‘It's all about making hearts’ – Meet Rohan Pitumpe, a coffee specialist.

As we roll into a new year, I thought it was apparent that last year people were obsessed with new and interesting drinks. Starbucks being an especially trending topic, as everybody as loving their brand new drinks. Therefore this month I decided to meet with Rohan Pitumpe. Rohan is a coffee specialist, who has worked his way up and is recognised and valued very much in the UK coffee industry for his ability to create stunning latte art. I met with Rohan at the London coffee festival to ask him about his secrets to success. 

To start of, could you explain what you do as a job currently?

I've had a fair few jobs to do with coffee but currently I work for a coffee machine company. I usually go out to coffee shops showing how to use our machines and show them my art. Quite different from my initial job but I love it. I also spend time teaching people who wish to compete in latte art competitions. I try to pass them my wisdom and the tips and tricks I've learnt to help them win those competitions.

What made you want to have a job involved with coffee?

Although it was never a life long ambition of mine, I was also very interested in tea when I was younger. I was introduced into the tea industry through my dad since he was in that specific industry. Whenever I helped him or I was around tea I was fascinated by the aromas and the flavours and the various types of tea there was. It was quite an interesting topic for me in my childhood and that what sparked my interest in coffee. When I moved to the UK, it was pretty much the same thing in terms of these flavours and aromas although this time they were talking about coffee. It reminded me of my childhood and I simply loved it. Skip a couple of months forward and I was working in one of my local Starbucks. 

How did you discover the whole ‘latte art’ thing and how did you find it so easy?

It was while I was working at Starbucks and I saw my fellow colleagues making simple hearts in the drinks they were serving using milk. I thought this was quite a cool thing to be doing and wanted to try it myself. After gaining some advice from others I was able to these simple designs. Soon I found myself surrounded in this thing I never knew about and started pushing myself to doing more complicated things. I wouldn't say that I found it that easy at first but the fact that I was quite skilled in art probably helped me with this. 

You say you were doing these complicated designs but how exactly did you learn so fast?

The simple is answer is quite cliché but is infact practice. Practice, Practice, practice. I didn't stop practicing. Even after the shop closed I would still practice but that did require using up a lot of milk but thankfully my bosses were okay with it. Also, I loved it so much and so it was more like a hobby for me but luckily it's also my job which I'm extremely thankful for too. I guess that's why I was able to learn it in such a short period of time. You know what they say if you love it then do it and that's what exactly what I did. People think I’ve got a talent gifted by god but in truth it's just practice. 

You express a lot of enthusiasm about coffee but what is your favourite part?

Mainly I get quite excited about seeing customers reactions to my latte art. I enjoy their feedback about my work and I guess generally interacting with the customers more than anything else. That's the best part, that makes me happier than winning any completions, although I'd quite like to win one. Also, I guess, coming up with abstract designs to use is quite fun too but it's mainly reactions from others

You've come a long way in the past year but what would you say is your best achievement?

For starters, working in a good job that I love is quite a big achievement for me although people might not regard it as. I'm extremely proud in how well I've done in the completions that I've entered. I managed to come first in a latte art competition in my company and then progressing to come 2nd in the UK in a latte art completion which still blows my mind to this day. Not to mention I participated in a coffee tasting competition and did much better than I thought, coming in second place. 

Lastly, what do you hope for the future?

I'd say one of my main goals is to come first in latte art in the UK and then proceeding to participate in the global competition maybe during 2018. That's the aspiration. I'm also looking forward to starting a new job soon which should help me to gain more knowledge and hopefully it challenges me further so that I can improve further. 

By Dillon Tharumanayagam, Hampton School