We recently hosted the Glasgow heat of the now infamous ZWLAT! Otherwise known as the Zero Waste Latte Art Throwdown! The best acronym for the best event!
So successful was last year's event, that Rebecca Marcone (Becks) and her awesome team at Oatly decided to roll this one out for a second edition!
Not only is the ZWLAT an opportunity for Scottish baristas to show off their skills, but it's also a great time to connect with other cafe owners and baristas in an informal, high-energy, and pizza-fuelled kind-of way!
Our friends at Oatly have nailed it when it comes to Latte Art Throwdowns with a format that not only brings the vibes with an excellent playlist and off-the-hook MC-ing skills by the brilliant Becks. There's also an inclusive judging process and consideration for the environment with a zero-waste ethos - all coffees made are not doomed for the slop bucket, oh no! They were shaken over ice (Jesse Vanx on the tools!) to create delicious White Russians! What's not to like?! Zero!
Here is how the competition rolls:
- 3 heats (Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh)
- 16 contestants per heat
- 1 winner per heat
- Loads of prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd of each heat.
- 1 flight to Geneva to SCA World of Coffee for the overall winner.
Having hosted the Glasgow heat, we were keen to learn who made it to the final in Edinburgh and who scooped the incredible 1st place prize of a flight to Geneva for the 2025 World of Coffee Event by the Specialty Coffee Association!
We couldn't be more delighted for the winner - Sophie Hutchison! Sophie spends her days slinging Dear Green for the masses at the West End Coffee House, she attended the Glasgow heat and progressed to the final due to a last-minute drop out of finalists! Go Sophie!
We caught up with Sophie and asked her to share her experience of this momentous win!
First of all, congratulations!! How do you feel as the champion of Oatly’s ZWLAT?
Absolutely class! I’m still in a state of disbelief and shock, it was definitely unexpected but it’s a very good feeling, too.
You entered the Glasgow heat of Oatly’s ZWLAT, what was your experience like as a first time competitor?
At first, I thought it was going to be very intimidating. As I’m brand new to competing in coffee, I wasn’t sure how serious it would be. However, I realised soon after stepping through the door of Dear Green’s roastery that the event was a lot more chilled out than I’d expected it to be in my head. The environment was very cool, there was good music and the general vibe made me feel much more comfortable.
A lot of people are nervous when competing in barista events, did you experience any nerves and how did you manage this?
I was incredibly nervous, I put a lot of pressure on myself in competition settings. I’ve had a lot of experience in other competitive environments such as sports, but obviously never in coffee. I think the main thing that helped me is that everyone I spoke to was super friendly. The organisers and hosts were very welcoming, and everyone was up for chatting to each other despite me and Nathan (a colleague/friend who also competed) having not known any of the other competitors. It’s a very nice community to be a part of.
A last-minute drop-out saw you advance to the final, how did you feel with so little time to prepare?
It was absolutely a whirlwind of emotions! As I was trying to decide whether to put myself forward, I was told I need to put myself out there more and do things that make me feel scared and nervous, which I was absolutely feeling. I was also excited however, as I do enjoy competing despite how nervous I get. Although I didn’t have much time to physically or mentally prepare, I was confident the raw skills were there, although applying them in competition is definitely a completely different story.
Talk us through your experience in the final:
Walking into the environment of Origin coffee on the night definitely felt like more of a party than a competition. Again, the atmosphere was pretty chilled, despite being a bag of nerves myself. Having to dial in coffee, on a grinder and a machine I’ve never worked with, was incredibly challenging under pressure. My espresso pull I presented to the judges was honestly shocking, and having to present them with tasting notes was difficult when all I could really come up with was “it’s bad”. My milk steaming was also not my best work by a mile, but luckily the texture pulled through and worked well enough with the shot I pulled to secure the win. Which was a shock! The other competitors were incredibly talented and I think it definitely could’ve gone any way. They were also super friendly guys, there wasn’t a lot of competitive nature at all, which was very nice! It’s definitely a testament to myself that I can do hard things and taking chances really pays off sometimes!
You’ve been working in the coffee industry for a number of years now, World of Coffee Geneva will be your first major event in the specialty coffee scene, are you looking forward to the trip?
I’m absolutely buzzing. It’s such an amazing opportunity to be going at all, I’m so looking forward to what it’ll have to offer. My absolute dream is to have my own specialty coffee shop one day, so it’ll be amazing to network and just meet people behind the scenes of some of the most amazing coffee brands. It will be a great opportunity to learn so much as well I’m sure, as I definitely have a lot of learning to do to make my dream a reality.
Any last thoughts on the whole experience?
I would just thoroughly encourage anyone to take a chance on themselves to compete, regardless of your confidence in yourself or how good you think you’re not, you never know how far you might get! I highly recommend it for the connections you can make, and the experience you will gain!
You can catch Sophie on Instagram @sophiejhutch or showing off her barista skills at West End Coffee House & Bakery, 683 Great Western Rd, Glasgow G12 8RA.
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