SCAI Chairman, Mr. Ashok Kuriyan, emphatically said, "the objective of IBC 2006 was to choose the best barista in the country and to instill a sense of pride in his or her profession and further motivate them to greater creativity and customer delight, apart from creating overall awareness about coffee amongst consumers".

Mr. G.V Krishna Rao, Chairman, Coffee Board, who sees the championship as a vehicle for spreading the coffee culture said, "ultimately coffee should have greater visibility and coffee should be more popular, and as long as the enthusiasm is there we will support it." And from the signs of it there was no lacking in enthusiasm from the public or the baristi.

Mr. Flavio Urizzi, export manager of CMA, one of the leading producers of espresso machines in the world and one of the international judges for the final day of the competition said, "the idea of holding the barista competition in a popular mall is good, because the general public get to see it and this helps spread the gospel of coffee".

At a recent barista contest he o attended in Prague there were only 22 contestants after the regional elimination rounds and was conducted in a hotel, with "a by invitation only" tag, so the audience was minuscule.
Since the Indian barista championship is still in its infancy, and the drive to make it to the international level is high, there is great enthusiasm from the participants. Whereas in a country like Italy very often "they are not interested in participating" says Urizzi. For many Italians it is just a job, especially in family run cafes, where the entire family are involved in the brewing of coffee. Apart from this, the old tradition of formal dressing for a barista is slowly on its way out.

When Mr. Urizzi first came to India to sell his espresso machine in 1999, he managed to sell only two. But in the intervening six years he has sold as many as 250 espresso machines, which gives an indication of the kind of growth in the Indian market, although this is insignificant by international standards.

In Italy the concept of instant coffee hardly exists, although they are considerable coffee drinkers. It has to be properly brewed coffee only.

The word barista has its origin from the Italian word which originally meant a bartender. In Italy the barista is a bartender, who makes both alcoholic drinks and espresso coffee and its variations. But today the word has traveled into the English speaking world with a slightly different connotation.

A barista today is someone who is basically a person skilled at making espresso coffee beverages. It can also mean someone who has a comprehensive understanding of the coffee, its blends, roasting techniques, knowledge of the espresso machine and a flair for latte art, which is the creative and artistic design of milk foam.

Both male and female espresso coffee makers can be called by the term barista. But in the plural use of the word, the word changes to bariste in the feminine and baristi in the masculine.