Foam Home

I love latte art. Talented baristas can "draw" just about anything in a coffee cup by very skillfully pouring steamed milk and foam on top of espresso. Typically, designs are rosettes or hearts or combinations of both and look like this:

There is a whole set of 182 latte art photos posted on Flickr that really show off a lot of very beautiful designs. There is also a great tutorial on Wikihow that gives step by step instructions for creating your own latte art. Sound a little too ambitious? There is a company in the UK that sells coffee stencils. Just pop one of the stencils on top of the foam, sprinkle with cocoa powder, lift the stencil and Voila! One of five designs on your latte!


Here is a gothic-y gruesome one---maybe for Halloween?




And here is one that's out of this world (sorry):





You know I had to try one of my own. Out came my trusty Aeroccino. You can see it in action here. I whipped up some foamy lo-fat and with a lot of skilled wrist action, I carefully poured and placed my foam on top of my steaming espresso and this is what I came up with:





What? Don't tell me you can't see what it is. Clearly, it is an Easter egg with a moustache. A handlebar moustache. OK, a plain white egg on top of a handlebar moustache. Look again. Geez. You people don't know art when you see it.