London Latte Art Smackdown Series Heat 4!

Sam vs Kuba's lattes.

STORY & PHOTOS BY KATE BEARD
SPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE

The last of the preliminary heats of the London Latte Art Smackdown took place at Kaffeine  this past Tuesday. Despite having a lower audience turnout than the previous weeks, the pressure and the stakes were just as high. There was still £480 on the line, as well as some fine prizes from  sponsors  Coffee Hit  and  Square Mile Coffee Roasters. With only three places left in the final, these baristas had to really strut (er ¦ pour?) their stuff if they wanted a chance at fame, glory, and tons of extra holiday shopping money.

London Latte Art Smackdown

Glenn Watson returned as head judge and was joined by guests Jeremy Challender of Prufrock Coffee and Andrew Tolley of Harris + Hoole. Plenty of new cafes joined the battle this week; we saw entrants from Nude Espresso, Dose Espresso, Curator’s Coffee, Fields Beneath, Lanark, Soho Grind, Alchemy Coffee, Flat Caps Coffee,   Black Box Coffee, and Terrone & Co. Coffee Roasters.

There were also some fine Movember moustaches in attendance, as modelled by ubiquitous coffee blogger/Instagrammer Phil Wain.

London Latte Art Smackdown

After a brief explanation of the rules by Kaffeine’s Peter Dore, the competition set off with a hiss of steam.

London Latte Art Smackdown
Krystian from Dose Espresso.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Vivien from Nude Espresso.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Adrian from Curator’s.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Greg from Lanark.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Three judges judging, two lattes pouring, and a partridge in a pear tree.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Jess from Fields Beneath.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Jiri from Dose Espresso.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Harry from Soho Grind.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Paul from Alchemy.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Bartosz from Dose Espresso.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Alfie from Flat Cap, wearing something besides a flat cap.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Ben from Black Box.
London Latte Art Smackdown
Leo from Terrone.

It was a swift competition this week ”perhaps everyone was eager to find out the final line-up for Tuesday. This time Alfie from Flat Cap, Paul from Alchemy, and Krystian from Dose Espresso triumphed with tulips, reigned with rosettas, and held their own with hearts.

London Latte Art Smackdown
Alfie, Paul, and Krystian battled in the finals yesterday at Square Mile. Check back later this week to find out who won!

The final is set to kick off this week  at Square Mile’s roastery in East London. Tune in later to find out who rose to the top, like microfoam on delicately poured latte ¦

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
headshot-1Kate Beard
 is a photographer, writer, travel aficionado, sometimes barista, and coffee obsessive. Born and raised in the South, she absconded to Europe in 2009 to travel and pursue higher education. She’s always seeking out the perfect photo, a good story, a tasty cup of coffee, or a new place to explore “ whether at home or abroad. Kate is at her happiest when she can combine all these things at once. She and her two fat guinea pigs, Rosalind and Celia, currently call London home. See more of Kate’s work at  www.asouthernbellein.com  Twitter/Instagram @SBinLondon

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