This will take place between 28th June to 2nd July 2023.
]]>This will take place between 28th June to 2nd July 2023. During this time we cannot process any orders or returns. If you order during this time, please be aware that there will be a delay in getting your items delivered to you.
You can still place orders, without a problem but they will be processed and despatched the following week, commencing Monday 3rd July.
The deadline for placing orders without a delay is 10 am on Wednesday 28th June.
Get in touch with our team at info@loveramics.co.uk if you have any questions.
Loveramics UK and Brewed by Hand was able to chat with Ted Longden, from WatchHouse, and learn more about his career in coffee, extensive training for the competition, and final routine. Continue reading to learn the technical details of his routine, as well as his equipment chosen to prepare and serve.
Where to start? I guess I should say that I’ve been in coffee for around 5 years, which being 20 years old, is quite a chunk of my life! After bouncing around cafes and roasteries, in October ’21 I joined WatchHouse, in the Tower Bridge store. This was to focus more on the barista role, with the goal of becoming a more well-rounded barista; competition seemed a catalyst to this.
Semi-finals prep was intense... long days behind the bar followed by evenings in the lab. I shared my lab time with my coach Ryan and right-hand-man Josh, spending our time roasting coffees, brewing coffees, and refining the performance. The coffees we ended up choosing were from Finca Mikava, a farm owned by Paul Doyle in Colombia. WatchHouse had bought both Paul’s Gesha and his Sudan Rume. I used his previous harvest of Gesha in the heats and fell in love with its distinctive fruit character. The new lot felt like a more refined version – more floral and citrus driven. Although the Gesha was phenomenal, I kept coming back to the Sudan Rume – I hadn’t tasted anything like it... think big, heavy body, sugary sweet and herbal. Ryan drew comparisons to the Eugenoides that performed so well at the World Championships last year.
I started blending the two – and although 95% of these experiments didn’t work, the other 5% showed real promise. The Gesha brought all the acidity, florality, and fruit character, with a little bit of Sudan Rume (10% - 30% of the blend) bringing its distinct sweetness. We used this 70/30 (Geshe/Sudan Rume) blend for espressos and took the Sudan Rume up to a 40/60 blend for the milk course, as we found it cut through milk slightly better.
We served the espressos in the Loveramics Egg Potters Espresso Cups (granite colour) – these were really great. Ergonomic to move around quickly behind the machine, comfortable to drink out of, and aesthetically very pleasing.
The milk drinks, we served in the Loveramics Dale Harris Espresso Tumblers. These are my favourite cups for short milk drinks. Easy to pour simple, quick latte art in as the competition doesn’t reward complex pours enough to be worth their time. They held a single espresso and 45-65g of milk. On the day we chose around 52g of milk, as this is where we found the most harmonious balance.
Scale wise – the Felicitas were the workhorses and unsung heroes. I’m quite fussy with my scales; and the Felicitas seemed to fit every demand I had. They were compact and had a very small footprint behind the bar – but didn’t compromise any functionality. I weighed my doses in small dosing cups, which sat on top of the Felicita Incline scales – these read fast and gave me consistently accurate measurements. They didn’t slip around, and I could clearly read everything with a good screen.
I weighed my espressos on the Felicita Arc scales. These are small and lightweight – easy to pick up and move one handed which is crucial as so often we are multitasking behind the bar. They are quick to tare and to react, and the display is as clear as can be. I was actually very happy with the trust I had in these scales – I knew if I charged them up, they would perform on the day.
Loveramics Egg Potters Espresso Cup (Granite) 80ml
]]>Continue reading to hear about Dhan’s incredible past 16 years in the coffee industry, and how he continues innovate and grow his career.
How did you start in coffee?
I started coffee in 2006. I’m originally from Nepal, and I really wanted to get working in something, didn’t have to be a café. I got a chance to go to Kuwait on a two-year contract and as a Nepalese youngster, unless you go to boarding school or private school, you just take whatever’s in front of you. I got a job as a barista in Kuwait and worked there for two years. They wanted to have a “coffee maker”, I remember them telling me. I basically sold for the first time ever, coffee made from coffee bean – lattes, cappuccino, americano– which was interesting.
