Kicking off proceedings at this year’s 2019 Hudsons Barista Championships was the second ONELR Latte Art Championships. We met the competitors to find out what inspires their art.
The ONELR Latte Art Championships are becoming a big date on the Hudsons calendar. Held as part of the Hudsons Barista Championships, they’re a chance to celebrate individual baristas and give them a stage to showcase their artier side. While the Barista Championships are about teamwork and consistency, the Latte Art Championships are about flair and individual brilliance. And so this year, where we saw our first international competitors, the bar was raised. We saw 3D cats, rabbits, swans and plenty of graceful Rosettas. We saw free-pour brilliance. We saw fine etching. But most of all, we saw passion and a true love of the art of coffee.
We caught up with some of the competitors for a chat.
Vincent’s ‘Mum and Bub In The Wild’
Competitor One:
Ana, Greenslopes QLD
Latte Artist since….
2014
Her design:
“A rabbit in the forest.”
Key Inspiration:
Australian Latte Art Champion Jibbi “Jibbijug” Little. “She’s my idol. All the latte artists now are doing free pours and very little etching. So I wanted to challenge myself, to live at the edge. But I just managed the ears and the face! I want to not just challenge myself, but I want to get better. That’s why I chose it.”
“We saw free-pour brilliance. We saw fine etching. But most of all, we saw passion and a true love of the art of coffee.”
Competitor Two:
Vincent, Calvary Private Hospital, SA
Latte Artist since….
2018
His design:
“I called my design ‘Mum and Bub In The Wild’. It’s a mummy koala with her baby holding a branch. I made like some Rosettas around them so it looks like the wild.”
Key Inspiration:
Australian Latte Art Champion Shinsaku “Samurai Shin” Fukuyama. “We had few meetings because I like to go to St. Ali, I like to talk to him. He’s a really busy guy and he’s doing amazing things. He’s competing a lot. He has no fear and that’s why he’s a role model to me. I am inspired to be one day like him.”
Deep in action.
Competitor Three:
Deep, Wondertree, Auckland NZ
Latte Artist since….
2019
His design:
“I made a 3D cat named Mimi.”
Key Inspiration:
Deep is new to the Latte Art world, but he’s taking to it very quickly! “This is actually my first time in a Latte Art competition. I’m more a bar person, making cocktails and stuff. For a week before competition I was watching YouTube videos!”
Vinny keeping focused.
Competitor Four:
Vinny, Northern Beaches NSW
Latte Artist since….
2014
Her design:
“My design is supposed to be a swan, but I call it a duck, because it looked more like a duck!”
Key Inspiration:
Meeting the other Hudsons baristas in the competition inspired Vinny. “It’s amazing. I did learn a lot from them. I can see the same passion for coffee. You see people from different places and from different cultures. But we have the same reason to come here.”
