Latte artist sets his sights on world championship
Shyam Lama wants to show off his intricate latte art designs on the national stage
- Published
Shyam Lama's flare for latte art began with him simply wanting "to serve a very beautiful coffee in front of a customer with a smile".
The Reading barista has been competing nationally in competitions for the last three years, having only entered the industry in 2017.
He said he developed an interest in the art while working at a coffee shop in the town after watching the other baristas.
Most recently, he came fourth in the UK Latte Art Championship in London and now has set his sights on competing at the World Latte Art Championship.
Shyam Lama wants to show off his intricate latte art designs on the national stage
"In 2018, I knew there were competitions but I didn't think that I was ready for them then so I practiced," Shyam said.
"I think early 2022 was my first competition, London Coffee Festival, and we just had to take a photo and send it to their Instagram and they would hand pick us.
"So that was the first time that I was selected and luckily I was runner up."
Shyam has been working at Stables Coffee Co. in Arborfield Green for just over a year
The World Latte Art Championship takes place every year and features the champions of each country battling it out for the title.
Shyam said: "For now it is [the goal] but it wasn't always that, it was to serve a very beautiful coffee in front of a customer with a smile, as I always do."
Both national and international competitions task baristas with creating pairs of identical latte art that match a picture.
The coffees are made while the barista explains what they are doing to the judges, all within a time limit that's different for each round.
Shyam's favourite design to make features a butterfly and a flower
Shyam likes to bring his Nepal roots into his designs with lots of floral and animal designs.
He said: "I believe in fantasies, I go on dragons and monkeys but for me, I feel butterflies give you a different feeling of that happiness with the flower.
"For me the butterfly, I think, is my signature one."