Coffeelab Contest 2017
Last month, Dhan Tamang and his team from Coffeelab UK took over their Southampton store to bring the Coffeelab Contest to life. It was a fun filled evening where friendly competition showcased high quality latte art from some fantastic coffee experts. The first Coffeelab Contest all began with a simple request on Instagram from Dhan back in May; show your favourite pour. The pictures came flooding in and so began the quest to become the Coffeelab Champion. The top 24 where chosen and the competitors came from all over the UK with some even venturing down from Cardiff! Judges were - 5 time UK latte artist, Dhan Tamang, Coffeelab latter art winner Jas and event organiser (and Coffeelab store manager) Ben.
Kicking off round 1, competitors practiced their free pours in the Loveramics latte cups, using The Roasting Party coffee. After some close-call knockout rounds, the top 4 were revealed - Joe (@coffee_by_joe), Evan (@evan_latteart), Radu (@radu_maricec) and James (@coffeeguy42).
This is where the competition kicked up a notch, with competitors going best of three. The twist was that each guy got to choose a pour that the other had to copy! Joe and James went up first, fighting for 3rd place. Piccolo glasses were chosen and Joe took 3rd. Evan and Radu poured some crazy vortex tulips and an intricate phoenix but to find the winner a stack off was needed. Between two great pours Radu took the win!
The top 3 took home a beautiful Loveramics teapot and cup set and some Roasting Party goodies. Radu got his hands on an impressive bottle of Mr Blacks coffee liquor. Event organiser’s Ben Lewis and Alys Weeks were amazed by the high standard of latte art but also the good laugh they had along the way-
‘It was amazing to finally meet the baristas who have been showing off their skills on Instagram, it’s crazy some of the stuff these guys are pouring’. – Dhan Tamang
Big thank you to all who competed and for a great night. Special thank you to Loveramics, The Roasting Party and Mr Blacks for providing some truly fantastic prizes. Bring on the next Coffeelab Contest!
Click the pic below to launch the full album.
With thanks to Alys Weeks, Coffee Lab UK for the write up & Oscar Ferguson, at Sonderfilms for the awesome pics!