In Kuwait in 2007, I was the best barista in the year within the company, even though it was only my second year. These things encouraged me to do coffee and I realised there are people that appreciate every morning when you make coffee. People love it and see it as a family. So, I went back to Nepal and did the same in the coffee. I started teaching people, sharing my coffee experience and knowledge.
Then in 2010, I came here to the UK, to a different world. I used to work in London, Gail’s Bakery. Then one year I became head barista, so I moved to Winchester, became a head barista and manager. I opened my own business in March 2016, Coffee Lab. It started off as a really small coffee shop.
When I moved to Winchester in 2011, I didn’t work in specialty coffee. In 2013, when I competed in my first UK Latte Art Championship, I was just a little guy with some jugs going in there to compete, and I won. Since that first competition, I never looked back.
The competition is not real. It doesn’t make you who you are. It’s not to disrespect the title, I love it, I’m glad and thankful I won. But I’m not just Dhan Tamang who won 6x title UK Latte Art Championship, what I love is using those titles to share my knowledge and experience. Even during the Barista Championship semifinal, Dan Fellow, who was the MC, asked me “why are you competing in this competition? You have won so many awards.” I said, “Well, I have been working in the coffee industry for 16 years, and to compete in this competition from this stage, I am sharing 16 years of experience”. That means they don’t have to wait 16 years to learn to become Dhan Tamang. They can see a summary of 16 years in 15 minutes. That is what I always want to do, share what I know about coffee, about the industry. It’s an experience you share to others.
That’s why I published my book “Coffee Art”.
Tell us more about your book. How did it come about?
It was one of my dreams, and I am always looking for how I can share what I know with other people. I am not shy to share in front of hundreds of people, pouring latte art. The more people, the more cameras. I love it. People love it. I’m showing and sharing something.
So, I thought what’s the best way to share? It’s a book, apart from social media. At least at that time I didn’t have a lot of followers. I believed I had the right content, because there are not many books available dedicated to latte art in the world of coffee. Now we have six different languages!
The next thing was how can I do more? In terms of business, the more I opened the shop, the more opportunity I was given–to people, to market, to the industry. There was at some point we had 15 shops. It was crazy. This is the journey. Then this year, I competed in the Barista Championship.
What’s your routine and what you wanted to get out of the competition?
Barista Championship was something new for me because I always competed in Latte Art Championship. Latte Art versus Barista championship is completely two different things. Latte art involved more individual performance, skill. You need a lot of artistry, technique as well, but it’s more about the person.
I wanted to compete in Barista championship because as a barista you never stop learning. I’ve been a barista for the last 16 years, and I thought “I want to learn”. What I believe, when competing, it doesn’t matter where you come, like first, second, third, fourth, fifth–it doesn’t matter. You learn in the preparation. That’s where you become a better barista than before. That’s why I decided to compete in barista championship.
What’s next for you?
I have a few projects coming up, but it is very early. I am pulling together all these connections, and my network. As a barista, it’s not just you working behind the bar all day. It’s a door, a window to open the opportunity in coffee.
My next thing is to just keep pouring latte art.
Shop Dhan Tamang's UK Barista Championship Kit
Loveramics Tumbler Espresso Cup (Celadon Green) 80ml
Does the coffee itself make a difference on the score sheet? Does the score sheet reward better coffee?
Yes, and I’ll tell you what– the better coffee has a bigger window. Let’s say my coffee was the, I put in 19.5 grams and around 28 to 30 seconds, with 36 grams out. To get the best out of it, it has to hit that point. But if your coffee is the top of the game, in my opinion, you don’t have to hit 28 or 29 seconds. You may hit 25 seconds, but what you’re trying to say is there. That’s called window. That window is bigger for the really high quality of coffee.
