The barista who made your double espresso this morning might harbor dreams of conquering the world, like James Hoffman once did. Hoffman, 28, is the reigning World Barista champion.

He's coming to Counter Culture Coffee's training center in Durham on Sunday to show off his unsurpassed skills.

How does one become the top of the barista heap?

For Hoffman, making espressos at a department-store coffee bar was just a part-time job after university. But after he started reading books about coffee and met the reigning U.K. barista champion, he started pondering competition.

"Something about it sunk its teeth into me," Hoffman said last week during a phone interview from his London home.

At competition, each barista has to prepare and serve four espressos, four cappuccinos and four original signature drinks within 15 minutes. Judges rate competitors based on speed and taste. At his first competition in 2005, Hoffman earned the unfortunate nickname of "Spiller." He capsized his cappuccinos into his lap, started to make them again and ran out of time. He was disqualified.

Not to be dissuaded, Hoffman returned the next year. He was crowned the U.K. barista champion. At the world championship, he placed fifth, the highest a U.K. contestant had ranked up until then.

In 2007, he again won the U.K. contest and progressed to the world championship. Of course, he won.

He credits his win to using coffee from a single farm in Costa Rica and a single farm in Kenya, whereas most competitors use coffee blends. He also says his signature drink gave him a competitive edge: four shots of espresso mixed with chocolate and a pipe-tobacco infused cream and topped with a biscotti-flavored foam.

With competition behind him, Hoffman plans to open a coffee roasting company called Square Mile Coffee Roasters, as well as a cafe in London.

So for whom does this world champion barista love to make coffee? His girlfriend, Anette Moldvaer, the reigning Speciality Coffee Association of Europe's coffee tasting champion.