As barista-made coffee took over the United States, a new form of art developed along with thepopularity of lattes, espresso, and other coffee drinks. Latte art or coffee art refers to the designs created by baristas on the foam and cream tops of espresso based drinks. Most of the time, you'll see abstract designs, or, occasionally, flowers or butterflies, or bunnies or dogs . . . but some baristas are truly artists. You'll see images like the portrait of Bruce Lee above.
Sometimes the art involves just coffee, with a layer of foam, but more often than not, the coffee has been sprinkled with cinnamon or chocolate, before the foam is poured, or after. There are two central techniques; first, pouring foamed milk from a pitcher (and the foam has to be the perfect consistency, no easy task), and second, using a stick to draw controlled lines through the layer of foamed milk and cream to the layer of cinnamon or chocolate below, creating lovely abstract patterns or even elaborate images like the ones you see in this post. You'll note some baristas are particularly adept at pouring the foamed milk, or even heavy cream, and creating a design that way.
This is serious business for artistic baristas. Coffee Fest hosts the annual Millrock Latte Art Competition for this fragile and fleeting art form, with prizes ranging up to $500. There's a World Barista Championship that features latte art. Last year's contest was in Copenhagen, Denmark, and there's a nifty article about it here. Latte art really is a world-wide phenomenon.
If you're a do-it-yourself sort of person, here's an instructional guide to latte art. Don't get discouraged, though. It takes a good deal of practice and a steady hand. And here's a gallery of latte art, and a few videos to inspire you.