My idea was how to get the best out of very average coffee. First round, I got very lucky and got to go to the second round, then semifinal. For semifinals, I prepared even more. The coffee I used was from Colombia and was a hybrid of Caturra and Timor called Castillo. Timor is one of varieties of Robusta. It wasn’t from a specific place or Geisha or anything. I thought that was a great coffee and when I used that, I was probably the first barista in that Barista Championship semifinal using those calibers of coffee. I knew it was a risk. I could buy £200 a kilo, but no I wanted to change it.
The idea of what I wanted to achieve was different. My concept of wanting to reconnect barista and consumer doesn’t give you any points.
I didn’t compete to set the record or be number one or number two. We put the same effort into the competition, personally if I come in last, obviously I’ll be disappointed in the rank but am I a better barista than I was one month ago? Yes, obviously. The title to me doesn’t change who you are. I always wanted to change something and to add value to the industry rather than just myself. Hopefully my routine will go to the masses and people will see, “Oh that is actually good content” and that my coffee is actually available. On my judging table I put a QR code that you can scan to buy the coffee.
It has to have a reason. Not just the dreaming and thinking about titles and titles. Am I adding something to the industry? Am I doing something to change the industry? Rather than just me being the best. Anyone can be the best. If you want to be the best, you can win the competition. If you work really hard for two years, learn the best coffee, get everything right, take the box, you win that. Does it really matter to you? Is it going to change your life? That is the main thing to me. If you want to be champion, you have to add the value. There are a lot of people who look up to you. When you think about the barista, it’s not just someone who works in a coffee shop. You can be more than that. You can do anything.
What equipment do you use? What's your set up?
I used Loveramics Tumbler because it has two different textures and the feeling when you hold it. I also used the Felicita scale, the Parallel. I am always a big fan of those scales. I used only that scale because I had an ONA Stem Stand. Also, the Loveramics spoon and wooden tray. Those are the things I used: the tumbler, scales, tray, and spoon.
In terms of the scale, I really like the design. This is the second one Felicita produced. I like this model more. The display is bigger and brighter, and you can remove the top. It looks higher quality, and it matters to be able to remove the plate since coffee can be messy and it’s easy to clean. This is what you need in any equipment: easy to clean, easy to use.
What is your favorite Loveramics cup of all time: Egg or Tumbler?
My favourite cup is Egg. Favorite colour is Teal.
One of the biggest things with Loveramics is quality. It’s very luxury, high-end, and good for cafés. They do not scratch; it will not scratch. Even in Coffee Lab, we have been using Loveramics since 2016, day one, and 5 years later they still look good. These are good cups.
Why did you use the Tumbler in competition instead of the Egg?
To me, you don’t drink coffee just because of the quality of coffee. You drink coffee because it’s an experience. You want to have it. It’s not just like “Oh, I love this coffee” or “Oh, I always wanted to go to this place”. It’s about the whole experience. That tumbler, there is two different textures on the outside when you touch it. I love that. Number two is the colour. I chose a very subtle colour, like a light sky blue. Let’s say you have a bright red or bright yellow versus that sky blue colour, I find when you drink the same coffee from that kind of cup, the mindset is different. That’s what I find!
Shop Dhan Tamang's UK Barista Championship Kit
Loveramics Tumbler Espresso Cup (Celadon Green) 80ml
In a soothing space filled with stunning blooms, delicious bakes and the aroma of fresh coffee; Little Perth offers visitors the chance to sip a brew whilst watching floral designers creating bouquets nearby. Here you can choose your stems, choose your coffee and immerse yourself in the sensory surroundings. At the same time a small team of floral designers will be using your choices to create a stunning arrangement. It’s worth staying and waiting while the process is carried out, not least because the coffee here is so good too!
We caught up with owner Rohanna to find out how Loveramics fit into Little Perth’s clear stylistic vision and how she prefers her coffee.
Tell us about your café. What's the inspiration behind it and how would you describe it?
