Licata Coffee

On the 26th of May 2013, Pete Licata was announced as World Barista Champion in Melbourne — the culmination of nine years of competing, two US national titles, and a second-place finish at the 2011 WBC in Bogota. It was the result of a decade of obsessive preparation. But the credential is not what makes him useful to the businesses he works with today.

What makes him useful is everything that came after. Six years of international consulting across three continents. Four years as R&D Coffee Consultant inside Nomad Coffee Group, one of Australia's largest specialty coffee companies, overseeing quality, education, product development, and equipment evaluation across the Veneziano, Coffee Hit, and Black Bag Roasters brands. And the last two years co-founding and operating Caffeine Control Coffee — a Melbourne-based roastery built entirely around the idea that caffeine should be something you can choose, not something that happens to you.

That combination is rare; competition at the highest level, commercial R&D at scale, running large scale commercial and specialty coffee programmes, and founding a consumer brand from scratch. It means Pete understands what excellence looks like, how to build systems that maintain it, and what it actually takes to run a coffee business in the real world.

STORY

Pete started in coffee in 2003, taking a part-time job at PT's Coffee in Kansas City while studying linguistics at university. It was at an event there, a workshop with 2004 World Barista Champion Tim Wendelboe, that the direction of his career shifted. "That showed me the level of professionalism involved," he later said. "And got me thinking: I could do that."

He began competing in 2005, winning his first regional competition in the Midwest USA as what the industry would later call a dark horse. Over the next eight seasons he won five regional titles and two US Barista Championships, placing second in the world at the 2011 WBC in Bogota. That result in his own words, taught him more than any win could have. "After the disappointment of coming second, I realised you really have to present something that's true to you and that you're passionate about."

One of the most pivotal moments in his competitive career came in 2011 in Hawaii, where he decided to pick, process, and roast his own competition coffee doing everything himself from tree to cup (with help from talented mentor, Miguel Meza). That experience deepened his understanding of coffee at every stage of the supply chain and became the foundation of a broader way of thinking about the product: not as something that arrives at a café, but as something shaped by every decision made along the way.

During the 2013 WBC win in Melbourne, Pete used a Colombian coffee from producer Arnulfo Leguizamo in Huila, sourced by Cafe Imports and roasted at Parisi Coffee, where he worked as the QC manager. His routine built on the work from his 2011 USBC win, pushing further into concept, storytelling, and sensory precision. The result was a performance regarded by some as one of the strongest in the competition's history.

Following the win, Pete launched Licata Coffee Consultants and spent six years working internationally. Training competitors, advising café businesses, coaching baristas, and lecturing on professional development brought a wealth of experience and perspective globally. Among those he coached was Hidenori Izaki, who went on to win the 2014 World Barista Championship the year after Pete's own win.

In 2019, Pete and his family made the decision to move to Melbourne, where he joined Nomad Coffee Group as R&D Coffee Consultant and later as Head of Coffee. These roles put competition-level thinking to work at commercial scale across multiple national coffee brands.

In 2024, alongside his wife Maria, he co-founded Caffeine Control Coffee: a roasting company built around the belief that coffee drinkers deserve more than a choice between regular and decaf. The company reflects his intentional approach and desire to forge new paths in the coffee industry. With caffeine as a focus, he now wants to change the way everyday coffee drinkers think about coffee’s role in health and wellbeing.

TIMELINE

2003

Started in coffee - Kansas City, USA

Barista at PT's Coffee while studying linguistics. First exposure to WBC through a workshop with Tim Wendelboe.

2005

Began competing

First regional win, Midwest USA. Started a run of 5 regional titles over 8 competitive seasons.

2011

US Barista Champion (first win) + 2nd at WBC, Bogota

Picked, processed, and roasted his own competition coffee in Hawaii. Pivotal year in developing his competition philosophy.

2013

2x US Barista Champion + World Barista Champion, Melbourne

Won WBC at MICE, Melbourne — only the second American to win the title. Used a Colombian coffee from Huila producer Arnulfo Leguizamo.

2013–19

Licata Coffee Consultants - international consulting

Six years consulting across three continents. Coached Hidenori Izaki to the 2014 WBC title. Advised café businesses on operations, quality, and competition strategy.

2019–24

R&D Coffee Consultant - Nomad Coffee Group (Veneziano), Melbourne

Oversaw R&D, product development, equipment evaluation, and education strategy across Veneziano, Coffee Hit, and Black Bag Roasters. Collaborated with Hario and Mazzer on product development.

2024–Current

Co-founder, Caffeine Control Coffee - Melbourne

Founded with wife Maria Licata. World's first structured caffeine-level coffee roastery: Full, Moderate, Low, and Decaf. Returns to independent consulting.

What this means when we work together

Competition experience means understanding what exceptional looks like, and more importantly, how to reverse-engineer it into a repeatable system that holds across a team, not just in the hands of one skilled person. R&D experience inside a large commercial group means knowing how to make world-class thinking work at scale, within real budget, workflow, and staff constraints. And founding a consumer brand from scratch means understanding the decisions operators face every day. Pete has faced them too.

The result is consulting that is precise, practical, and built around outcomes that matter to your business and not theoretical frameworks that sit in a document and gather dust.

Work with Pete

If you're building something in coffee and want world-class expertise behind it, I'd like to hear about it.