London's arty lattes: the baristas turning coffee into a craft

The baristas in London’s independent cafés don't just make an excellent cup of coffee, they're also turning foam into an artform, says Mollie Goodfellow
Lavish latte: cafés in London are in hot competition to turn your morning coffee into a canvas
Mollie Goodfellow14 August 2014

Coffee has become an art form in London. Connoisseurs are fervent about particular beans and blends. Yet it’s no longer enough that the coffee tastes good — it now has to look good too. A coffee somehow seems warmer when your barista has made the effort to swirl a perfect flower or heart into the froth.

These are not just little quirks of your morning cup, but all part of the fiercely competitive coffee world in which baristas battle it out to be named the best each year. At the UK Latte Art Championships held at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane in April, unicorns, swans and deer were painted in the milk foam. And at the Houses of Parliament, Portcullis House barista Sylvain Subervie draws masterpieces such as cats, seaside horizons and even the Houses of Parliament themselves, sharing his creations on Twitter.

Pretty pictures require the freshest milk and top quality coffee, according to Peter Dore-Smith, founder of Kaffeine café in Fitzrovia. “Steaming the milk to achieve a ‘microfoam’ is the trick,” he says. “The bubbles are so fine it creates a glossy, textured milk. You then pour about 10ml of milk into the espresso and swirl, creating what we call a canvas for your latte art. The art you are creating will define how you finish off.”

We spoke to London’s coffee experts about how they make macchiatos a bit more Matisse.

Sylvain Subervie, 35, The Despatch Box, Portcullis House, Westminster

Hometown: Lourdes, France

First cup: “It wasn’t really a job I was looking for, it’s not especially well-paid. I started at AMT Espresso. Finding a job in the House of Commons was a great bonus.”

Addicted to caffeine: “It wasn’t passion that led me into coffee but one that has grown as I’ve been working.”

Special skill: “I’m the only one at the House who does latte art in the coffee. I’m doing it for my own pleasure — it makes the job more interesting and it’s nice to have a customer appreciate it.”

Top coffee: “Flat white.”

Signature latte art: “Dog heads. I’m becoming quite used to doing them quite fast.”

Barry Matchett, 25, Dose Coffee, Smithfield

Hometown: Sydney, Australia

First cup: “I was about 16 when I started learning about coffee working in a family-owned pie shop.”

Addicted to caffeine: “I love the pressure and chaos and I do enjoy drinking coffee myself.”

Special skill: “I hope it’s my interaction with customers that keeps them coming back — and the consistency with our coffee. We regularly weigh our doses to make sure it’s the same in every cup.”

Top coffee: “Flat white.”

Signature latte art? “The Fern is my most popular art, I’m still practicing tulips.”

Catherine Seay, 27, Curators Coffee, The City

Hometown: Mackay, Australia

First cup: “I worked in chains in Australia. When I moved to the UK I worked at Kaffeine as the first barista. It opened my eyes to the coffee scene.”

Addicted to caffeine: “I’m now a partner at Curators. I have so much passion for it. Once you step into speciality coffee you get hooked.”

Special skill: “You also have to make coffee consistently, in high volumes, very quickly.”

Top coffee: “Flat white, but 5oz size. I like the temperature to be about 45 degrees — lukewarm.”

Signature latte art: “A simple heart — there’s something nice about getting something symmetrical in the middle of the cup.”

James Bailey, 25, Workshop Coffee, Clerkenwell

Hometown: Leicester

First cup: “I started as a barista six years ago when I was at university in Sheffield.”

Addicted to caffeine: “When I came to London and saw the level of skill and creativity and flavour I was tempted to follow it as a career.” [James was the 2012 UK Brewers Cup Champion.]

Special skill: “I train regular customers or fellow baristas in coffee-making.”

Top coffee: “Black filter or anything that has been harvested recently and roasted with care.”

Signature latte art: “At Workshop we have specific patterns for specific drinks. The traditional cappuccino pours have a good, solid ring round the outside. A really centred heart is hard to do well.”

Estelle Bright, 28, Caravan, King’s Cross

Milking it: Estelle Bright of Caravan in King’s Cross and some of London’s best latte art (Picture: Rebecca Reid)
Rebecca Reid

Hometown: Abergavenny, Wales

First cup: “I started in a small independent chain of coffee shops in my hometown. I didn’t like coffee at the time, but while working there I tasted good coffee and fell in love.”

Addicted to caffeine: “Every day something new is happening — whether a new coffee, new roasterie or new café.” [Estelle is the UK’s leading female barista. She won third place in the UK Barista Championships 2013.]

Special skill: “I make a good-tasting coffee.”

Favourite coffee? “Filter — either from Ethiopian or Kenyan beans.”

Signature latte art: “I stick to a rosette — plain but elegant."

Blazej Stempin, 24, Kaffeine, Fitzrovia

Hometown: Poznan, Poland

First cup: “I’ve been doing this for six years now. I didn’t know much about coffee when I started in Poland. It just happened. I was keen to learn more.”

Addicted to caffeine: “There is still so much to learn about coffee.”

Special skill? “I’m pretty good at tasting coffee — I won the Polish Cup Tasting Championships in 2011.”

Favourite coffee: “Espresso.”

Signature latte art: “Tulip — I believe that the simple patterns are better than difficult. It doesn’t have to be many different things in one cup, one good thing is enough.”

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