Little Perth is a floral design studio & speciality coffee shop near the beautiful beaches of Southbourne, Dorset. Our vision is to re-imagine the floral buying experience and redeem it from the awkward and uninspiring experience it has generally become – with amazing coffee, food and service right at the heart of what we do! Customers can sit back and enjoy a range of coffees from North Star Coffee Roasters along with an ever-changing array of guests, all whilst watching our floral designers work their magic!
What prompted you to open your business?
We previously ran Quarters Coffee in Newport, South Wales but have wanted for a long time to bring to fruition our idea of pairing coffee and flowers – our two main passions! The idea was birthed years back whilst returning home to Perth, Western Australia to see family, and we’ve been slowly waiting for the right place at the right time. The pandemic gave us the opportunity to explore the idea further, and we were delighted when we found our gorgeous shop in Southbourne, right round the corner from Rohanna’s twin sister!
We adore coffee, and flowers have been a big part of our life for many years. We’ve always lamented how the floral retail experience in the UK is often intimidating, awkward, and nowhere near as inspiring as it should be for something so beautiful! In a small way we’re wanting to re-inspire people to fill their homes with flowers, and to re-discover the magic of choosing stems and seeing them designed by a floral designer and shaped into something unique and beautiful. Our store is a sensory experience with so much colour and so many wonderful aromas. We’ve enjoyed creating a retail experience like no other!
What’s the most unexpected perk of running your business?
We’ve always loved making peoples’ days by serving them delicious coffees and cakes, but hearing the stories behind where every bouquet is going has been so inspiring. Every day we get to play a small part in special occasions, anniversaries, proposals, funerals, and those ‘just because’ moments! It really is a privilege!
How do you choose your suppliers?
Every supplier is carefully chosen with product-quality and supply-chain sustainability at heart. From our coffee supplier, to the flower farms we work with, we’re just as interested in the people involved at every step of the process as we are the final product that we serve in store.
What's your customers' favourite item?
On the coffee/food side our Brunch Flights are hugely popular – any two mini brunch items and a coffee for a tenner. Why choose one brekkie when you could have two?! On the floral side we offer one design every week – our ‘Florist’s Choice’ bouquet. Our regulars love coming back each week for a fresh design and seeing how the stems and colours change seasonally.
Tell us about how Loveramics fits into your business: And what made you choose your particular colour and shape(s)?
We fell in love with the Rose-coloured cups and saucers in the Egg range as soon as we saw them. They match the limewashed colour scheme in our store perfectly and have become synonymous with our brand in the local area. They’re also great quality (zero breakages in a year!) and the sizes suit our drinks menu perfectly. We wouldn’t choose anything else!
Quick fire Qs:
Drinks:
Coffee or tea? COFFEE
Milk or no milk? NO MILK
Cup or mug? CUP
Rich and complex or bright and fruity? BRIGHT & FRUITY
Style:
Vintage or modern? MODERN
Contrasting colours or complementary tones? COMPLEMENTARY TONES
Maximalist or minimalist? MINIMALIST
Brewed by Hand had the joy of chatting with Dalal and learning more about how she began her journey in latte art and hearing her tips for latte art!
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
My name is Dalal and currently I am a PhD student in computer science
How did your interest in coffee begin? What were your motivators and how did you learn latte art?
Coffee has been always my favourite beverage, but I have always enjoyed black coffee more than any milk-based coffee. Since I started my PhD in 2019, I started drinking more coffee while studying especially when I study at home, which led me to want to choose good quality coffee beans to brew at home using my Moka pot.
I was interested to make better coffee at home, so I joined barista classes to learn more about coffee and brewing methods. As latte art is always part of the class, I found myself interested in milk steaming and how it would taste good if it was well steamed and mixed with good, extracted espresso. I started to quite enjoy pouring latte art every time I joined a barista class and I started to notice the difference in taste in milk-based coffee.
