MILAN – The World Latte Art Championship in Taipei recently concluded: the 2023 winner is Liang Fan, who carried the trophy high for China (which last year was unable to participate and this year nominated two latte artists, the world’s first and second-ranked in the category). We spoke with him and here is the story of his world competition.
Liang Fan, did you expect to become number one in the world in latte art, and what do you think made the difference among all your competitors?
“To tell the truth, winning the world championship is like dreaming. For a long time, it was just a fantasy.
This World Latte Art Championship is very exciting, and the representative players from all countries and regions are outstanding and outstanding! They all brought amazing and proud works to the world.
The work I brought this time was precipitated after three years of preparation. Has undergone numerous polishing and modification.”
Liang Fan: “Let me share the theme of my performance.”
“I used a common figure-circle. To design my latte art work. Combining Mathematical Logic: Boolean Operation. Make the pattern picture look more visually balanced .Because in my opinion, visual beauty is very subjective. And we need to use some rules to make subjective beauty objective.
And for a long time, many latte artists are doing some safe pattern design. Of course, I know, in order to do better in the highly tense competition and win the competition. And I am bold, I chose to break through myself and break through the limit of a self! My patterns are all very difficult to design.”
Therefore, difficulty, concreteness, balance and design logic are the core of my sharing.
Was this your first time competing at the world championships?
“No, I won the China Latte Art Championship in 2017，and I participated in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Then in 2018, he also qualified to represent China in the World Cup in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Won the third place in the world in 2018.
In fact, at that time, I felt I needed to work harder and I believed I could go to by going up one flight of stairs. In 2020, I won the China championship again. But unfortunately, because of COVID-19. It has been postponed until this year, which is why there will be two players from Chinese mainland in this World Championships.
So, from 2020 to now, I have prepared for this day for three years!”
What do you do professionally outside the field of competition?
“I have been engaged in coffee education for many years.”
How long did he train for? How much did it cost as an investment to train considering the gallons of milk, the coffee, the machines?
“This is not easy to count, countless. Training is more about the process and performance of the competition.”
What figures did he bring to the competition?
“I brought some of my original designs, such as rooster, kangaroo, dinosaur and a little hero of Macchiato.Every pattern of mine is very difficult, and almost all of them need to train thousands to 10 thousand cups.
How did you prepare for the competition mentally?
“I’m thinking, I just need to do the same as I did in training, and I don’t think of it as a competition, just like I usually do in training. So I won’t have too much pressure. Then, share it happily on the stage.”
With this victory, what do you expect will change for your career?
“Winning the world championship is not the end, but another beginning. I will continue to influence more people who love them in my passionate field! I believe I can!”
What are your thoughts on the possible use of super automatic machines in latte art competitions?
“I think this will be different from the semi-automatic coffee machine. The success of making latte with automatic coffee machine is in the hands of the machine. Parameter setting may be the core! Every link of semi-automatic coffee machine needs to be in your own hands, which is more difficult, challenging and technical. Of course, times are progressing. We also need to make progress and learn. After all, the future is coming!”
What would you like to say to those who would like to try their hand at this category in the coming years?
“Try to innovate boldly, try to challenge yourself, not for winning or losing, and don’t be afraid of losing. Breaking through yourself is the most important thing!
Be yourself!”
