How to combine patterns Coffee patterns what skills does the World Champion have? how to simply draw Coffee flowers?

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Korean drama "Coffee Prince No.1 Shop" makes the dream of starting a business of a rich man romantic and passionate, all of which are just fictional stories. On the contrary, we have many "coffee princes" in Hong Kong. For example, A Kim Yang Yaohui, who won the World Coffee Flower Competition in New York last year, went to New York with only a pair of dexterity and enthusiasm to challenge 63 international experts in the world. However, he said that everyone can do that cup of world-class coffee flower. If you want to be the next Coffee Prince, you need to listen to his heart.

A tender Kim just dyed a head of blond hair, in a coffee room at least do humble coffee work, who would think that he was once defeated by a number of international experts in the world flower champion? In fact, Kim only started learning coffee three years ago, from a blank sheet of paper, a year later has become the Hong Kong flower pulling competition champion, because of a point of enthusiasm and concentration. He said: "Actually, it doesn't take a genius to be a coffee maker. Anyone can be an expert if they think more skillfully."

The difference between inverted flowers and painted flowers

A Kim refers to two kinds of coffee pulling flowers, one is called "drawing"(drawing), the other is called "direct pouring method"(pouring), he used to compete with the pulling flower is the latter, called free pouring, just pour milk directly into coffee. He said: "There are many coffee flower patterns outside, which seem to be extremely varied. In fact, many of them are drawn, that is, after pouring milk bubbles and then picking out patterns. It is a bit like painting, except that the paint has changed into milk. I chose to pour directly because it is more professional and is also my personal choice." Painting flowers is not Kim's cup of tea. He even thinks that pulling flowers is just a icing on the cake. In the coffee world, pulling flowers is only a very small part. What really matters is actually that cup of good coffee!

International Flower Drawing Championship Tour

At the 2012 New York International Flower Pulling Competition (New York Coffee Fest World Latte Art Champion), A Kim is a one-on-one showdown. The two use the machines given by the conference to pull out the most satisfactory coffee in 3 minutes and then give the judges a verdict. The judges only look at the patterns and do not try the taste. As a result, 64 international experts are eliminated and 32 people are left. Instead, A Kim passes five passes and cuts six generals. Finally, he wins the world championship. Be the first Chinese to win this award.

"For example, in the WLAC World Latte Art Championship, I have to make six cups of coffee in eight minutes, divided into three pairs, imitating three different patterns respectively. The coffee brewing skills are also counted and account for a certain technical score. However, most of the flower pulling competitions focus on the pattern. The scoring criteria include difficulty, uniformity and contrast."

neat, contrast, balance and difficulty

As for how to win the appreciation of the judges, he said: "In fact, many people do not know the difference between good and bad flower patterns, which actually include: clarity, contrast, left and right balance and difficulty. The contrast of the flower pattern is strong, and the black and white between the coffee color (coffee) and the white (milk) should be clear, and it will look more beautiful. Sometimes the white part of the coffee pull will be too close to the cup edge, missing the brown outer ring, the pattern will become blurred. In addition, it is balance, that is, whether the left and right sides of the pattern are symmetrical, then test whether your shaking technique is even and the angle is consistent. The third is the difficulty. With the development of coffee culture, the flower pattern will only become more and more complicated. It is difficult to have a consistent standard, because the judges have seen a lot of patterns, and the once novel ones will soon become obsolete. From my personal point of view, there are more lines, which will make people feel more difficult. The thinner the cup, the more difficult it is to pull the flowers because there is less room for movement."

Coffee is the flower.

A Kim thinks,"Coffee is first used to drink, pull flowers is only for coffee value-added, the same coffee can be added to different patterns, but first of all that cup of coffee must taste good, if you just want to make a beautiful pattern, but ignore the taste of coffee, is not the correct attitude, although many pull flowers competition does not include the taste of coffee, but it does not mean that your coffee taste is not important, that is attitude problem." It seems that if Ah Kim is the judge (he has actually received few invitations from Taiwan and China), he will definitely not be able to help but try it and compare the scores!

Although every barista has his own criteria, for Kim,"my first criterion is to make the guests feel comfortable, and if the guests feel more comfortable without the flower pattern, I don't have to make it." But of course, I have my own limits, such as not adding too much sugar, because too much sugar will affect the taste buds, and in the end, no matter what coffee is no different!"

But Yim says he won't teach casually, because he wants serious students and doesn't want to play around."Many people now have coffee machines at home, and my goal in teaching people is to make them really make a cup of soft and beautiful coffee at home, and learn the correct milk beating skills and coffee pulling movements."

In fact, Kim not only works in Hong Kong, but also opens a spacious, quiet, cultural and artistic coffee bar Artista Perfetto with five young Hong Kong baristas in Taipei. Art and coffee are intertwined. What Hong Kong cannot do, Taiwan's cultural atmosphere can accommodate these six coffee teenagers from Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's first coffee Olympics

Hong Kong International Roasting Exhibition will be held from December 5 to 7 at the exhibition, Hong Kong's first "Coffee Olympics"(Coffee Olympics) will be held for three consecutive days of coffee competition, including flower pulling competition, smart cup competition, and the first time in Hong Kong fried coffee beans (roasting) competition, when the aroma of fried coffee will be drunk, who have not experienced such a scene, must see the performance of these coffee masters, enjoy this rare intoxicating taste.