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more than my expectations," he says. For the 64 available slots for competitors, hundreds of appli- cations poured in from across Asia. When the field was set, rep- resentatives from Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan showed up ready to try for the first Tokyo title, and the awards and accolades that went with it, including a round-trip airfare to the U.S.A. to compete in a state- side Latte Art Open. "Everyone wants to be a second Hiroshi," says Ueno, referring to Hiroshi Sawada, a Japanese barista who competed multiple times at the Coffee Fest competitions in the U.S. before winning the title in Seattle in 2008. "Hiroshi is so famous and couldn't get that success without winning," Ueno says. Indeed, Hiroshi used his successful career as a latte art champion to help open Streamer Coffee in 2010. His company has grown into a celebrat- ed and popular roaster with a handful of café locations in Tokyo. Hiroshi also designs footwear and fashion for working baristas and is in demand as a trainer worldwide as well as a spokesperson and coffee celebrity in Japan. Trying to recreate the Coffee Fest atmosphere for the compe- tition, regular event emcee, and two-time United States Barista Champion, Heather Perry, who actually competed at that 2007 WBC in the Big Sight and finished second, traveled to Tokyo for the competition, too, and reprised her role behind the micro- phone for the entire competition. As the emcee, Heather spoke about the judging criteria, and the challenges of the format for the competitors, and otherwise kept the large crowd entertained throughout the event. One of the primary differences Heather said she noticed between the Tokyo event and the numerous Coffee Fest latte art contests in America were the variations in designs submitted by the competi- tors. In the U.S. version, she says, she sees a lot of the competitors using the same pours—typically rosettas and tulips—but in the Tokyo competition, many baristas went for more original, not to mention challenging, patterns like swans, inverted multifaceted designs, and more. Pours in the Coffee Fest Latte Art Open format are judged based on five criteria: aesthetic beauty and balance, definition, color infu- sion, degree of difficulty and creativity, and speed. Competitors have three minutes to submit a pour, and whichever competitor puts his or her drink up first gets the speed point. The winner is the competitor who receives three out of five points from at least two of the judges. Going for a higher degree of difficulty or creativity on a pour may pay off and snag competitors a coveted point, but if they don't execute the pour well, they're at risk of losing the point. The format requires not only skill on the barista's part but also some gamesmanship and strategic thinking. Sometimes, for example, a barista will have a pour ready but not submit it, waiting to see what her or his competitor is doing first to make sure the original pour is strong enough to potentially win. The three-person judging panel in Tokyo consisted of David Heilbrunn; two Japanese baristas—including 2011 Coffee Fest The bustling metropolis is a constant swirl of activity and lights seen at night from Ariake. 46 barista magazine B o o k 1 - 4 6 . i n d d 4 6 Book 1-46.indd 46 5 / 1 5 / 1 4 1 0 : 3 8 P M 5/15/14 10:38 PM