Love your cup of coffee? Then it’s time to get creative with it. Latte art can transform your regular cup of joe from a wake-me-up concoction to a cleverly designed brew. An insight from Kaapi Machines Latte Art Throwdown held in Hyderabad.
Coffee, competition, and camaraderie… What’s not to like? Specially when you are enveloped by the warmth and aroma of freshly brewed coffee, intriguing latte art, and creativity at its best.
That’s exactly what was showcased at the Kaapi Machines Latte Art Throwdown hosted at Churrolto, a patisserie and bistro in Hyderabad: A contest for all baristas where they could display their love and passion for latte art.
Latte Art Throwdown for all coffee aficionados
The competition saw 58 professionals from the coffee industry participate in six rounds to prove which of them could create the best latte art pattern without the use of any tools. The three-minute long first round allowed the competitors to prepare their coffee with the free pouring milk technique for their latte art. In the following rounds, the time was reduced to two minutes.
Image: Shutterstock/fotogeneicstudio.
The participants, from well-known outlets including — Starbucks, Café Coffee Day, Mc Café, Qaffine, Harley’s café, Churrolto, Auberry, Compass, Concu, Third Wave Coffee, Karafa, Tom and Nori, Aaromale — created beautiful latte art patterns such as tulips, trees, hearts, birds, etc.
Yes, we know how much you savour your coffee, specially when a heart or an equally endearing pattern billows softly on the surface of your favourite concoction. However, it takes a lot of skill and patience to create these marvels.
A coffee and creativity blend
Image: Shutterstock/Chokniti-Studio.
The two primary stages of the art form are free pouring and etching. In free pouring, the artist creates beautiful patterns while pouring smooth milk into the cup, and in etching, the artist uses tools like a bamboo stick to create artistic frothed designs.
There is also 3D latte art, which has given this form of art a new look. Toothpicks and spoons are frequently used to create tiny 3D designs on the cup’s surface that resemble hedgehogs, kittens, giraffes, rabbits, and grapes. Select a pitcher with a pointed spout if you want to attempt making these lattes at home.
Learn a new craft for that perfect cup of coffee
To introduce new art and designs, baristas have been honing their techniques for preparing coffee and creating latte art for years. As Kalpana from Aaromale who won the first place in the competition, said, “I still can’t believe that I have won the Hyderabad competition. I am from Orrisa and started my journey from Café Coffee Day in 2018. I believe coffee can make anything good. I plan to open my own café in the future.”
So coffee lovers, unleash your imagination and get creative with latte art to get more from your simple cup of Joe…
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