Ben Lewis, the UK’s reigning latte art champion, is setting his sights on breaking into the top six globally after securing a remarkable 10th place in the world championships. The 31-year-old “coffee professional” from Southampton is renowned for his intricate designs, transforming steamed milk and espresso into everything from Sonic the Hedgehog to Roman battleships.
Lewis’s journey into the world of coffee began at 16, working as a barista at Starbucks for five years before pursuing a psychology degree at the University of Winchester. His true passion ignited in 2016 when a friend helped him secure a job at a Winchester cafe. There, under the mentorship of the then-UK latte art champion, he discovered the artistic potential of coffee.
“All of us in the cafe had to be able to do latte art but I ended up having a passion for it, after realising how much is actually possible,” Ben explained. He quickly progressed from basic hearts and tulips to more complex creations, even competing alongside his mentor in 2018, where he impressed judges with a Roman battleship and grape vine design, earning a close second place.
His path to the UK title was marked by perseverance. After four previous attempts and admitting to making “a lot of silly mistakes in the previous competitions like knocking over milk canisters and picking terrible designs and things that happen only because you’re under pressure,” Ben returned to the UK Latte Art Championships this year. He spent six weeks practising relentlessly, creating 60 cups of coffee in a single session on one training day. To steady his hands and calm his nerves, he even gave up alcohol during his intense preparation.
On April 29, Ben was crowned the UK Latte Art Champion, a moment he described as surreal. “It felt strange, to be honest, I thought they probably needed to check the scores again. I didn’t expect it at all, I was just a little bit floored, and I was excited for about 12 hours and then I realised that I needed to start training for the world championships and I had to lock back in.”
For the international competition, held just weeks later, Ben refined his winning designs – a dog’s face, a fish, and Sonic the Hedgehog. He placed 10th in the world, an “amazing result” that has fuelled his ambition to reach the top six next year.
Beyond the competitive circuit, Ben shares his expertise through social media, live events, and collaborations with major brands. Under his Instagram handle @barista_benji, where he boasts 12,000 followers, he has worked with Disney, Cartoon Network, Monin, Kraken rum, and Honda. “For the launch of the live action Lion King I created some of the lion silhouettes from The Lion King on to the coffee,” he recounted. “For one of Cartoon Network’s programmes, We Bare Bears, I did different types of bears on coffees for people.”
Looking ahead, Ben is already conceptualising new designs for future competitions, hinting at iconic Disney and video game characters. “I love creating cartoon-based designs so I will be looking to focus a lot on iconic Disney characters and video game characters for the future, but I won’t give anything away just yet as they’ll be for next year’s competition – you’ll have to follow my Instagram page to find out!”
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