Barista Magazine is your home for the worldwide community of coffee and the people who make it.
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/316287
48 barista magazine San Diego Latte Art Open Champion Saturo Oisi—who shared judging duties over the three days; and myself. It was David's first time judging the competition, and he was impressed with the skill on display. "The level of the average competitor here is higher than in the U.S." he said. "The 64 th seed here might be a top-four" in the U.S. In the bracket format at the Coffee Fest Latte Art Open, the competitors are ranked by reputation, experience, and the examples of their latte art that they submit when registering. The competitors with the highest rankings get the number-one seeds, and they're matched up against the 16 seeds. The bracket is divided in to four quadrants, so in a 64-person field, there are four number-one seeds down through four 16 seeds. As each head-to-head matchup is completed, one competitor is eliminated and one moves on to another round until, finally, the top four are cut to the top two, and then to the champion. It's a fast-moving competition, and because of that, "Everyone can enjoy this competition, not only the com- petitor but the audience," says Ueno. What's more, he took great pride not only in the number of international compet- itors who made the trip to Tokyo to compete, but the way the baristas instantly made friendships and a community. "Normally, when a competitor loses, they leave," he says. "But here, even if they lose they come back because of the relationship between the players. It is so friendly. They don't have any borders!" Even though they'd spent all day competing head-to-head, the baristas created a warm and welcoming community where they were more than happy to share tips and techniques to create even more terrific latte art. • Direct relationship coffees • Research & education • Fresh roast Visit our website cafetaf.gr Taf specializes in artisan roasting and the careful creation of truly unique fl avor profi les. Our experience and love for coffee can be tasted with each fl avorful sip. THE ART OF HANDCRAFTED COFFEE B o o k 4 7 - 9 2 . i n d d 4 8 Book 47-92.indd 48 5 / 1 5 / 1 4 1 0 : 4 1 P M 5/15/14 10:41 PM