Photo essay: Shining moments from the 2026 Starbucks North America Barista Championship

• 7 min read
• October 1, 2026

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Green and white confetti rained down as Jackson M. of New York was named the 2026 Starbucks North America Barista Champion on Thursday morning.

The moment was the culmination of a three-day competition showcasing 24 regional barista champions from across the United States and Canada, each a regional winner from the road to the finals. They showcased their craft, passion, innovation and commitment to customer connection before a live audience at the Starbucks Support Center, the company's headquarters in Seattle.

Throughout the event, Jackson led the other competitors in breathing and relaxation exercises backstage to help them focus on what they wanted to say and do.

But now, as the standing-room only crowd cheered as his name was announced, he couldn't find the words to contain all he was feeling.

"What does one say? It has been …," he said, pausing as tears filled his eyes.

"The only reason I'm here is because of everyone else. It is the connection. It is the relationships. This is for all of you," he said, raising his trophy to the other competitors and the audience.

Jackson shared the stage with the other two finalists who had been named the night before: Emeka P. representing the North Atlantic region, and Richard R., representing Southern California.

Throughout the event, panels of judges scored the competitors on three areas of competition: a latte art throwdown, coffee and customers storytelling and coffeehouse rush, where competitors had to craft six beverage orders in six minutes, all while talking to the judges and the audience.

Take a look to see some of the highlights captured in photos.

Latte Art Throwdown

During the first segment of the competition, held Tuesday morning, the competitors showed their skills in a latte art throwdown. As they walked up to the bar, they randomly chose cards that would tell them the kind of milk or alt-milk they'd be using as well as the cup, mug or container. They had their choice of making a dot, heart, tulip, rosetta or swan, during the timed competition, all while also sharing some of their own stories.

In his introduction, Lincoln B., a coffee educator at Starbucks who hosted the championship with Cali, of the Chicago Roastery, talked about the technical challenges of latte art.

"The milk can tell if you're afraid. It really can," he said. "You tell the milk what to do."

And they did, creating works of art in a cup.

"That's paint," said Preston, who was representing the Southern Gulf, of the milk he'd just steamed.

"We're going to now start building our canvas, then lift up and pour from our hearts," he said, revealing a perfectly crafted heart.

Coffee & Customer Storytelling

The audience went on a full rollercoaster of emotions during the Coffee and Customer Storytelling portion of the competition, which stretched over two days. Each contestant had eight minutes to share a story about their connection with a favorite customer and, at the same time, craft an original beverage inspired by that customer.

Emeka shared the story of his customer, Mary, and their shared fascination with Greek mythology. In the last year, they have also been on a shared journey of grief following the death of her mother and his father.

He created a drink called the Persephone, named for a character in Greek mythology who was kidnapped and taken to the underworld. Eventually she was allowed to return to earth from the underworld for half of each year to be with her mother, during which the planet experienced seasons of light, warmth and blossoms. He made the Persephone beverage while he shared the story of his friendship with Mary.

"Healing isn't a straight line away from grief. Some days feel like spring, while others may feel like winter. Starbucks was a place where Mary and I could experience both," Emeka said. "We soon realized we didn't need to fix each other's grief. We just simply needed to be there. Here in the third place, we might start off by just serving coffee. But what we're really given is an opportunity to be part of someone's life, through the ordinary days, through the difficult ones, through all seasons of life."

Others shared stories of favorite regulars that they've me through their roles at Starbucks and the impact that person has had on their lives.

"It is never just a cup. It's never just a conversation," said Malea, who was representing the Northern California region. "It's never just a white mocha. We are doing something much bigger than that every day. We are creating a community, and we're creating a home."

Coffeehouse Rush

During the Coffeehouse Rush lightning round, competitors had to craft six beverage orders in six minutes, all while talking to the judges and the audience.

"This is what we do every day in our coffeehouses, so your training is however long you've been a partner," said Jackson.

But doing it in front of a crowd, under bright lights, in front of judges and with camera pointed at them is a whole different experience.

"It kind of feels like I just blacked out for six minutes," said Loic, who the Ohio Valley region. "I mean, I was there and I did it and then those six minutes were gone!"

The competitors worked in pairs, side by side, and made drinks ordered by people in the audience or event organizers and presented them to the judges, which included Josiah, a Starbucks barista who also makes social media content on his own channel and as a Starbucks Global Coffee Creator.

"It's really fun you are one of my judges because you come up on my TikTok all the time," said OJ, representing the Central Southwest region.

At the end of the day, after the judges had tallied the votes, the three finalists, Emeka, Jackson and Richard, were named. "Can we get a group hug?" asked Jackson as all the competitors folded into each other's arms.

Final competition

During the final round Thursday morning, Emeka, Jackson and Richard once again showcased their passion for craft and connection. It began with each of them creating two examples of latte art and then finished with each of them telling a story about a customer who had inspired them to create their signature beverage while making the drink for the judges.

Emeka shared the story of his customer Mary, while Jackson talked about Blaine, who he called "the most interesting man in the world." Richard shared the story of his customer Sandra, who he first met when he worked at a drive-thru only coffeehouse, so they built their relationship over brief but regular orders. After he transferred to a nearby coffeehouse, she became his customer there.

"I love talking. I'm what people call a yapper," said Richard. At a drive-thru "I know our conversation is limited, but we want to find out more, over the next visit and then more and more, to build that connection."

Adrian P., the former North America Barista Champion, was on hand to judge them on their technical performance while making their beverages.

At the end, when Jackson was announced the new North America Barista Champion, the three finalists hugged.

"The spirit of why we are all here today is connecting over coffee. Coffee means living in the moment and nothing but the moment. The past doesn't exist. The future doesn't either. It's just now - and we have all this," Jackson said, looking around.