There’s no denying Geelong locals love a good cup of coffee, what’s even nicer is when there’s something a little bit pretty on top. We had a chat with local head barista of the Pickers Union, Malcolm Gage, about a few common latte designs.
How did you come to fall in love with coffee?
I was working as head chef down at a café in Torquay and was in a point in my career where I was very unsure if I was happy being a chef. I was looking at a lot of different outlets for a career change but nothing was really working for me. One of the baristas down there was showing me how to make a coffee while he had some spare time and I just kept practising from there, it grew into something that was a challenge for me. I knew that I still wanted to be in the hospitality field as it’s what I know, but when I could see myself progressing while making coffee, the passion for it grew everyday and that’s when I knew this is what I wanted to progress in and push myself further in this field of work.
Is coffee art a really difficult thing to perfect?
Coffee art to me is always important. I guess coming from a chef background, presentation to me is something that I’ve always looked at when putting up a plate for a customer so when pouring a coffee for a customer, I don’t see it as any different. In a realistic world the coffee and its taste is what always is most important, you can make a coffee look nice with art but if the coffee does not taste good then what is the point? Always start with perfecting your taste first before learning latte art. Latte art is not easy and it takes a lot of dedication and practice, but seeing yourself progress and get better and better every pour is something that really excites me. I follow so many baristas Instagram pages and am friends with a lot of fantastic baristas who inspire me to get better and push myself even further. If I see them put up a new pattern, I want to practice it and perfect it. I watch videos, read up on pouring techniques – it all helps.
What has been your biggest achievement to date when it comes to coffee?
I think for me it was being featured in Australia’s BeanScene magazine. They had seen my latte art of an Indian I had posted up on my Instagram page and they got in contact with me and wanted to do a little feature on me – which was quite humbling. For me in this coffee world I’m very new to it, and like anything in life, you never stop learning. I don’t think I’m the greatest barista in the world, I just do what I do and push myself to learn more every day. It was nice to be recognised for something that I take pride in.
What is your choice of coffee?
My choice of coffee would be a nice filter roast; I’m a sucker for my V60 pour over or aeropress at home. Majority of the time while I’m working I will drink short blacks (espresso shot).
Time to check out some designs:
The Tulip.
One of the most common pieces of latte art that will most likely be most baristas’ starting point. It’s the easiest to pour but still getting it right takes a lot of practice. Always remember the basics and consistently keep practising them as most latte art utilises these pouring methods in some way or another.
The Rosetta
Much like the Tulip, the Rosetta is also another common piece of latte art most baristas will start with. It’s a little bit harder to pour than the Tulip and you have to keep a steady hand to keep your lines straight – especially when you pour back through it to finish it off. But again, like the tulip most latte art uses this pouring method in the design.
The Big Indian Chief
This is my favourite piece of art that I have been consistently pouring for about a year now. As you can see it utilises a rosetta type method for the head piece and pouring in a rounded texture for the head, and some etching to bring in the detail of the eyes, headband, mouth and nose. This is the picture that BeanScene magazine contacted me about. I’m pretty happy with where I’m at with it and can pour them quite consistent, but I will always be looking at ways to try and improve it as much as I can.
Inverted Latte Art
This is something that I’m very new to trying but love giving it a go, and slowly but surely making progress in getting better and consistent at pouring these. Following a few Melbourne Baristas on Instagram that upload pouring videos etc, doing this style of art really helps me learn and understand how to pour in this style. These are quite tricky though as halfway through your pour you need to turn your cup around and continue pouring back into your design to push it back in on itself to create this inverted look.
To see more of Malcolm’s latte art, you can follow him on Instagram @the_jedi_barista or visit him at the Pickers Union at 3 Mackey St, North Geelong.