Royal Oak native crowned world's best barista

Michael Phillips, of Royal Oak, Mich., recently became the first American to win the World Barista Championship held in London. Phillips beat out 52 other professional baristas en route to being crowned the champion and winning coffee equipment and trips to Peru and Italy. His win made him the 11^th champion of the competition.

Growing up in Royal Oak, Phillips attended Kimball High School before heading off to Northern Michigan University. It was during his time at Northern, where he studied film, that Phillips developed a taste for coffee and decided to learn more about it. Shortly after graduating, he took a job with Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, in Chicago, bagging their product. He was soon promoted to a trainer for coffee shops.

In the competition, Phillips' second, he used a specialty drink, which was actually three separate drinks, to impress the judges. Each coffee drink was prepared in a different way, offering a different flavor. Hundreds were on hand to watch the competition and 200,000 spectators watched online. Phillips headed back to Chicago after the competition and will continue working with Intelligentsia.

Sources:

http://dailytribune.com/articles/2010/07/08/online/srv0000008782011.txt
http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com/news
http://www.suntimes.com/business/2464968,CST-NWS-barista05.article