He said practice strengthens muscle memory, which yields perfect, smooth movement during the competition without too much thinking.

"The most important thing for doing latte art is passion and perseverance," Liang said. "We need an eye for the subtle beauty in life."

Liang ranked eleventh in the 2017 World Latte Art Championship and won the third place in the 2018 event.

Managed and produced by World Coffee Events, the World Latte Art Championship is the top level competition in the coffee industry. No Chinese person has yet won the title.

"I wish to promote our Chinese coffee culture to the world," Liang said.