Milklab presents Blind Barista Battle

To mark the launch Milklab in the UAE, the brand is sponsoring a Blind Barista Battle, where the country’s best baristas will go head to head in a latte art competition.

The Blind Barista Battle will be held at The Sum of Us Coffee Roastery at the Burj al Salam Trade Centre on Sunday 5th March. Thirty baristas will be challenged to produce latte art patterns using various dairy and non-dairy milk types in the knockout-style event. Cash prizes and product will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places, as judged on skill, presentation and taste of the baristas’ Milklab latte creations.

“A coffee issue that has plagued hipsters and baristas the world over is how to make a latte without having the milk split and curdle due to the high acidity of black coffee and temperature. MILKLAB was born from the realisation that the best coffee needs a better milk, and is designed to texture and stretch to work with espresso coffee,” said Freedom Foods GM of commercial Peter Brown.

The Blind Barista Battle event is being supported by the Victorian Government Business Office (VGBO) in Dubai. The State of Victoria is known as the “bread basket” of Australia and is home to the country’s world-class dairy production.
Victorian government commissioner to the Middle East, Africa and Turkey John Butler said in a statement: “We are pleased to be supporting such a fun and unique event like this in Dubai, particularly as the product comes from Victoria.”
Butler continued: “The UAE, and the wider Middle East, is one of Victoria’s largest food and beverage export markets. Promoting new and innovative initiatives like this helps to underpin Victoria’s position as a provider of high quality products to the region.”

The Milklab product range includes dairy, almond, soy and coconut milks and is especially designed for use with espresso-based coffee. It is available throughout Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and now, the United Arab Emirates.
The event coincides with the launch of Sum of Us own range of ‘Encounter’ specialty coffee beans, which are roasted in house and will be used by baristas on the day. It is expected that the event will be well attended by baristas, bloggers, industry professionals and coffee-lovers.