Local barista’s intricate latte art brightens mornings in Graaff-reinet
GRAAFF-REINET — Coffee makes everyone happy. Pretty coffee just sweetens the deal.
Local barista Carl Vrolick (32) has honed the skill of creating latte art to perfection, crafting intricate designs in the coffees of patrons of Maria’s Coffee Roastery in Graaff-reinet.
You can see Vrolick most weekday mornings at Maria’s, slinging drinks for caffeine-starved customers.
Latte art, which has become exceedingly popular the world over, is created by pouring steamed milk just so into a shot of espresso, to produce recognisable designs.
“I enjoy it because it’s fun and I enjoy making people happy,” Vrolick says.
On Thursday, July 6, Vrolick was awarded a third place in a national latte art competition.
The annual Almond Breeze Latte
Art Video Challenge highlights artistic expression in an online competition platform that challenges baristas in an on-demand performance.
This competition pits barista against barista to come up with the prettiest, most creative milk designs atop a caffe latte.
For the preliminary round of the competition, baristas had to produce a single creative latte pattern of their choice.
The top 6 competitors then qualified for the final round, where they were asked to create a swan design.
Vrolick managed to claim third place overall with his steady pour and quality designs - beating almost 100 baristas from all over South Africa.
Vrolick started working as a gardener at a local company after moving to Graaff-reinet from Johannesburg. He soon made the move into the hospitality industry, first as a waiter at a local restaurant, then as a barman at the town’s sports club, finally settling into his current position at Maria’s four years ago, where he has been perfecting his artisanal approach towards the craft of coffee ever since.