With the World Barista Championship in Atlanta quickly approaching, baristas all over the globe prepare to stake their claim in espresso-soaked glory.

Just three weeks ago, we were talking about a regional barista competition, and now the World Barista Championship is right around the corner. News organizations all over the world have begun covering regional and country-wide competitions and it’s been interesting to watch each nation’s hopefuls prepare to face off.

Now in its ninth year, the World Barista Championship will be held April 16 to 19 in Atlanta. The competition last took place on American soil during the 2005 championship in (where else?) Seattle. Last year’s competition made a star out of Irish barista Steven Morrissey who wowed judges with his signature drink that blended chocolate, espresso, and a blueberry muffin panna cotta. Click here to watch Morrissey’s winning round and see what made him the winner. Speaking in his gorgeous Irish brogue, he tells judges to “spend some time with this coffee, really get familiar with it,” as he serves them an espresso of his own blend and makes fans out of coffee lovers like me halfway across the world.

Different locations, same rules

Maybe it’s part of my own personal love for order, but one of the things that I love about these competitions is that every barista competes by making the same selection of coffees. From Tokyo to Cleveland, every barista who competes makes an espresso, a cappuccino, and a signature drink of his or her own creation. Each competitor has 15 minutes to do it all and be sparklingly witty and conversational at the same time. That’s hard enough to do in private, let alone with four judges, hundreds of spectators, and television cameras capturing every move.

Right now, competition continues to surge ahead to find the top barista in the US with regional competitions such as the Mid Atlantic and Northeast Regional Barista competition I covered here in Pittsburgh and the Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition which just wrapped up over the weekend. Winners from each round will compete at the quickly approaching United States Barista Championship coming up March 5 in Portland where one winner will move on to Atlanta.

Africa taking the spotlight for now

In the meantime, judges for the world competition will prepare at a two-day workshop in Nairobi, Kenya next month. There, judges who’ve passed the espresso-sampling gauntlet in their own regions, will hone their skills in coffee tasting and other judgment criteria to prepare for the worldwide event.

Also taking place in Africa this week, 27 baristas in Uganda competed to win a trip to the World championship in the city of Kampala. By Saturday, only six competitors remained. The event was hosted by the Eastern and African Fine Coffees Association, which represents 10 African countries in the production, processing, and marketing of African coffees.

“We sponsor the competitions as a way to promote domestic consumption of specialty coffees and to promote African coffees to the rest of the world,” said Mbula Musau, the association’s quality and marketing manager.

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