U.S. Competition Dates Just Announced

The top six baristas in the 2013 World Latte Art Championship, which took place in Nice, France. Maybe there will be a U.S. representative in the finals of the 2014 World Latte Art Championship!

Exciting things going on in the United States coffee community!

¢ THE BIG WESTERN

Baristas in the Western and Northwest regions will compete at the Big Western in Los Angeles, Calif., February 21 “23. Details on the exact location to come. Curtis to generously host the event, which will also include the Western and Northwest Brewers Cup competitions.

¢ THE BIG EASTERN

Baristas in the Northeast and Southeast regions will compete at the Big Eastern January 17 “19 in Durham, North Carolina. Competition will take place at the Cotton Room, 807 East Main Street. Counter Culture and Dallis Bros. will generously sponsor the event, which will also include the Northeast and Southeast Brewers Cup competitions.

¢ THE FIRST U.S. LATTE ART CHAMPIONSHIP

After a successful U.S. Latte Art Exhibition ”read: trial run ”at the SCAA Boston show in 2013, it has just been announced that the United States will host its first ever Latte Art Championship during the SCAA show in Seattle in April of 2014. The winner will travel to Melbourne, Australia to represent the United States at the World Latte Championship in May of 2014.

The top six baristas in the 2013 World Latte Art Championship, which took place in Nice, France. Maybe there will be a U.S. representative in the finals of the 2014 World Latte Art Championship!
The top six baristas in the 2013 World Latte Art Championship, which took place in Nice, France. Maybe there will be a U.S. representative in the finals of the 2014 World Latte Art Championship!

Dalla Corte‘s incredible support and vision to get the event up and running in the U.S. Thank you a million times over, Dalla Corte. The U.S. Latte Art Championship will take place during the SCAA Conference in Seattle in April 2014. Special thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Cafe Imports, Curtis, and again, Dalla Corte, for making this event possible.The U.S. Latte Art Championship will bring together artistic baristas from across the country to create championship quality lattes for 2 visual judges, 1 head judge, and 1 technical judge. In Round 1 competitors will make 2 free pour lattes and 2 designer lattes on stage for their judges in a 6 minute presentation as well as creating a unique and artistic design off stage in the Art Bar portion of this round. Free pouring, etching, and use of dyes on the surface of the latte are allowed in the Art Bar, which allows for an opportunity for competitors to express their creativity through patterns.

The 6 top competitors from Round 1 will move on to finals where they will make 2 macchiatos, 2 free pour lattes, and 2 designer lattes for judges in an 8 minute performance.   In both rounds, competitors are judged on their foam quality, difficulty of design, ability to reproduce their design, and creativity.   U.S. Latte Art registration will open in conjunction with registration for the 2014 SCAA Event on November 15, 2013 at www.scaaevent.org.

About Sarah 932 Articles
Sarah Allen (she/her) is co-founder and editor of Barista Magazine, the international trade magazine for coffee professionals. A passionate advocate for baristas, quality, and the coffee community, Sarah has traveled widely to research stories, interact with readers, and present on a variety of topics affecting specialty coffee. She also loves animals, swimming, ice cream, and living in Portland, Oregon.