Victor Vu of Bicycle Thieves in Northcote, Melbourne has won the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) 2020 Southern Region Latte Art Championship.
Louis Cheung of Poolhouse Coffee placed second and Zhao Ting Wu from Cote Terra Coffee Roasters placed third in the competition, which took place at St Ali in Port Melbourne from 26 to 27 October.
“I feel so happy because after years of hard work I have won my first championship. I want to thank the café that supports me, my fans, and my family who are always behind me,” Victor says.
According to Victor, the feedback he received from his third-place finish at last year’s competition helped him to perfect his routine.
“I learned a lot from my last competition, and every single time I compete, I learn. The judges said I didn’t have a strong enough stage presence last year, so I really worked on that,” Victor says.
For his routine, Victor started with a Peter Pan design, that he perfected for last year’s tournament and followed it with a mythical Taurus and a Spartan warrior.
“I had a dream about a Taurus shape so when I woke up, I drew it on a piece of paper and did some research. While researching I came across a Spartan design that looked very elegant and it really inspired me,” Victor says.
“I had the idea for the design only four days before the competition started, so I really can’t believe it worked. It’s a fantastic result.”
Although he came up with two of the designs shortly before the tournament, Victor attributes the victory to years of hard work and practice.
“It’s my second year competing in the ASCA Southern Region Championship, but all my hard work from the past has gone into this, it has been a long road to get here,” Victor says.
Victor’s advice for people who are passionate about latte art is to focus on feedback and always look to improve.
“It’s great to have someone to help you learn and point out ways to be better. Just keep practicing. practice is the key for a steady hand and a good routine,” he says.
St Ali also hosted the ASCA 2020 Southern Region Barista, Brewers Cup, and Cup Tasters Championships.
Anthony Douglas of Axil Coffee won the ASCA 2020 Southern Region Barista Championship, Ben Cheong of Veneziano placed second, and Matt Perger of St Ali.
David Train won the ASCA 2020 Southern Region Brewers Cup, while Hyunsuk Ko of Bennetts placed second and Devin Loong of Ona Coffee placed third.
Charlie Chu from St Ali won the ASCA 2020 Southern Region Cup Tasters Championship with a score of 8/8 in three minutes and six seconds. Yuki Saito of Addict Food and Coffee placed second and Sheng-Wei Wu of Cote Terra Coffee Roasters placed third.
Anthony, Victor, David, and Charlie have earned positions alongside the #ASCATop12 in their respective fields of the ASCA 2020 Australian Coffee Championships.
