I’m a huge fan of latte art. It’s something that I would love to learn how to do, but I’ll probably never be able to do it as well as the baristas that are competing in the Dean & DeLuca latte art competition on Wednesday, February 24th.
The free-pour latte art competition will begin at 3pm at Dean & DeLuca’s New York Times Café (620 Eighth Ave. at 40th) and will pit the best baristas from Dean & DeLuca’s locations across the U.S. against one another. Each competitor will have the opportunity to pull a shot of espresso and manipulate a pitcher of steamed milk with quick flicks of the wrist to top a latte with a beautiful design. No toothpicks or other etching tools will be allowed. A panel of judges, including Dean & DeLuca CEO Mark Daley; Rich Futrell, Sales & Customer Relations Manager for Counter Culture Coffee; Rachel Wharton, Deputy Editor of Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn; and coffee blogger (ShotZombies.com) Mike White, will score each barista’s art. The winner of the competition will receive a $750 cash prize, with 2nd place receiving $500, and 3rd place $250.
“We partnered with Counter Culture Coffee because we wanted to place a greater emphasis on barista education and the quality of coffee served,” said Daley. “Working with Counter Culture has helped solidify our place in the artisan coffee arena. The latte art Dean & DeLuca baristas are pouring reflects the craftsmanship they put into every espresso drink and the pride they have in the results.”
Dean & DeLuca teamed up with Counter Culture Coffee in early 2009 to bring Dean & DeLuca customers fresh, seasonal artisan coffees and expertly handcrafted espresso drinks. Counter Culture partners directly with coffee producers at origin to import the most authentic, delicious coffees. Now, Counter Culture sources and hand-roasts all of Dean & DeLuca’s private label coffees. Also, all Dean & DeLuca baristas are trained by Counter Culture’s industry-leading staff and are encouraged to complete Counter Culture’s Barista Certification. Through Counter Culture’s coffee education courses, Dean & DeLuca baristas develop their pallets as well as deeper understandings of coffee’s origins, espresso preparation, milk texturing, and pouring techniques.
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Photo by Five Senses Coffee.
{ 4 comments }
that seems like a fun skill to have, even though, i prefer to take photos of the Latte Art , then drink it lol
I hate to drink the, it’s artwork, but of course I can’t let it go to waste either.
It’s amazing the true artistic talent that is involved in many of the “Culinary Arts.”
I’ll see photos of foods that don’t sound special if you just read a description but when you see it displayed as a real piece of art it looks fantastic, almost too good to eat. But of course you know it’s going to taste great. I’m guessing the visual appeal must somehow affect the other senses and make people appreciate the taste more.
I’m not aware of any coffee houses in my town that do artwork like that.
.-= Aaron´s last blog ..Freaky Friday: Site-Enhancement Oil- Too much of a Terrible thing =-.
I totally agree. Plus, I think any place that has art like this pays more attention to the quality of their coffee. The two kind of go hand in hand.
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