Art of the swirl focus of competition

A group of baristas have put the idea of drinking their art to the test.

On Wednesday night, 14 baristas competed in the Dunedin latte art throw down competition at Strictly Coffee Roasters.

The idea of the contest was to produce the best swirls or designs in your coffee, as well as still tasting good.

Judge Alison Lambert said as she was a chef, flavour and presentation was everything.

"I really respect baristas, I couldn't do without them — it’s their precision to be able to do it time and time again, under pressure, and to be producing that amazing coffee.

"If you have a bad coffee, everything goes wrong."

Balmacewen No 7 barista Ruoling Chen said her "hands were shaking" as she prepared her latte art.

"The reason why I love latte art is creating beautiful drawings just under my hand using my skills.

"It takes a lot of practice."

Strictly Coffee owner Malina Daulton said it was the first Dunedin competition of its kind since 2017.

"The reason we wanted to do it is that we moved back here ourselves in 2020 and we're really keen to get the coffee community together.

"Even the baristas here, when I was asking them, 99% of them said their favourite drink was a flat white and when it turns up, you want it to look beautiful."

Christian Vinluan, of Queenstown, won the $500 first prize.

The whole event came after a difficult few years for the Dunedin hospitality industry, Ms Daulton said.

"It's just about getting the Dunedin coffee community together and having fun and celebrating our craft ... So, it's nice to get everyone together and have a bit of fun and celebrate Dunedin suppliers."

matthew.littlewood@odt.co.nz