Michael Phillips, the assistant director of education at Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea, realized he wanted to make a career in coffee several years ago while he was living in Minneapolis.

He applied for barista jobs at cafes there but few, he recalled recently at the Intelligentsia shop at Jackson and Dearborn, knew quite what to make of a “home coffee nerd” who had grown obsessed with “roast profiles” of coffee beans (and would talk endlessly about them if given the chance to do so).

Phillips never got a job in the Twin Cities. And yet this past June, Phillips won the World Barista Competition in London, becoming the first U.S. barista to take home the prize.

“It’s an extremely difficult competition,” he said. “You’re going to see coffee from everywhere. The best roasters on earth are going to be represented at this event, and some of the most well-regarded farms where people are sourcing their coffee. You’re going to see experimental stuff that’s not even on the market yet.”

To make it to London, Phillips first won competitions within Intelligentsia, where he’s worked for more than four years, to see who would represent the firm in regional and national tournaments. It wasn’t easy.

“The U.S. has a really, really stellar base of coffee professionals right now,” Phillips said.

At the World Barista Competition, contestants go through three rounds in which they serve four judges an espresso, a cappuccino and a signature coffee drink. Two judges watch the baristas’ technique and consistency, and a head judge keeps standards consistent. Within that setup, competitors are free to do what they will to win.

Phillips said at this year’s competition he focused on coffee processing. Processing techniques focus on how the pulpy material and skin that grow around coffee beans are removed, and how the beans are dried. The full-washed style removes the cherry skin and some of the pulp. The beans are then placed into a pool, where they ferment for at least 12 hours. The remaining pulp is washed off and the beans are dried. It produces a clean taste, according to Phillips.

The full-natural technique, where the beans are dried with the cherry on, often means a “wild, fermenty cup,” he said.

With the honey-washed style, the cherry skin is taken off and the beans are dried; unlike the full-wash the beans aren’t given time to ferment.

“I wanted to kind of go through the difference in flavors and how each process affects” the beans, Phillips said.

He purchased beans processed in each style from a cooperative of coffee farmers in Costa Rica, called Coopedota. Intelligentsia’s roaster roasted them, and Phillips took them to London. He used the full-washed beans for his espresso and honey-washed beans for his cappuccino.

For the signature portion — a time to create unique drinks — he created a flight based on the three processing techniques.

The full-wash beans were used for a drink that combined espresso with a small amount of tart cherry juice and mineral water. With the honey-process beans, Phillips pulled a shot of espresso over a reduction of dates and muscovado sugar. The full-natural shot was added to a reduction of ginger, rhubarb and agave syrup.

Phillips said his victory was one he shared with the coffee growers in Costa Rica and Intelligentsia’s roaster. The competition is a special environment, he acknowledged, with appreciative judges quietly tasting and judging drinks, rather than the bustle and demands of a busy working coffee shop.

Still, he said, the victory was nice. “This was a good year,” he said.

Phillips will use the title to continue making the case for well-sourced and crafted specialty coffee.