Judging the Mattina Coffee Latte Art Battle
What if I told you that I was a judge for a latte art competition, would you believe it? Me neither. I’m grateful to the guys at Mattina Coffee for inviting me to be one of the judges at their end of the year latte art battle that happened earlier this week. Quite frankly, I’m still trying to digest the fact that I had to fulfill a role of grading someone on how well they pour.
I truly believe that when you are given a responsibility like this, you have to live it up to the fullest. I definitely don’t want to disappoint the hosts and be unfair to the competitors, so I started my research on latte art a few days before the event. Yes, I went down the rabbit hole and I am tempted to do some pouring myself.
Before I begin, I want to thank the hosts again - Mattina Coffee and Craft Table Artisan Cafe for organizing such a great event. The competition was held at the Paramount Hotel, Dubai. My last time here was at the Hacienda La Esmeralda Coffee Tasting event.
There were a total of three judges including me, two other judges were reputable and experienced individuals from the local F&B industry. The structure of the competition was straight forward. Eight competitors were selected from a draw and a total of three rounds.
We were asked to select the winning design based on factors listed below:
the quality of the steamed milk, bubble free, smooth, with a glossy rich consistency.
contrast between the crema and milk.
symmetrical design with the correct orientation.
over pouring or under pouring, the volume of the milk to reach the optimum level.
cleanliness of the cup.
The response of the event was electric. Loved the support for all the participants and a good turnout from the Nepali and Philippino community. I have seen witnessed many Asian baristas in the Gulf with strong work ethics, the passion and motivation to perfect their art and the determination to be on top of their game.
I was most excited for the final round - the final two were free to select their own design. I think a flair in creativity leads to some very interesting designs. Pouring technique does matter to achieve complicated patterns but it all boils down to what the individual’s imagination is capable of.
The competitors prepared a Tulip in the first round. In the second, the competitors prepared a more complicated design - a Rosetta. The final two - Sonam and Nabin went head to head in the final round.
Nabin placed his latte cup in front of us first with an impressive humming bird. After a few moments, Sonam pulled out his trump card, a wild parrot sitting on a tree branch. See the picture below to see what I mean.
Yes, we chose Sonam and he was crowned the Latte Art Champion for the night. Congratulations to both the finalists, they are incredibly talented.
Who knew judging would be so much fun? This would be not possible without Mattina Coffee, one of my highlights for this year. Plus, we got to take home with us a special Cup of Excellence Costa Rica. My thoughts about the coffee in this blog post.