When COVID happened, I was doing my PhD alone at home and I received my Sage barista touch coffee machine as a gift from my family to motivate me keep studying and make good coffee while I am studying at home. Since then, the latte art became my day-to-day challenge. While the world felt strange, I tried to keep my focus on my studies beside improving my latte art skills. It wasn’t easy time but making latte art made time at home more enjoyable and it was nice to have “kinda” good looking coffee on my desk while I am working on my PhD.
What prompted you to start making content about coffee and how do you plan to continue your coffee journey?
I have always posted my latte art attempts on my personal social media accounts to family and friends, and they seemed engaged and enjoyed my coffee posts, even the failed ones, as they kept motivating me to try again. Everyone was encouraging me to create another account and post more latte art. As I am a bit shy person, I wasn’t sure if it was something I would like to do, but I did it anyway! I found myself enjoying it, especially since I met incredible fellow coffee lovers who are willing to share tips, motivate me when I fail and help me improve my latte art.
I would like to go forward by growing my account and try to be more educational by posting more tips of how to make better coffee at home.
Do you have any tips for someone starting out in coffee or latte art? What are your favourite pieces of equipment in your kit?
I would tell someone who is starting in coffee is to learn more about good quality coffee beans, where they come from and how they are processed, and enjoy the process of learning how to brew a good cup of coffee at home! By that I mean, enjoy learning how to extract a good tasting coffee despite the method you are using! Whether you have a good espresso machine at home or you are only using simple method such as French press or Moka pot!
And for someone who is starting in latte art, the tip I would give is to be patient! As good things always take time, accept the failures and try again later, and coffee can still taste good even if the latte art isn’t that good, enjoy your cup for today and a day will come where you pour beautiful latte art flawlessly, just keep trying!
My favourite pieces of kit are definitely my Sage Barista Touch, my Felicita Incline Scale, and my beautiful collection of Loveramics cups!
]]>Tell us a bit about yourself!
How did your interest in coffee begin? What were your motivators?
My interest in coffee didn’t actually start with coffee! What interested me was the reasons why people went to coffee shops and coffee shops as a community/social hub. People from all sorts of backgrounds, occupations, etc would somehow find each other in one common place enjoying this special thing that is ‘coffee’. That kicked off the idea of wanting to open up my own coffee shop in Hanoi, Vietnam, however, I didn’t really drink coffee at the time so that would’ve been a HUGE mistake. So, around June 2020, I reached out to a specialty coffee shop who were taking on interns to train as barista intern. A month later, I was offered the job and I have been into coffee ever since!
What prompted you to start making content about coffee and how do you plan to continue your coffee journey?
Since coming back to London April last year, I was quarantining at home and also had some family stuff going on which meant I had free time. I missed coffee so much I got myself a manual coffee grinder, Chemex and set of scales. Every two or so weeks, I’d buy bags of coffee from UK roasters and create videos. I have a huge passion for photography and video editing (which I’m still working on), so it made sense to make content about coffee.
I still enjoy creating coffee content, mainly reels and photos on Instagram and writing blogs on my website so that wouldn’t change any time soon. I plan to continue sharing my coffee journey and experiences as I progress both as a coffee professional and home enthusiast, whether that be through Instagram or blogging. Writing is also one of my passions so why not combine all my passions as one!
Do you have any tips for someone starting out in coffee? What are your favourite pieces of equipment in your kit?
Never be afraid to ask questions! I learned a lot from chatting with baristas at coffee shops and asking for suggestions as to what coffees to choose from, beverage recommendations, etc. Also, I highly recommend James Hoffmann videos on YouTube as his approach to coffee is very open and appealing to everyone, whether you are into coffee or not.
My favourite brewers are easily the Orea V3 and Hario V60, combined with the Brewista gooseneck kettle and scale, and Comandante C40 mk4 with Red Clix. These are my absolute weapons of choice whether I am brewing coffee at home or bringing my coffee kit over to family/friends house haha!
What is your go-to recipe for pour-over?
