What is a latte or cappuccino without a pretty heart or fern made out of the foam? A boring drink, that's what! As a coffee aficionado and art lover, I sought out to find the history of latte art, when it was invented and by who! This is what I found...
I found a fish latte! In my research on latte art I found how many creative designs people have come up with. It's truly an art form. I wish they would spice up the designs at my local coffee shop! I also discovered that latte art was invented at around the same time in Italy and America... independently! With the development of micro foam in Italy, the marriage of espresso crema and foam was made.
Coffee itself was introduced in Venice from Egypt in about the 17th century, and quickly adored. The first coffee place, called "cafe," named after the drink (coffee to cafe) opened in Venice in 1683. Espresso was drank for years and years and continues to be the main way that coffee is consumed in Italy. Although latte art's origins cannot be traced back to one particular inventor, it is presumed that it began in Italy around the 1980s.
Lets go on a little voyage across the ocean to America in the 1980s. The owner of Espresso Vivace in Seattle, David Schomer also developed latte art independently from what was being done in Italy. He made and popularized the heart pattern in the US. Then he saw a photograph of a latte with the rosette pattern (a fancy way for saying the fern that we see on most lattes) from a cafe in Italy called Cafe Mateki. He recreated it and popularized it in the US. Schomer now runs latte art classes in Seattle. Read more about them here!
So for those of you who are wondering what latte is chemically, it is the mixture of the crema, which is the layer of foam that is formed on top of espresso, and the micro foam, which is the air that is produced when steaming milk. When making latte art, you first pour the espresso shot into the cup. When the steamed milk is poured on top of this, a contrast is created, and this is how the designs can be made. 
Latte art is a standard practice in almost every coffee shop and cafe today, the most common are the heart and the fern, as they are the easiest to make and don't require any other tools to make. Some more intricate designs can be created with a toothpick, and take more time. I love my latte art and I also love to make latte art, it is the marriage of two of my favorite things, food and art! I recently learned how to do some latte art and discovered that it is actually quite fun! Who knew an artist's canvas could be a cup of coffee!
