Jibbi Little takes to the skies with a fanciful flying fairy rabbit that combines two of her favourite designs.
By the time many of you read this, I will have competed in the World Latte Art Championship. For now, however, I am dedicating all my time to training. With Easter just past and me about to take flight to Germany for World of Coffee in Berlin, I thought there’s no better time than to combine these events in the form of my flying Fairy Rabbit design.
Combination actually played a part in the conception of this design. The idea behind it was really quite simple. My rabbit and angel designs were quite popular, so I thought, ‘why not bring them together?’
The result is a design that is cute and appeals to peoples’ love of fantasy and fairy tales. While the rabbit itself is front and centre in the design, elements like a tree to the side and the sun at the top add an extra level of character and scene setting.
It may seem simple at first, but the design requires multiple techniques from dragging and dropping to wrapping and rosettas, and prowess in one underappreciated discipline – manoeuvring the wrist. You can’t perform some of the intricacies of this design without being able to subtly rotate your wrist as the body, head, and ears of the rabbit curve.
Like most designs, with practice and persistence, any up and coming barista can master this pattern. In latte art, you can never stop improving and practice is key. For instance, at the time of writing, I am deep in preparation for Worlds and will stay that way until I fly out to Berlin at the start of June. My World Latte Art Championship patterns have been set for a long time, so now my focus is on developing a consistent routine and perfecting my ability to perform these designs.
While the Fairy Rabbit design doesn’t appear in my World Latte Art Championship routine, it is a pattern I enjoy and I think many of you will too. Join me next time when I delve into one of the designs I shared on the world stage.
This article appears in the June edition of BeanScene Magazine. Subscribe HERE.
Jibbi Little’s Fairy Rabbit
Step 1
Build your base with the handle at 12 o’clock. In one continuous movement, draw a C-shape from the bottom of the cup, pour a drop of milk foam below the top point, and drag it down past the bottom of the C.
Step 2
Turn the handle to three o’clock. Draw a small heart at the bottom of the C with the point touching the rabbit’s body to form a tail.
Step 3
Turn the handle to six o’clock. Draw a seven-leaf rosetta starting from the body. Drag and pull up along the left edge to reconnect.
Step 4
Pour a second seven-leaf rosetta from where the drag meets the body to form a second wing.
Step 5
Pour a seven-leaf rosetta straight across from one o’clock to 11 o’clock then drag down the centre.
Step 6
Back where the upper wing meets the body, drag out a thin loop that runs half the length of the wing. Do this a second time with the same end point. This should look like the McDonald’s ‘M’ with the bottom points pressed together.
Step 7
Draw a circle at the top of the body and continue to wrap to form the head. Leave an empty space for the eye. If you can, use the cunning eye technique created by 2018 World Latte Art Champion Arnon Thitiprasert.
Step 8
Turn the handle to nine o’clock and finish with a dot at six o’clock representing the sun.