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Permalink Reply by Brady on February 24, 2012 at 10:57am

Ok, here's what I see in the USBC scoresheet explanation. I see that you are in Malaysia so perhaps there are subtle differences, but I think USBC and WBC match up pretty well.

"14.3.1 Visually correct cappuccino

Judges will evaluate the appearance of the cappuccino to determine its visual score. On the surface, the cappuccino should have a colour combination of milk and coffee, with good colour contrast, symmetrical design and a smooth and possibly glossy/glasslike sheen..."

This is a 0-6 point item, regardless of which approach you take.

If we assume that your "perfect" monk's head is an Excellent (5 points) pour and your "beautiful" rosetta is more like a Very Good (4 points), then the answer is pretty obvious... 5 points are more than 4. However a Very Good rosetta will earn you the same points as a Very Good monk's head... 4.

The real question is, does your monk's head look better than your rosetta? Is your crema brown darker? Your white whiter? Your ring unbroken? Your symmetry better? We'll assume your milk texture would be the same smooth and glossy. If it looks better, it should score higher.

Hope that helps. I also hope some of the more experienced judges jump in.

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Permalink Reply by Mavin on February 24, 2012 at 11:47am

thx for the explanation Brady. Appreciate it. By the way how important is it to make all the cappuccinos symmetry interms of look? for example i pour a heart on 1 and a rosetta on another, how does that effect the points? or do they evaluate base on individual cup?

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Permalink Reply by Andy Kwon on March 9, 2012 at 8:45pm

I've yet to see a monk's hat from any body who competes at a high level. BTW I don't even know what a monk's hat is. I'm assuming it's a heavy dollop of dry foam?

I haven't read the rules of the WBC, so I can't say for sure though. However, I've yet to see anybody at the WBC making dry caps. It's not considered third wave.

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Permalink Reply by Alex on March 10, 2012 at 11:57am

A couple of years earlier your two cappuccinos had to match - if a rosetta was on one, it must be on both. However, since last year, they got rid of that because consistency in how the coffee looks was more something for the Latte Art competition. You can pour different art on each cappuccino. Each of your cappuccinos will be judged alone, each by a different judge (I believe). If the judges are looking at the coffee beside them, rather than the one in front of them, they aren't doing their job properly.

So... Having different art on each cup shouldn't affect your points. 

Reading the judging criteria, if you poured a frothy "monks hat" you would lose points. You could pour without art; just a clean white top with a circle of brown, but it still must be perfectly steamed microfoam. 

From the competition guidelines:

Sensory judges will gently but quickly push back the foam using a spoon to evaluate the depth and texture of milk foam. The foam should extend at least 1 cm into the cappuccino to achieve a score of very good (4) or higher. The foam should be smooth, silky and consist of only micro-bubbles

Mavin said:

thx for the explanation Brady. Appreciate it. By the way how important is it to make all the cappuccinos symmetry interms of look? for example i pour a heart on 1 and a rosetta on another, how does that effect the points? or do they evaluate base on individual cup?

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