Chengdu "post-90s" barista: stand on the world stage with "Phoenix Nirvana"

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Hold the coffee cup in your left hand and pull the flower jar in your right hand. Tilt the cup about 15 °and pour a little milk foam in a fixed place. Then raise the cup 2-3 cm, pour out the shape of a flower, and shake your wrist back and forth to pull the vat to form a circle of leaf patterns. On September 14, Wang Xuechao, who was the runner-up in the 2015 WLAC World Coffee Competition at the Creator Coffee (Creator Coffee) experience Store in Chengdu, was patiently explaining and demonstrating coffee drawing skills to the students.

In fact, before 2011, Wang Xuechao didn't know anything about coffee. From the "layman" of the coffee flower to the world-class level, Wang Xuechao relies on hard practice. "make dozens of cups of coffee every day and finish each cup in accordance with the requirements of the competition." □ Windsor

Use the flower jar as a pen to splash freely.

Wang Xuechao, 26, is from Pujiang, Chengdu. In 2010, after retiring from an armed police force in Fujian, he did logistics procurement at a coffee training institution in Chongqing. When he saw the training course teachers teach students coffee flowers, light movements, skilful techniques, and finally showed the magnificent beauty of Italian coffee, had a strong interest. So, after finishing his work during the day, he taught himself coffee flower drawing in the training classroom at night.

At first, when Wang Xuechao injected milk foam into the coffee cup, it was difficult to control the strength of his wrist. He always injects it slowly, and the pattern pulled out by this way of "squeezing toothpaste" is either unshaped or unrefined.

After a year of hard training, Wang Xuechao gradually realized: "baristas, like calligraphers, use the flower jar as a pen. Only by relaxing can they spread freely." He believes that calligraphers have their own style when writing, and baristas should also have their own style when making flowers.

Wang Xuechao pays special attention to the symmetrical beauty of the flower pattern. "like a golden line in a photograph, the flower pattern should pay attention to the sense of space and neat symmetry." When pulling flowers, he should first decide what kind of pattern to pull according to the caliber size of the coffee cup. The larger the caliber, the more complex the pattern; the smaller the caliber, the more concise the pattern. Secondly, in order to ensure the symmetry of the pattern, it is necessary to accurately grasp the amount of milk foam and the extent of shaking the vat.

Go to the field without removing the surgical suture.

From 2011 to 2015, Wang Xuechao participated in more than 10 competitions about baristas and coffee flowers. "by participating in the competition, I was able to get professional advice from the judges and communicate with my peers, which made me make rapid progress." Wang Xuechao said.

Wang Xuechao claims to be a "growth" player, always getting more and more courageous. He remembers that when he took part in the Chongqing district selection of the WBC World Barista Competition in 2013, he accidentally broke the cup and failed to get the place, but he did not give up lightly. In 2014, he signed up for the WLAC National Coffee draw Competition and won the sixth place. After this battle, he decided to shift his focus to coffee flowers. "I believe I can go further in coffee flowers."

In 2015, Wang Xuechao signed up for the WLAC World draw Competition. Unexpectedly, on the eve of the game, he fell ill, was hospitalized urgently, and underwent pneumothorax surgery. Seeing that the date of the competition was approaching, Wang Xuechao struggled and was unwilling in his heart. although his family tried to dissuade him, he decided to continue to participate in the competition. When he went to Shanghai to participate in the finals of the Chinese Division, the sutures on his chest had not been removed. "but as soon as I got to the field, I totally threw myself into it and didn't feel any pain." Wang Xuechao said.

In the end, Wang Xuechao lived up to expectations and won the first place in the Chinese division and the only place to compete in the finals held in Sweden. In Sweden, he competed with baristas from 50 countries and won the runner-up with a cup of creativity called Phoenix Nirvana. "after I got sick, I wanted to interpret an attitude towards life, that is, life requires the courage to be born again like a Phoenix." Wang Xuechao said.

The secret of pulling flowers is to "repeat over and over again."

In February 2017, Wang Xuechao returned to Chengdu and opened a coffee experience shop in Chengdu Huabai Square, which not only sells coffee, but also adds training programs such as coffee production, Italian coffee extraction and production, coffee art flower drawing, and so on. "I want to share more professional things with people who are willing to work in coffee flower drawing." Wang Xuechao said.

Nowadays, people who worship teachers and learn skills from Wang Xuechao come from all over the country, mainly "post-90s", the largest are "post-50s" and the youngest are "post-00s". Wang Xuechao said that in order to ensure the quality of teaching, only three students are enrolled in a class. Some students become a little frustrated because it is difficult to master the skill of coffee flower-pulling at 01:30. Wang Xuechao always encourages the students by "diligence can make up for clumsiness" and "Heaven rewards hard work" and tells them, "only by repeating it over and over again can you pull out a beautiful pattern."