Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
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27 www.baristamagazine.com Championship in Portland. "I pick out a coffee that closely resembles the coffee used in compe- tition, put three minutes on the clock, and pour away. I fi nd that putting yourself in competition mode gives a higher sense of comfort when actually competing. Plus, your pours are never the highest quality on stage as [they are] when you're in the comfort of the shop that you work at." Steven, who works as a process engineer for S&D; Coffee and Tea, understands what motivates competitors to come back again and again to the Coffee Fest Latte Art Championship stage. "I love it for the nerves you go through during competition," he says. "Every time I've competed, I feel like I've become that much better of a working barista afterwards. The competition really does test effective, fast, consistent latte art skills… Time and time again, the most simple yet effective pours win against three million tulips or 12-headed swans. Also, there's no practice time. [Three-time Coffee Fest Latte Art Championship winner Christopher] Nicely [Abel Alameda] once told me that the best baristas/latte artists can walk up to a foreign espresso machine with coffee or milk they've never used, and perform. This competition tests that ability." Truly, the Coffee Fest Latte Art Championships have a life all their own that exists entirely separately from the more structured and formal national competitions, and the World Latte Art Championship into which they culminate. There is a joy about Coffee Fest Latte Art Champi- onships, a heart and soul and sense of belonging to a larger community that doesn't exist on any other competition platform in specialty coffee. It shows there's room for any and all types of coffee contests, and you just never know when you're going to be the one coming out on top. —Sarah Allen The Coff ee Fest La e Art Championship event, which takes place at all three Coff ee Fests held per year in the United States, is always one of the most exciting places to be at the conference, and the contest at Coff ee Fest Portland was no exception. Opposite page: Steven Lim learns he's won fi rst place, and second-place fi nisher, Bethany Hargrove, congratulates him. This page; Steven's fi nal pour sits to the le of Bethany's. The Coff ee Fest La e Art Championships are sponsored by Nuova Simonelli, Dillanos Coff ee Roasters, Barista Magazine, Ghirardelli Chocolates, and Barista Exchange.