Could I beat the baristas in the world cup of latte art?

Times

27-06-2025

It's all about the contrast. It goes without saying the milk has to be at the right temperature. The froth, naturally, has to be consistently frothy. Then there's the base mix — the milky coffee that is your liquid canvas. You want a uniform brown.
But what matters most, says Ben Lewis, UK Latte Art champion, and Team GB's great hope in the international battle to be the Caravaggio of cappuccino, is delineation. 'You score points for the sharpness between the white and the brown.'
Silliness there might be, but also deadly seriousness. Geneva is this year hosting the World of Coffee 2025 trade show. It is here where the greats of the industry — Ethiopia, Costa Rica, De Longhi — meet, to plan another year of global domination of global caffeination.
There are mug companies that promise 'a new standard for baseline baristas'. There is a water company that promises to 'deliver liquid minerals directly to your machine'. There is, among those running the stalls, more than a whiff of beard oil. There is also, The Times finds, a lot of free coffee — provided one is willing to have extremely earnest conversations about said coffee with the owners of said well-groomed beards.
• How to wow customers with your coffee without scaring them off
And throughout the three days, for some non-caffeinated invigoration, there is the latte art competition.
Each country has sent their best. Switzerland's representative makes a lion, to represent Zurich. China's goes for a tiger. Austria's entrant also opts for a tiger having, she said, recently been to Kenya — her latte-ology being a little stronger than her zoology.
Are cats especially easy to make? Not really, says Lewis, 31, but 'there's a really strong correlation between cat people and baristas'.
The origins of latte art are as foggy as the steam from a scalding americano on a frosty day. It seems, like many great human inventions — calculus, radar, the printing press — to have been invented several times.
In Seattle and Milan, and wherever frothy milk is poured on to espresso coffee, baristas found they could make a heart shape, found they could make other shapes, and found customers were delighted. It is Instagram, though, that turned a niche craft into a global sport. Like the mixologists whose choreographed performances turned cocktail bars into destinations for Gen X, latte artists create the destination café for millennials. Unlike their parents, who were in any case too busy having fun, they can then stick a filter on their phone and brag about it on social media.
It should not be a surprise then that many of the entrants treat coffee with reverence. 'A great latte is a bridge between the barista and the customer,' says Bryan Rajeyva, from New Zealand, as he makes a very competent bear. Eddy Chavez Aranibar presents a demon of stunning complexity, along with the sort of commentary that makes you feel like you need a strong coffee: 'In Bolivia, where the land breathes history … good and evil face each other in an eternal battle.'
Others, meanwhile, take a risky, but perhaps more crowd-pleasing, approach. Bryan Marsha Wijaya, from Indonesia, sings the Jurassic Park theme tune as he works. 'Raargh, judges,' he says, as he finally passes them a completed tyrannosaurus latte.
All creations, though, ultimately have the same fate — the frothy fate of every latte. 'They are made to be destroyed,' says Lewis. 'It's one of the best compliments when you give these drinks to people, and they look at the intricate patterns and say, 'Oh, I don't want to drink it now'.' But they still do.
This year, Lewis's creations at last have a shot at posterity: his Sega hedgehog was honoured with a place in the semi-finals.
It is a validation of what he admits his family found a surprising career choice. He has a psychology degree, and had vowed to give up on coffee when he was 30. When he turned 30, he shifted that deadline to 40. And now?
His job does, after all, have a psychological value. 'It brings a lot of joy to customers.' If that continues, he says, he is happy with a career 'making milky patterns'.
• Don't stint on the coffee itself. You need a good espresso base: the oiliness of the crema is crucial
• Choose full-fat milk: it's easier to work with. If you are vegan, oat milk works, but requires more skill if you want crisp, clean lines
• Froth the milk until the jug is just too hot to comfortably touch
• Bash your jug to remove big bubbles and get consistency
• Pour in the milk, mixing it into the base layer to get a consistent brown. You have your canvas. Now you can make art
• Put the lip of the jug so close it almost touches the latte, and pour. Experiment with moving fast and slow and across the cup