Jennifer Abela has been named the best coffee artist in Victoria. 68373 Picture: SARAH MATRAY
By XAVIER SMERDON
SEEING a pig in your coffee might not be the ideal start to the day for most people, but for one Hoppers Crossing barista it is the winning ingredient.
Jennifer Abela, from Muffin Break in the Werribee Plaza, recently entered the 2011 Foodco Barista Competition, along with hundreds of other coffee creationists.
By creating a detailed picture of a pig, complete with smiling face and curly tail, Jennifer walked away with the title of Muffin Break Latte Art Champion.
Jennifer is almost completely self-taught in the field of latte art, and she said it is not very difficult to get the hang of it.
“There is a whole bunch of different ways you can pour the milk to make different shapes in the coffee,” Jennifer said.
“It looks pretty complicated but once you get the basics down, you’re set.”
Jennifer said there were two main types of coffee art, free form and etching.
Etching allows you to use a point to manipulate the froth into a picture, while free form all hinges on how the milk is poured.
And it is not just pigs that find their way on to the top of Jennifer’s coffees, she can also create Chinese dragons and butterflies.
In fact, she is proud to say that
she can create up to 30 different pictures.
“When you’re making so many coffee’s everyday, you want to make it as interesting as possible,” she said.
“It’s not something that’s expected but it keeps the customer coming back.”
