Matteo Beluffi: hints about Latte Art

Champions never stop. Determination, perseverance and ambition are the characteristics that make them tireless. That’s the case of Matteo Beluffi who, after winning the first prize at the Italian Latte Art championships at the 2017 Sigep exhibition in Rimini, is already training for the World Of Coffee Championship to be held in Budapest (Hungary). What are his secrets?

It’s all about aesthetics: where does your inspiration come from?
“Tattoos and pictures from the web are my main source of inspiration. I try to break them up into parts and to understand where I should start decorating in the cup. Then I consider the competition times in order to decide if the decoration must be easier or not.”

For a good decoration…
You need training, passion, perseverance, determination and a good amount of creativity. Meeting world champions like Hisako Yoshikawa, Chiara Bergonzi, Chris Loukakis and Um Paul has helped me grow as a professional. They have been an unlimited source of inspiration and I have always tried to put their techniques and suggestions into practice.

In Italy, cappuccino with decorations in latte art (the so-called flat white) is not so widespread. So, which are the differences between a flat white and a traditional Italian cappuccino?
“A flat white is made with a double espresso, the foam is thin and compact and the cup is big. The double espresso changes the proportion between latte and coffee, with a predominance of the latter, in terms of aroma. The Italian cappuccino is made with one espresso, more foam and a smaller cup.”

Our dc pro was sponsor of the Italian Latte Art championships and you used it during the competition. What did you like most about its performance?
“It is extremely easy to use: the position and the length of the steamer are very comfortable. These characteristics are not to be underestimated. I can say that ergonomics wins.”