for the I’M NOT A BARISTA NPO, offering content material to assist educate folks about baristas and their work.

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