17g medium-fine
250ml filtered water at 90 degrees C
Brew time between 2:30 – 3:30 minutes
Hario V60 (01) or Orea V3
As well as his work with us, Simon lectures and teaches about ceramics across the UK, has work on permanent display at the V&A Museum and Frankfurt’s Museum of Contemporary and Applied Arts, and has created award-winning tableware collections.
We caught up with Simon to uncover how he created one of coffee’s most iconic cup collections.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career in ceramics?
After graduating from the Ceramic Masters Degree course in Staffordshire I went on to design for Wedgwood becoming Senior Designer for Europe then on to head up the design team for the Sainsbury’s Home Collection to finally opening my own design studio in London from 2009. I have been lucky enough to have designed for some of World’s most prestigious manufacturers and brands and has taught and lectured on the subject of design throughout the UK. My designs can be found not only on the High Street but have also become part of the permanent collections of the V&A Museum and Frankfurt’s Museum of the Contemporary Applied Arts.
Loveramics Egg Granite - Loveramics Look Book 2021 - Photo by Clifton Coffee
How did your partnership with Loveramics come about? How do you work together?
William Lee, Loveramics founder, knew of my work for Wedgwood and Sainsburys and when I first set up my design studio he initially asked me to design the tableware collection that became ‘Ergo!’ and we have been working together ever since.
Even though my studio is in London and Loveramics HQ is in Hong Kong distance is never been an issue. I am fortunate to travel twice a year to work with the Loveramics craftsman in their studios on new designs and William and I meet up several times throughout the year at exhibitions and for anything else Facetime and emails fill in the gaps. I know I am vey lucky with the relationship I have with William and Loveramics. William and I have worked together for many years and we have the same eye for ceramic design and product design in general which makes the design process very easy and the decision tree small.
Developing new glazes for cups - Photo by Simon Stevens / Loveramics
Describe your creative process when designing a new range.
My design process is very simple and pragmatic. I am inspired by people’s interaction with everyday objects, so the marriage of form, function and aesthetics is integral in every design and should never get out of balance. I also try to build in an emotional component to each design to create connection to the user so that it becomes their ‘favourite’. I want my designs to be useful, beautiful to look at and easy for people to live with and enjoy.
Loveramics Egg Rose - Loveramics Look Book 2021 - Photo by Little Perth
Your ranges for Loveramics were designed in London but sold (and are incredibly popular) all over the world. To what extent did the international market inform your design choices?
Loveramics is an international brand and on the whole is not tied down to any particular culture, many of our designs have to incorporate international standards anyway. For tableware shapes and sizes they are designed to have a universal element and so will have different function depending on which culture it will work in. For example the smallest bowl could be used in a western culture for olives or snacks, or used as a rice bowl for the Asian market and the cereal bowl for the west works as a noodle bowl for the east. The aim is to be international.
Loveramics Egg River Blue - Loveramics Look Book 2021 - Photo by Milk Beach
One of the things that makes Loveramics ranges so popular is the huge range of colours and finishes: How do you come up with them all, and what are your personal favourites?
I am a student of ceramic craft and design and I constantly draw from that heritage. Ceramics has a history going back many thousands of years so there is a wealth of colours, textures and techniques to be inspired by.
At home I don’t have a ‘matching set’ of anything, my tableware, mugs and cups are a complete eclectic mix and my favourite changes each day.
Loveramics Egg Range - Loveramics Look Book 2021 - Photo by Fussey and Bear
The Egg Range has been a runaway success, particularly for latte art enthusiasts – tell us about the design process for this collection. Can you also explain the process behind heritage finishes and glazes like potters?
Egg was born from the philosophy I described earlier, the relationship of form, function and aesthetics. Each cup has a capacity requirement driven by the Barista and to create beautiful latte art you need a generous canvas which will in turn inform the diameter of the aperture of the cup. Putting those things together allows you to be creative with the aesthetics and define the proportions of the cup.
Loveramics Egg Granite - Loveramics Look Book - Photo by Tamper Coffee
If you had to pick just one cup/mug from the Loveramics collection, what would it be?
That’s like choosing your favourite child!
