Latte Art...
Ok, so between real jobs (and considering going back to school) I've been serving coffee at a Borders in San Rafael. Tonight there was nobody to cover for breaks so I had to make real drinks even though I'm vehemently opposed to learning the craft of the barista from a chain like Seattle's Best. But I took my first post as barista as an opportunity to work on latte art.
Having only made a drink or two before, it was slow going, but by the 4th or 5th latte (and for the record, everybody in Marin County orders medium, non-fat, decaf. lattes) I succeeded: a perfect heart.
The new kid working the register asked why it was called art. I guess he felt it should have been called "latte decorating" or something. Personally, I'm quite fond of it and felt charged with defending the integrity of the art. This is what I told him:
It just so happens that a heart is one of the most basic shapes to pour into a latte. Why? Not because it's physically easy (though that's probably true) but because love is fleeting, at best. The only way to appreciate beauty is to understand what it's like to live without it, and so the only way to really feel love is to lose it. As such, no permenant (or long-lasting) medium works. Painting, photography, song... those things exist long after their creation. But not latte art.
In latte art, the aesthetic design comes 2nd to the taste of the drink. As such, a shitty drink means shitty art, and the only way to test the quality of the art is to taste it - destroying the visual presentation.
Wine, weed, coffee, food - all must be visually appealing to be considered wonderful, but that visual presentation has to be temporary, or else everything is lost. Food that isn't eaten is certainly a waste. Likewise, the heart in the latte had to be destroyed in order for the beauty of the latte to be enjoyed. Destruction brings understanding, and consequent absolution (from a world without beauty).
Love is the same way.
Marrying a high-school sweetheart? That's just fucking depressing. Love isn't an emotion - it's a reward. Years of suffering and too many tears manifest into love. You have to destroy yourself over and over again until enough of a hole is created that somebody else can fill it.
So yes, latte art is in fact art.
And hopefully it tasted good, too.
-Cory G.-
Having only made a drink or two before, it was slow going, but by the 4th or 5th latte (and for the record, everybody in Marin County orders medium, non-fat, decaf. lattes) I succeeded: a perfect heart.
The new kid working the register asked why it was called art. I guess he felt it should have been called "latte decorating" or something. Personally, I'm quite fond of it and felt charged with defending the integrity of the art. This is what I told him:
It just so happens that a heart is one of the most basic shapes to pour into a latte. Why? Not because it's physically easy (though that's probably true) but because love is fleeting, at best. The only way to appreciate beauty is to understand what it's like to live without it, and so the only way to really feel love is to lose it. As such, no permenant (or long-lasting) medium works. Painting, photography, song... those things exist long after their creation. But not latte art.
In latte art, the aesthetic design comes 2nd to the taste of the drink. As such, a shitty drink means shitty art, and the only way to test the quality of the art is to taste it - destroying the visual presentation.
Wine, weed, coffee, food - all must be visually appealing to be considered wonderful, but that visual presentation has to be temporary, or else everything is lost. Food that isn't eaten is certainly a waste. Likewise, the heart in the latte had to be destroyed in order for the beauty of the latte to be enjoyed. Destruction brings understanding, and consequent absolution (from a world without beauty).
Love is the same way.
Marrying a high-school sweetheart? That's just fucking depressing. Love isn't an emotion - it's a reward. Years of suffering and too many tears manifest into love. You have to destroy yourself over and over again until enough of a hole is created that somebody else can fill it.
So yes, latte art is in fact art.
And hopefully it tasted good, too.
-Cory G.-