When it comes to latte art, barista Ben Morrow from Melbourne café St Ali, is a champion. Winner of the first Breville Latte Art Smackdown held at this year’s Aroma Festival in The Rocks, Sydney, Ben’s skills outclassed some of Australia’s finest latte artists and saw him take home the trophy.
“The competition was absolutely fantastic, I really enjoyed myself. The turnout was probably one of the biggest I've seen for any latte art smackdown. Throughout each round the room built up from lively to entirely full and the energy was really good. People were cheering and clapping when patterns like swans and tulips came up on the competition pattern wheel.
“The standard of entries for the general public’s latte art competition, made using the Oracle, was surprisingly high. There were a few swans in there as well as tulips and rosetta’s - all of which are quite difficult to nail.
“When I was judging, I was looking for clarity, definition and creativity. It's really important to have good contrast between the milk texture and crema, it makes the coffee look and taste more delicious - as they say, you eat with your eyes.
“The winning pour had good contrast and difficulty so it really stood out amongst the others. I remember thinking 'wow, this guy did this at home?!' and felt like it was well deserved.
“Milk texture is the first and foremost important part of any good latte art. Aim for milk that is silky/shinny/creamy - whatever you want to call it - without any bubbles and not foamy like cappuccino’s from the 90's. From there all you need is a bag of specialty coffee and you're on your way.
“The Oracle - I've got to say - was probably the most exciting thing I saw at Aroma. I've never seen a machine that will dose and tamp for you with an adjustable grind knob. After I tweaked it with the first one the espresso was excellent, in fact, it put a lot of the coffee I was drinking to the test.
“I even tested the automatic function of the steam wand to see if you could get properly textured milk - it was on point. Latte art wasn't a problem at all, seriously impressive.”