2008 World Latte Art Championship

pinot2

Australia has done it again, winning its 3rd World Latte Art Championship.
Con Haralambopoulos from 7 Grams in Melbourne took it out yesterday by 0.5 point I believe the scores and placings from Copenhagen are as follows!

1 Con Haralambopoulos, Australia (46 points)
2 Mira Malchenko, Russia (45

admin

Thanks John - and congratulations Con - fantastic news! -A PS John did you post this from Sydney or are you in Copenhagen?

pinot2

A Unfortunately I am stuck in Sydney and getting all the info second hand via middle of nite text messages and phone calls. Was another great result for Australia! JD

pinot2

To check the scores go to http://www.world-latteart-championship.com/media/2008/WLC-2008-Results.pdf A very close competition. Jd

psaigh

Wow, can't beleive Kira Malchenko (Russia) got 7's for both visual scores, nice!  Anyone know what coffee Con was using?

askthecoffeeguy

I would think he was using Veneziano - which is what he uses at his work but what blend or origin I'm not quite sure Con-gratulations to Con for doing Australia proud - all the more so considering it was a bit of a battle to get there He is a well deserving and fitting winner of the title Cheers, Pat

psaigh

At the nationals it was some of Justin's coffee, not Veneziano, but I suppose with the big V heading over there (for David) that could make sense

admin

Hi guys - we did a recent interview with Con, for our upcoming feature on Melbourne's best cafes, at which he mentioned the special 'competition blend' he used at the Aust. Barista & Latte Art champs [Ian, that's presumably Justin's blend that you mentioned]. I am assuming he may be using that same blend in Denmark, but will check with him when he gets back. -A

DoubleRistretto

Hey congratulations Con - can't wait to hear results of WBC also! -dR

admin

Hi guys, Just caught up with Con the other day and he mentioned that he will be putting up a post, probably in the next day or so, outlining his experiences from the Champs... stay tuned!

con-pete

Hi fellow coffee lovers, Thank you all for your wonderful well wishes,questions and comments.It's great to be back on home turf after an amazing experience in Copenhagen,a serious destination for coffee. Its a pleasure to be on this forum and look forward sharing information with you all.Chat again soon. Just to let you all know my blend for the comps consisted of a 50%Colombian Pennsylvanian Supremo and a 50%Balinese Gunung Batur.A blend that Justin Metcalf and i developed over many months.Worked swell.Cheers. Extract well.

admin

Con is planning to put up a couple of posts in the next few days, outlining his experiences - stay tuned!     -A

con-pete

Hi everyone, thought I'd share some of my Denmark experiences with you all. Firstly i'd like to say that having the honour of representing Australia was a dream come true. When I was actually there and a part of it all, my main goal was to make my country proud. Seeing many of my favourites perform on the world stage made me realize just how lucky I was to be here and compete on this level. Carl Sara, David Makin, Luigi Lupi, James Hoffman, Tim Windelboe, Fritz Storm, were a mixture of the old and new faces in the coffee industry which I really enjoyed meeting and chatting with. Waking up on the day of competition was a big train ride into the city from Espegarde where we were staying. I was in the carriage with all my cups and sauces inside a heavy bag thinking about how the day would pan out. I was definately feeling nervous, anxious, excited and scared. Setting up my trolley and hearing my name called to go on soon, I knew that all my hard work and training was about to be put under the spotlight for the world to see. The arena was packed out, the crowd was roaring, the heat was rising inside and the pressure was on. I kept checking my equipment to make sure I had everything over and over again. I think I wore out the soles of my shoes walking backstage trying to calm myself and going through endless bottles of water. I took a deep breath and walked out on stage. Heart was pumping really fast. The funny MC was commenting on the Austrian boy till I realized he meant the Australian boy..me ! Jokes aside, I hit my timer,  and 8 minutes was up before I knew it.

DoubleRistretto

Hey Con - must have been an amazing experience - did you feel like you were pretty much on your own, or did you have quite a lot of support around you? -dR

con-pete

It was truely an amazing experience.Even to the day i am still on a high.I did have support around me, the team of aussies,new zealanders and greeks cheering me on.It was great to hear them in the background and up to the deciding time when the winners were announced.I could not have asked for a better crowd on this important day for me.

con-pete

PS For those who are serious about competing and would love to learn a lot more about mastering the art of making coffee making please take time to attend and participate in as many competitions as you can,as this was the way i learnt many many aspects. Extract well! Con