Brief (coffeeyo.com): On 9 September, the 11th Starbucks China Barista Championship crowned its national finalists — Hou Yilin (“Jerry”) of Hefei was named Starbucks China Coffee Ambassador and Lu Yang (“Peter”) of Nanjing took the title of Starbucks China Reserve Coffee Ambassador, the highest honour for a Starbucks China barista, earning them the rare “brown apron”. The round-up also covers Tilda Swinton’s Cartier ambassadorship, The Beast’s 2026 autumn scents and the shutdown of Travel Frog: China Journey.
On 9 September, the 11th Starbucks China Barista Championship reached its grand final. Hou Yilin (“Jerry”) from Hefei was awarded the title of “Starbucks China Coffee Ambassador”, while Lu Yang (“Peter”) from Nanjing received the “Starbucks China Reserve Coffee Ambassador” honour. This is the highest distinction for a Starbucks China barista, and they also earned the rare “brown apron”.
This year’s Starbucks China Barista Championship kicked off in May, drawing entries from thousands of stores nationwide and over 5,000 baristas. After four stages — district, regional, area and division competitions — and more than 660 contests over four-plus months, 11 contestants advanced to the national final. Besides the two national ambassadors, the remaining nine will serve as regional coffee ambassadors, joining efforts to spread coffee culture and promote the service experience.
Since its launch in 2009, the Starbucks China Barista Championship has been refined continuously. This edition featured five events — coffee blind tasting, latte art, brew and story, summit challenge, and creative signature drinks — assessing baristas across professional skill, sensory ability, creativity and customer communication. It sets a benchmark for Starbucks China’s more than 70,000 baristas.
For the first time, Starbucks also invited customers to take part on a large scale. Starting in August, the “Champion Showcase” brought many Gold Star and Venus members face to face with their regional champion baristas, letting them enjoy the same brewed coffees, latte art and creative beverages presented in the competition. By turning an internal event into products and services for end consumers, the championship’s value extends beyond the arena and returns to the customer experience.
Tilda Swinton Named Cartier Brand Ambassador
On 9 September, Cartier announced that Tilda Swinton has become its new brand ambassador.
The Beast Launches Its 2026 “Autumn Fragrance” Collection
On 8 September, The Beast unveiled its 2026 “Autumn Fragrance” collection, introducing two new scents this season — “Jade Rabbit Peeling Longan” and “Osmanthus Branch Aloeswood”. The “Osmanthus Branch Aloeswood Floral Wax Candle” blends floral and woody notes through the addition of little jasmine floral wax. The collection also includes a “Jade Rabbit Listening to Incense” incense-stick gift box and cone-incense gift box, along with the “Jade Rabbit Treasure Box” series gift sets released simultaneously.
The entire collection is now available.
Travel Frog: China Journey to Shut Down on 8 December
On 8 September, the official account of Travel Frog: China Journey announced its shutdown. The game will cease operations at 6 p.m. on 8 December this year, when the official website will go offline and all account data, character profiles and other information on the game servers will be permanently cleared.
At 2 p.m. on the day the news was announced, download access for Travel Frog: China Journey was closed across all platforms, and game top-ups and new-user registration were also halted.
Travel Frog: China Journey is the China-version game developed by Alibaba after securing domestic exclusive rights, riding on the popularity of the original Travel Frog. It entered public testing on 9 May 2018 and officially launched on 17 December 2020. Regarding the shutdown, the operator said it was due to the expiration of the IP licence and harsh renewal terms, but noted that “the current domestic operator, Lingxi Interactive Entertainment — which Alibaba sold to Trustar Capital in August — has not yet given up negotiations”.
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