The nerves were thick and everyone came to win, but in his second appearance in the Starbucks Bahamas Barista competition, Tariq Cartwright managed to cut through the tension to claim the ultimate title -- champion -- albeit by a slim, three-point margin over Shawnell Clarke.
Clarke, who represented Starbucks Charlotte Street, walked away with the latte art trophy which was a featured highlight in this year's competition and second place.
And Lenice Winters, who rounded out the first three-way final in the competition's three-year history, finished third.
"It feels surreal, but natural," said Cartwright, who works at the Baha Mar Starbucks. "The feeling today was unbelievable. Watching it come to pass, I just thank the Almighty. I prayed and prayed and prayed. And I must say He answers prayers."
Cartwright won a one-week all-expense paid trip to Mexico during which he will get to explore all things coffee, from the planting process through to the production of coffee.
He's looking forward to the experience to make more connections with baristas worldwide.
"I want to hear their stories and their competition experience, and how beverage quality is imparted in their markets, and hopefully bring some of what they say home and impact my market," said Cartwright.
The 2017/2018 champ said he plans to use his position and research to help improve beverage quality, customer service and personalities in the market by incorporating what he's learnt into the stores.
"The competition isn't just competition for a winner. It's camaraderie. It's personalities coming together to birth something bigger. At Starbucks we reach out to the community, we help others improve, we grow with each other, we help, and we nurture and we strengthen," he said.
Javan Smith, Starbucks Bahamas training learning and development manager, said the three finalists will be utilized in the market to impart the experience they learnt from the competition.
"The winner will spearhead the team, but we're going to make sure everyone will be utilized to get us to where we want to be," he said.
Dino Matsas, general manager food and beverage John Bull Group of Companies, described the competition as inspiring and said the passion displayed by the partners was a sight to behold, and one of the most important aspects of the competition.
In past years they focused on the customer connection side of the business, which Matsas said they do a very good job at. This year they focused on beverage quality, which he said is a huge portion of the customer experience.
"It's about the customer connection as well as beverage quality," said Matsas. "The customer coming into the store and feeling a part of something bigger, which is that family environment."
He also took pride in realizing that it didn't take being a veteran partner to do well in the competition, noting that Clarke, a partner of only seven months, finished second when she went head-to-head with a nine-year veteran in Winters and a 17-month employee in Cartwright, the eventual champion.
"It just goes to show that if you have the willingness and the commitment is there, and the passion is there, that you can go very far and represent a fantastic brand," said Matsas.
A three-way final was a first for the competition this year. Winters and Cartwright tied for first place out of the eight-man semifinals. The judges allowed the second placed Clarke to advance, which meant that a tie emerged for first place for the first time in the three-year competition, and the first time three people advanced to the final.
Smith said they decided to let the three persons go through because the partners had worked really hard to prepare for the competition, and to see a seven-month employee in Clarke put in that amount of work and that amount of passion, they thought it would be robbery not to allow her to compete in the final.
Steven Hepburn was the Starbucks Barista Champion 2015-2016. His prize was a trip to Seattle where he visited the Starbucks Support Center (headquarters) and iconic Starbucks locations such as the first store in Pike Place Market and the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room.
Joshua Rolle, the Starbucks Barista Champion 2016-2017, the second person to be crowned barista champion, won a trip to Colombia where he visited a Starbucks farm, the mountains where coffee is grown, engaged in a coffee bean-picking experience, interacted with partners that work at farms, and participated in extensive training and study with persons who work for the Starbucks support centers, which allowed him to gain firsthand information and knowledge.

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