Júniusban megrendezésre került Milánóban többek között a Latte Art Világbajnokság is. Nagy-Bertók Anita vizuális bíróként zsűrizte a versenyzőket az eseményen. A világbajnok Carmen Clemente-tel egy interjút is készített, melynek köszönhetően érdekes részleteket tudhatunk meg a bajnokról.
Q1: Can you introduce yourself? A few words about your coffee experience and how it all started?
My name is Carmen Clemente, I am 42 years old and I started my experience as a bartender. I arrived from the world of cocktails after many years as a barman I decided to open my first coffee shop. It was there that I discovered the world of coffee and Latte Art because before opening a business I wanted to take a course on coffee.
Q2: What do you do on a daily bases, I mean what is your full time job?
I am a latte art trainer. Together with Manuela Fensore world champion of latte art 2019 we have an Academy in Rho a town near Milan. It is called World Latte Art & Coffee Center. we mainly do latte art courses but we often organize group courses where we also insert SCA modules, thanks to the presence of certified trainers.
Q3: Was Latte Art a love at first sight experience or did it come later?
When in 2011 I took my first course on coffee I discovered Latte Art. It immediately fascinated me…more than coffee 🤣. Then in 2014 when I met Manuela and we started working together we decided to take a more professional milk course at Luigi lupi in 2015 …. this is where our whole story starts ❤️.
Q4: How many times have you competed?
My first competition was in April 2017 then in 2018 I made the selections for the Italian championship but I didn’t qualify (I still thought too much about cocktails 🤣🤣🤣). In 2019 I participated in my first Italian championship coming fourth and in 2020 I won my first Italian championship.
Q5: How did you come up with your patterns / designs – is it that something inspires you – personal experience ?
I have always been lucky enough to have Manuela beside me, in my opinion she is a genius and has a natural gift in making Latte Art and in creating drawings, thanks to her and her help, I managed to have very valid drawings in the competition. I told her what I would like to represent during the competition and she created for me. I have clearly always been there during the creation of the designs also because in these cases the union is strength.
Q6: How many training hours/days go into preparing for the world level?
To prepare a Latte Art competition you have to dedicate many hours of physical and mental training. There have been days in which I have trained up to 9 hours and it is a preparation that lasts months and months…during the covid period I never stopped training because I did not want to lose muscle memory, unfortunately it is the first thing you lose if you stop the latte art. I also did a lot of mental work, with age I became very emotional and these two years helped me to better manage this part of me. I went through a psychological journey to a sports psychologist who made me understand why I could not to express myself as I wanted. I lacked the spark that gave me the opportunity to react in very strong emotional situations … I did not know how to get it out … then in November 2021 my cat passed away and I was very attached to this situation pulled me outside an incredible anger that gave me the opportunity to react and face my first world stage.
Q7: We all know that perfect milk texturing skills are needed. Do you always get your milk right ? Can you tell me about the technicallity of your pours, the angles, positions.
During preparation it is essential to understand the texture of milk to be used for each design that is presented, it is not only a question of texture but also of milk temperature. To get the right texture of milk for a flat White I position the steam wand at 9 o’clock I insert a second and a half of air and the bulb of the wand flush with the milk, this position gives the possibility to insert air and at the same time start mixing the milk immediately
Q8: How is it to become a World Champion? ( besides that is amazing 😊) A hell of a lot of work I am sure.
I think that any person who becomes world champion in our coffee sector must take advantage of this opportunity to share his experience and knowledge with as many people as possible, to set a good example for the next champions to come. Both me and Manuela have always liked sharing our knowledge of latte art and becoming world champions is giving us the opportunity to do it with many people, because our dream has become reality and we hope that others’ dreams can also become reality.
