Latte Art Training

Baristas who use milk texturing to form beautiful designs in hot espresso are making latte art.

According to "Barista Magazine," hot espresso is enhanced with milk texturing to provide a full, rich experience for the consumer. Although hearts and rosettes are created to appeal to the visual senses, budding baristas are well advised to consider the entire latte as art and not merely the milk hearts and rosettes. Training in latte art is available via formal classes and CDs as well as on the job.

History

According to Bruce Milletto, president of Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup, latte art began in Italy, spreading to the United States around the mid-1990s. It was quickly adopted in Seattle, Washington, with David Schomer's creation of a training video based on the Italian technique.

Application

According to Milletto, providing baristas with latte art training is an inexpensive yet effective way to increase traffic. Essentially, this is a no-cost marketing strategy, purely reliant on training time with baristas. Because customers will enjoy the aesthetics and special attention to detail, they will drive in new traffic via word-of-mouth advertising.

Competition

Baristas can continue to develop their skills through practice, experimentation and additional training. They can apply their experiences and measure their success at the prestigious Coffee Fest competitions. Judging may be based on the following categories: "Aesthetic Beauty," "Definition," "Color Infusion," "Degree of Difficulty and Creativity" and "Speed."

References

• "Barista Magazine": Is the Art Worth the Effort?
• Espresso 101: Bruce Milletto Background
• Espresso 101: Creating Art in a Pitcher of Milk
• Coffe Fest: Latte Art Competition