]]>We manufacture using the traditional craftsmanship we’ve always admired, whilst incorporating modern technology and innovation to raise standards and efficiency.
We use natural raw materials from responsible sources. We also use suppliers local to our factory, reducing the impact of transportation as much as possible.
We’ve invested in making our manufacturing process as sustainable and environmentally responsible as possible. Our on-site water recycling plant means that we can use the same water over and over again, reducing our demand on local supply and the impact we might have had on nearby waste water infrastructure.
We’ve also developed systems to collect and reuse surplus heat energy from our kilns, creating a more circular system to fire our ceramics.
We don’t believe in a throwaway culture: Buy well, buy once is what we say. Everything we make is designed to last for years. While lower-quality alternatives need replacing many times during the lifetime of one of our products, creating unnecessary waste and production impact.
We only ever use the highest quality materials and techniques and fire our porcelain at 1300°c. This creates products of strength, durability and integrity.
An important initiative for us at the moment is to improve the sustainability of our packaging. As a company that ships large volumes of breakables this is something that requires careful consideration!
We are currently introducing plastic-free packaging for our key collections. The Dale Harris Tumblers and the Brewers Tasting Cup range are both packaged in 100% plastic-free, recyclable materials.
We feel a strong responsibility to continue the positive legacy of potters who went before us, working with natural materials in noble ways. Our staff from the design team to retail staff share an inherent love for the world’s oldest material.
Our Potters colour range pays homage to traditional techniques of glazing and celebrates the art of reactive glazing.
The Coffee Lab founder Dhan Tamang, is five-time UK latte art champion (finishing fourth in the world this year)! He won his first UK Latte Art Championship back in 2013 and has been pouring beautiful designs ever since. Here he shows us how to pour the perfect latte!
]]>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!
]]>Loveramics proudly sponsored this year’s World Latte Art championships which were held in Budapest, Hungary. The championships highlights artistic expression and challenges the barista in a live and on-demand performance. Baristas are judged based on visual attributes, creativity, identical patterns in the pairs, contrast in patterns, and overall performance.
For the preliminary round of the championship, the baristas produced a single creative latte pattern at the Art Bar, then onto the main stage to create two identical free-pour lattes and two identical designer lattes (allowing etching and decoration). Scores from the Art Bar and Stage were then combined, and the top 6 competitors qualified for the final round, where they were asked to create two identical free- pour macchiatos, two identical free-pour lattes, and two identical designer lattes.
A huge congratulations goes out to the top-scoring competitor in the final round, Arnon Thitiprasert of Thailand. Arnon's winning patterns included a full moon story with three differing animals – a rabbit, fox and deer.
The Finalists of this year’s 2017 Latte Art Champion are:
Champion: Arnon Thitiprasert of Thailand
2nd: Michalis Karagiannis of Greece
3rd: Agnieszka Rojewska of Poland
4th: Jervis Tan of Singapore
5th: Tse Kwun Kit of Hong Kong
6th: Matteo Beluffi of Italy
]]>Designed and crafted with an attention to every detail, the classic Bond cups from Loveramics are a twist on the traditional Egg and Tulip Shapes. Designed with the barista in mind, the Bond range gives you a unique way to brew and drink your fine coffee.
With an understated straight sided outer profile which allows you to stack your cups high (a nifty space saving addition for your coffee machine storage) and a continuous curvature of the spherical interior allows the coffee aromas to develop to their fullest. The inner and outer profiles of the cups provide an ultra-thick wall. This thickness not only makes the cups super durable for both commercial and personal use but maintains the temperature of the coffee.
The visually striking angle of the avant-garde handle modifies the cups centre of gravity, giving you balance when pouring your latte art and comfort when drinking.
9 dynamic colours are available for you to mix and match, create a unique visual concept.
The Bond Cappuccino Cups will be used at the brew bar of the World Barista Championship 2017 in Budapest, Hungary.
Loveramics designer Simon Stevens explains why the Bond Cups by Loveramics are so unique:
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