This year’s “Battle of the Baristas” at Monarch Espresso Bar had plenty of caffeine to go around, baristas cheering each other on and a small space flooded with people. The baristas competed to win best concoction of the night, but participants said the biggest takeaway of the night was community.

The event featured a group of drink aficionados who work at Monarch squaring off and bringing their best to the counter. In a fight for a spot on Monarch’s seasonal menu, each drink was sampled and judged against the others.

This year’s entries included titles such as The Cold Bro, Honey Money and the ultimate best in show, The Mounty. Monarch Espresso Bar described the winning drink as cozy and sweet, tasting of brown sugar, maple, and cinnamon.  

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CW/ Joe Will Field

Caitlin Giles, who concocted The Mounty, said the biggest turnout for an event in Monarch’s history made the evening mean more to her than a coffee contest.

“I just love that this event has become a tradition not only for us as baristas but also as a community,” Giles said. “This has definitely been our biggest turnout, and I love that but then I love how it’s a reflection of the team spirit there is here: in the community, in the school and just in us as baristas.”

The communal energy of the evening was set early in the competition, when the baristas introduced their drink displays and spoke about what their entry meant to them. Giles said she took inspiration from her Colorado roots.

“This drink just reminds me that there’s two other people from Colorado who work here, and they helped me to make what I did here tonight,” Giles said.

Many of the the baristas brought a bit of their home into their drink.  The Mounty’s display – a tree stump from her family’s home – particularly resonated with the crowd.

“The tree stump one was really cool because the stump was actually from her family’s backyard in Colorado, “ Sarah McCarty, a junior majoring in accounting, said. “So she cut a hole in it and displayed the coffee in there which was really cute, so it kind of showed each barista really puts their heart into their coffee and shows that within every drink. There’s a little love in it no matter what.”

Nathan Kovar, a barista who experienced his very first Battle of the Baristas after starting at Monarch eight months ago, said it was amazing to see everyone turn out for the event.

It was exciting for him to see a colorful community of Monarch customers, Kovar said. He said Monarch works to create a welcoming environment for all customers.

“It’s really great to just see so many people turn out to support such a great cause,” Kovar said. “It really gets the community to come together. There’s so many different people here from different walks of life and that’s really cool to see.”