BeanScene Magazine

Since I received my first cup of coffee with a pretty pattern on it just about two years ago, I knew I wanted to learn Latte Art, but I never expected to be among the top 33 Latte Art competitors pouring for the world title. It was a real honour for me to represent Singapore in Maastricht, the Netherlands at this year’s World Latte Art Championships.

The event was held in conjunction with the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) World of Coffee Exhibition. There were five world championships taking place at the event from 22 to 24 June: Latte Art, Cezve/Ibrik, Coffee in Good Spirits, Cup Tasting and the new Brewers Cup. Other highlights of the event included the launch of the new SCAE coffee diploma system as well as the Coffee Village, which brought together many micro roasters to showcase their coffees and skills.

This year at the World Latte Art championships, a new set of rules was in place. This meant that no one knew what to expect which made it a really interesting playing field. Previously, a competitor was able to find videos of past competitions to learn from and to get an idea of what was going to happen on stage. Not so this year. The new format saw the preliminary round broken into two sections, the Art Bar round and the Stage round. The Art Bar round was designed to create an atmosphere similar to a barista’s typical work environment. They were given 10 minutes to design a cup of coffee of their choice, before submitting it to be photographed for judging. This took away the pressure of being on stage.

The Stage round required baristas to present two Free Pour lattes and two designer pattern lattes to the judges. The Free Pour lattes required the competitors to design a latte with just milk and coffee using the free pouring technique, and the designer pattern lattes allowed the competitors to use surface decoration and etching tools if they wished to. Competitors were judged on creativity, contrast and difficulty of pattern.

The final round was the most interesting component of the competition this year, where the ‘Wheel of Art’ was introduced. The purpose of the wheel was to choose which patterns the competitors had to pour in the final round as well as the odd shaped vessel. This was a true test of the baristas’ skill, since they had to be fluent in pouring the many different possible patterns on the wheel, and be able to pour into unconventional vessels like the fish and chips bowl.

I was really impressed with the many innovative patterns poured at the championships. Baristas used conventional Free Pour art as a base for fancy new designs. For example, Kirby Berlin, the Australian Latte Art Champion, poured a simple rosetta but transformed it into a beautiful peacock with brilliant colours and details. Naoko Osawa from Japan poured a peacock as well but with seven rosettas to form the tail, before etching on an array of colourful feathers.

Some of the challenges faced by the baristas included getting used to the coffee machine provided since many of us had never used it before. Getting familiar with the coffee and milk was quite a challenge too. Some baristas had trouble getting the right food dye in Maastricht, as they were not commonly available at the local supermarkets. Personally, one of the bigger problems I encountered was getting used to the odd shaped vessel during the final round. It was shallow and long, very different from the usual cappuccino cups I was used to pouring into.

Being on the world stage really put the baristas to the test. The stage tests one’s ability to perform under an immense amount of pressure, with multiple cameras, judges and a large audience. Keeping steady hands while pouring on stage was no easy feat. This environment was very different from the work environment us baristas are used to, with the comfort of being behind the bar and away from customers. Yet one of the competitors managed to bring the competition to the next level: Andrea Antonelli from Italy performed half of his stage routine blindfolded. This drove the audience wild.
Even though I was in a competition, it never felt too competitive among the participants. The other baristas were really supportive and helpful. The atmosphere backstage in the preparation area was fun and cheerful. We were cheering each other on and supporting each other as much as we could, while we got ready for our turn to go on stage.

I formed many friendships during the three days I spent there and I look forward to competing again in the near future. It was truly a humbling experience, being amongst all the champions and watching them create such beautiful Latte Art.