Shih Yuan Hsu (Sherry) of Taiwan has won the 2022 World Brewers Championship.
“I’m still feeling nervous, the reality hasn’t set in yet. But I really enjoyed the stage and had a lot of fun. I’m still in shock,” says Shery.
Elika Liftee from United States placed runner up, and Elysia Tan from Singapore placed third in the competition. Tomas Taussig from Czech Republic placed fourth, Jhon Christhoper from Indonesia placed fifth and Simen Andersen from Norway placed sixth.
The competition took place from 28 to 30 September at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) in Melbourne, Australia.
Sherry works as a barista at Coffee Lover’s Planet in Taipei City, Taiwan, and arrived in Melbourne two weeks prior to the competition to prepare for her performance.
“I trained 19 hours per day to practice for the competition. I was also the winner of the 2019 Taiwan Brewers Cup, placing fifth overall in the 2019 World Brewers Cup, which prepared me for what to expect,” Sherry says.
“Throughout COVID-19 and the past two years, I’ve practised honing my routine and skills to ensure I was ready to come back better than ever.”
Sherry used a natural geisha produced from Mikava Coffee in Colombia.
“I think all my practice and personality is what stood out to the judges. I just put my passion into my craft and am always looking at how I can make my coffee better,” she says.
Sherry plans to celebrate her win by relaxing, grabbing some food and “drinking lots of wine.”
“I would like to thank the UCC Taiwan team, who helped me a lot, and made me feel like I’m not alone. Without all of you, I couldn’t have done so well,” she says.
