Caffe Latte Art

It came about during my time in London working as a media intern: serious concentration and involvement in coffee culture go hand-in-hand, or should I say sip-in-sip. Vowing never to darken the doorways of Starbucks again we found the best (Bar Italia), and usually independent coffee shops down the backstreets and byways of the West End.

But being a coffee fashionista is not an option on a student budget. There was just about room in my rented garrett accommodation for a jar of Nescafe and a rarely washed mug, which definitely doesn’t produce the same taste of the Gaggia machine. The most disappointing thing about it was the lack of patterned froth, which always seemed to make it taste better.

Thus developed in the 1980s by Baristas who used the technique of pouring steamed milk into a shot of espresso thus creating a flower or heart. Now there are infinite designs, which can be created using a range of tools and gadgets following tutorials on youtube.