The proliferation of specialty coffee shops, both in large cities and small towns, shows that coffee is experiencing a golden age. In general terms, a better quality coffee is drunk and, judging by the number of specialized establishments opened in recent times, the public is willing to pay a little more for a better product than the traditional roasted coffees that have been in vogue. for a long time.
Specialty coffee is considered to be coffee that does not present defects and is characterized by its high quality and traceability throughout the process. According to the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), a non-profit organization that represents the sector, for a coffee to be specialty it must have a cup score of more than 80 points out of 100 in a guided cupping conducted by a certified cupper. In fact, this organization is the only one in the world that offers regulated barista courses, professionals specialized in coffee making.
This boom in specialty coffee has brought with it the rise of other related sectors, starting with coffee makers, filters and other utensils and continuing with quality artisan pastries, the perfect complement to this drink. We have also seen how the menus of new establishments dedicated to specialty coffee have expanded with new proposals until now unknown to the general public. Cappucinos, Americanos, flat whites or double espressos have been added to the classic Cortado, espresso or coffee with milk, and vegetable drinks have become popular as a substitute for milk.
Latte Art is also now experiencing a golden age thanks to the boom in specialty coffee shops, despite the fact that it is an art that has been practiced regularly in the world since the 80s. Nowadays, in practically any establishment the barista gives us a little drawing made with milk, whether it is a simple heart, a rosette, a spike or even complex figures that represent an exhibition of pulse and creativity.
Although the technique of drawing on milk probably dates back a long time, the first to take it seriously was a barista from Verona named Piero Merlo, who was also the teacher of barista Luigi Lupi. Thanks to the latter, Latte Art spread first through Italy and little by little throughout the rest of Europe, while in the United States it was David Schomer who was in charge of making known a discipline that today is the subject of competitions both at the national and international.
The last of them took place recently at the Forum Coffee Festival, in Barcelona, the fair dedicated to the world of coffee promoted by the Coffee Cultural Forum, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote, disseminate and encourage the consumption of coffee from quality. Within the framework of this meeting, the National Barista Pro Championship took place, which pitted sixteen participants in a series of eliminatory tests with the aim of choosing the best barista in Spain. Among the different eliminatory tests (tasting, service, etc.), without a doubt the most acclaimed by the public was Latte Art, which allowed them to see in action the best professionals in the country doing authentic tricks with a simple stainless steel jug. .
The coordinator of the judging team was Rubén Sanz, trainer of the Coffee Cultural Forum, Authorized Trainer by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and Coffee Ambassador of Grupo Evoca. The specialist explains that the Latte Art test is one of the most stressful for baristas, “since it requires not only a good pulse and good management of stage fright, but also great precision in the technique to achieve the texture. perfect for both milk and coffee.” To work the milk well, “it has to be heated with steam, as if it were being beaten, until a texture without bubbles is achieved thanks to the balance between the proportions of fat, protein and lactose,” explains Sanz, who insists on the importance to control the temperature very well: "If the milk is very hot it becomes destructured, since the fats and sugars are burned and the protein is destroyed, so the result will end up being disastrous both in texture and on an organoleptic level." Although you can work with any milk, even vegetable drinks, for optimal results it is best to use whole, fresh milk. Sanz reminds that it must always be cold: “For correct cooking of the milk, the ideal is to start from a temperature of about 4ºC and increase to 70ºC. If this figure is exceeded, fats and sugars begin to be burned and the creamy texture is lost.”
But not only milk matters when it comes to creating a good Latte Art job. You cannot forget the base, which is espresso coffee. It is explained by Javier Carrión, winner of the Best Barista contest in the 2016 Spanish Championship, as well as responsible for Quality Control and trainer of the company D·Origen Coffee Roasters, roasters and distributors of specialty coffees with two of their own establishments in Alicante and ready to open in Barcelona: “The base always has to be a good espresso: we won't be able to draw well if we don't have a good canvas,” explains Carrión. Sanz recommends, in this sense, “working with specific, well-roasted coffees,” although in competitions there is no choice: all participants have the same coffee.
As for milk, for Carrión technique is essential, since sometimes the perfection of the drawing depends on a simple movement of the wrist. "You need an elastic cream that allows you to draw without bubbles, so it is important to know how to use the sprayer, to be very clear about how to place it to achieve the perfect texture." Then factors such as pulse and composure come into play, something that is not always achieved in national and international competitions despite the many hours of practice that any barista specialized in Latte Art has behind them. “I don't usually get nervous in competitions, but even so in almost all of them my pulse has trembled. This can be the downfall, because a lot of precision is required for a good result,” explains the 2016 Spanish champion.
For his part, Sanz points out that, indeed, the Latte Art test is probably “the most complicated test of any competition” and remembers that in Spain the level is high. Miguel Lamora, now at the head of Atmans Coffee, was second in the world championship several years ago, while other baristas such as Héctor Hernández, Spanish champion up to five times, enjoy great international prestige. Although Italians have always been acclaimed in the matter, Sanz remembers that in international competitions it is the Asians who win the day. “They are capable of making authentic works of art,” he explains.
The usual technique both in cafeterias and in professional competitions is free pour (drawing with the jug), but there are two other types of Latte Art. “On the one hand, etching, in which you draw on the espresso with a stick or another tool, and on the other the so-called coffee painting, which allows the use of vegetable dyes and gives rise to authentic virguerías,” continues Sanz.
The most common technique is free pour and some of the best-known figures are the heart, the spike, the swan (which can also be with two wings) or the rosetta, although in competitions the curl is usually curled until it gives rise to figures very complex. The inverted rosetta with up to fifteen tulips is a good example of the complexity that this discipline acquires, which also requires meticulous work by the team of judges when evaluating the works. “If there are fifteen tulips, they are fifteen and the judges have to count them. It can't be fourteen or sixteen. The line is also valued, which translates into the contrast between the figure drawn with milk and the color of coffee, as well as symmetry: that the figure is proportionate in the cup,” explains Sanz.
In the last Spanish Barista Pro Championship, participants had six minutes to prepare three figures chosen at random with a roulette wheel just before the test. Six golden minutes in which to combine skill, pulse, technique and serenity to be able to execute the figures before the eyes of the judges, the cameras and the audience. “It is true that the participants bring with them many hours of training to reach this level, but it is also true that to be good at Latte Art requires an innate ability that unfortunately not everyone has,” concludes Sanz.
