Ulrika Hannula
Ulrika is considered to be one of Finland’s first baristi!
She currently works as a barista trainer, and is a barista certification agent for the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe. Ulrika was a technical judge in the 2005 Barista of the Year competition. One can say that Ulrika is not afraid to cross borders when it comes to coffee creativity!
Lari Järnefelt
Lari owns Professional Coffeemakers of Helsinki, where he hires out his coffee making skills to the B2B sector. Lari was Barista of the Year 2001 & 2005, and a judge in the 2003 competition. Lari brings defined technical knowledge to the team.
Juhani Haahti
Juhani works as a barista in his family-owned business – Café Art in Turku. Although he hasn’t been a barista for long, Juhani has the passion of ten baristi. For him, ‘the perfect cup’ is the goal for every cup.
Pekka Heinonen
Pekka is the proud owner of Mums, Pori. His career began 10 years ago in a market café in Mikkeli, and brings solid experience to the team. Pekka has competed in two Barista of the Year competitions.
Krister Kaattari
Krister works as Quality (Coffee) Controller for Oy Gustav Paulig Ab. In addition he fine-tunes his barista skills with the Paulig Coffee Institute. Krister has been working in the field for 16 years, and competed in his first Barista of the Year competition in 2005.
Krista Surma-Aho
Krista has a passion for perfect espresso, which is why she practices her skills at home! Although she has been working at various cafés assisting in specialty coffee development for 3 years, more often you can find Krista preparing stylish drinks for family and friends from her very own kitchen.
Karoliina Mäkelä
By night, Karoliina is Managing Director of the Specialty Coffee Association of Finland. By day, she is After-care Liaison for Oy Vendor Ab. Karoliina has been working in the coffee field for eight years, and has been a judge in the Barista of the Year competition 5 times.
Shelly Nyqvist (team coach)
Shelly was a pioneer in the specialty coffee field – with the opening of Finland’s first American-style espresso bar in 1994. She also founded the Specialty Coffee Association of Finland and is an honorary member. Shelly was the head judge in the 2004 & 2005 Barista of the Year competitions.