LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Two latte artists from Rebel Bakehouse clinched the championship for both the professional and beginner categories of the second latter art competition during the 8th Coffee Festival held at the La Trinidad municipal park on February 13.
Emmanuel Johanson, a barista who won in the professional category, said that he was amazed and didn’t expect how extensive the coffee industry is. He only learned latte art while working at Rebel Bakehouse so he wants to apply his knowledge by joining local competitions and targets to compete on national level.
Johanson also stated that he did not expect to win but he gave his best in order to grab the championship.
Ejee Alinduza, Food and Beverage associate and winner of the beginner category, shared how he managed to achieve first place despite being nervous.
“More practice lang po and sa panginginig ng kamay, okay lang po yan sa paglalatte” (It is more on practice and it is normal for your hands to tremble while doing latte art) Alinduza said. “Focus lang sa goal kahit nanginginig, ipakita lang yung art “(Just focus on the goal and show the art) he added.
According to Caesar Kiswa, the president of La Trinidad Coffee Shop Stakeholders Association, the competition aims to help the baristas to develop and enhance their skills in latte art especially to those who works at the coffee shops.
Kiswa also revealed that there has been an improvement on the competition compared to the first latte art competition. “We engaged the students and beginners kase last year natatakot sila kase magagaling ang kalaban, so we open another division for them “(We engaged the students and begginers by opening another division because last year they are afraid to compete with the prefessionals), he said.
He also encouraged the participants to be passionate in latte art and join competitions for them to level-up their confidence.
In choosing the winners, the judges considered how the contestants showcased their skills and knowledge in latte art through the difficulty of the design, the use of space and technicalities.
The winners received a certificate and cash prizes. By Rhealyn Charwin
