Vicky Chuaybamrung of Mary Street Bakery in Perth was crowned the first ever female Breezey Masters Champion at the Grounds of Alexandria in Sydney on 13 November.

Ben Lewis of Coffee Lab in the United Kingdom placed second and Matt Sharp of Highroad/Ona Coffee in Canberra placed third in the latte art competition.

This year’s Breezey Masters saw 11 finalists from across the globe battle it out using Almond Breeze Barista Blend almond milk to produce their finest latte art across five rounds.

Each of the contestants produced hearts, rosettas, tulips and swans, then finished up with a free pour of their choice.

As part of her prize, Vicky will be featured in Almond Breeze’s Barista Benchmark series that features “exceptional baristas” on the side of the Almond Breeze Barista Blend pack, which is distributed to cafés across Australia. She will also choose to either travel to the UK to experience the London Coffee Festival or to North America for the Specialty Coffee Expo in 2019.

Judges in the Breezey Masters Grand Final included 2018 Central Region Latte Art Champion Jibbi Little, Dee Alam of Sanremo Coffee Machines and Tony Macri of Coffee Brothers.

Other Australian competitors in the Breezey Masters Grand Final included Sarah Jin from Extraction Artisan in Brisbane, Alex Whigham of My Kingdom for a Horse in South Australia, Vincent Do of The Grounds of Alexandria in New South Wales, and Chon Iat Lao of Ael in Victoria.

International competitors included New Zealand’s Logan Collinge of Mojo Coffee, Leo Li of Atomic Coffee Roasters, and Chamnan Ly of Tasteful Bakehouse; South Africa’s Idricia Nakahosa of Truth Coffee Company; and Japan’s Takehiro Okudaira of Caferista.

Sarah Jin won the latte art smackdown with a grand prize of $500, which was also held at the event.

For more information, visit baristasforbaristas.com.au.