This Sunday 26 July will be another exciting one for baristas and Sydneysiders alike, as the The Rocks hosts the stage for the second Breville Latte Art Smackdown part of the Aroma Festival 2015.
Sixteen professional baristas from across Australia will go head to head in this knockout-style latte art competition as they compete for the $3,000 cash prize pool. Each round will be judged by Australia’s coffee world elite – Caleb Cha, the 2015 World Latte Art Champion and Franki Shi, two times NSW Latte Art Champion.
Competitors will compete using the Breville Oracle® (BES980) – the world’s first automatic manual espresso machine. The Smackdown wheel will be spun ahead of each challenge to select a latte art design. Each competitor will then be judged on their ability to replicate the design featured on the wheel in front of a cheering crowd.
According to last year’s Smackdown winner, Ben Morrow from Melbourne café St Ali, 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.”
Phil McKnight, Breville’s coffee guru and MC for the Smackdown, says the Smackdown is a fun way for coffee professionals to experience the award-winning Oracle espresso machine. “It’s also an opportunity for aspiring home baristas to be inspired to practice their latte art. They can watch the competition on a big screen, then replicate the techniques used by the competitors on their own machines.”
Visitors to The Rocks Aroma Festival will be able to roadtest the Oracle® and receive mini latte art tutorials at the Breville stand in the Cleland Bond Store opposite the main stage. Photos of all latte art will be taken and shared on Instagram (#artoforacle). The best latte art design created on the day will win a Breville Oracle®1.
The Breville Latte Art Smackdown will be at The Rocks Square, Playfair Street, The Rocks from 11am to 2pm.
Breville enquiries: 1300 139 798 or
www.breville.com.au
by Arrnott Olssen
Editor Rogue Homme
