Official espresso machine for the World Latte Art and World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, the Plus4Champions represents the art of espresso in the purest form: this iconic Astoria machine, dedicated to the coffee bar professionals who will be challenging each other in Gothenburg from June 16th to the 18th, is not just a concentration of Italian technology; it is also a symbol of the style and passion that distinguish the best baristas in the world. We asked four young artists to reinterpret this special machine, calling on their individual creativity to interweave their imaginations with the theme of coffee.
Nicola Ferrarese, co-director of the Treviso Comic Book Festival and an insatiable experimentalist with a passion for murals, offered up one of his trademark patterns, sprinkling his Plus4Champions with a yummy cascade of pastries, sweets and decorated cappuccinos. Then he took on a playful homage to milk and designed a tribute to the city of Gothenburg, creating an iconic image of the city that will host the championship.
The pleasure of coffee dominates the cartoons of another artist from Treviso, Paolo Gallina, who connected Susegana and Gothenburg with 
steaming coffee carried on a tray by an elegant barista who crosses Europe to bring a perfect espresso to its final destination. And the coffee break is nothing to kid about: with his unmistakable and eccentric irony Paolo turns it into a sacred moment – like a goal in a big match – that can take away the day’s stress in the bat of an eye. In his third interpretation, it’s OK to rush, but it’s better to take time for a fully earned and well-deserved coffee break.
Born in Rome, where she earned her degree at the International Comics School, Eleonora Antonioni has now adopted Torino as her home. She focused attention on the concept of the contest, depicting a spectacular ice skating competition inspired by latte art and a fun bicycle race in hot pursuit of an Astoria coffee bike. Eleonora’s pop soul also captured the scenes of a unique world-bar, where people from different walks of life and with different drinking styles come together under a common denominator, which is the pleasure of a shared break and the passion for quality coffee.
An aviator, a submarine captain and a race car driver: last but not least, Claudio Bandoli created a surprising gallery 
of characters who interpret the concept of competition in various ways, remaining faithful to the style of their creator and immersed in detailed vintage atmospheres. Focused on their goal, his subjects dominate the track, the skies and the seas as they pursue their enterprises: the challengers at the World Latte Art and World Coffee in Good Spirits Championships will be striving to dominate their competition as well.
