Raising coffee and milk to high art
The first time I encountered latte art in person was at Jim and Patty's in Portland, OR. It was December 2004 and I was out in my hometown, visiting my parents. When I visit them, I make a point of slurping down as much good Portland coffee as possible and Jim and Patty's is always one of my favorite stops. I walked up to the counter, ordered a latte and was totally mesmerized as the guy running the espresso machine made the foam resemble a fallen leaf with a couple flicks of his wrist.
These days, there are many people who spend their days elevating the combination of coffee and milk into the highest form of impermanent loveliness. Check out the video above for some amazing work. For more, check out this amazing Flickr set.
[via Food for Thought]
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1Latte art equals good foam and that (usually) means a good latte. I usually get a heart, apple or leaf in my morning coffee and the occasional cartwheel, though those are not free-poured. Baristas earn extra points for difficulty if they use soy milk, because it is harder to get good foam with soy.
It's all in the wrist, apparently.
210-01-2008 @ 2:53AM
Greg Sherwin said...
Unfortunately, I never got the obsession with latte art. Aussies swear by it as if it's mere existence were the lone and ultimate goal of a good milk-based espresso drink. People enter competitions for creating it. People at home obsess over their own creations.
Fine. But it's about as relevant to espresso beverage quality as the the end zone dance is to a football player's talents.
As an art medium, it's third rate to everything from finger-painting to pen and ink wash. As an indicator of beverage quality, it's a baseline indicator of getting the right mix and consistency of milk and espresso -- but it's a superfluous self-indulgence that quickly becomes more about drawing Tippy the Turtle than it is about drink quality.
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