There’s time and place for everything. In Italy, the country that gave us the espresso, the only time for a cappuccino is first thing in the morning. In the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia, dairy is typically processed into other products to extend its life in the hot climate, and butter is traditionally added to black coffee. Closer to home there’s a different attitude. The abundance of pasture land, cooler temperatures and widespread lactose tolerance means milk is widely consumed by Brits at breakfast, lunch and dinner. And local baristas, it seems, share that love – just look at their latte art.
The rise of speciality coffee and the rise of latte art go hand in hand. A heart or rosetta topping one’s flat white or cappuccino quickly became a hallmark of cup quality, and a key point of difference from the high street coffee chains. At first, my baristas struggled to pour even the most basic of requests, but this changed rapidly and soon their rosettas were served with dozens of leaves, while it wasn’t uncommon to see peacocks and unicorns. Some shops cashed in by offering latte art courses to consumers.
Denne historien er fra Issue 42 -utgaven av Caffeine.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 42 -utgaven av Caffeine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Future Of Decaf?
A US company claims its pouch extracts caffeine without harming flavour
Great Coffee Shouldn't Cost The Earth
Caffeine’s editor-at-large Tim Ridley explains how to lower the environmental impact of your coffee-drinking habit
What The F**k...Is Honey Processing?
Apart from natural and washed coffees sits a whole other category, as Sierra Wen Xin Yeo explains
The grind
SEASONAL COFFEE
Tea with purpose
Michelle and Rob Comins explain how tea can be a force for good
Ten years on
We celebrate the London Coffee Festival’s first decade with a look at its successes
Chocolate and espresso pavlova with fennel roasted grapes
This year I’m giving coffee centre stage on the Christmas dessert table. I firmly believe coffee shouldn’t just be an afterthought to accompany dessert, it should be the dessert – but aside from that, it just makes sense.
Bitter Barista
Latte art competitions have been milking it for too long – they used to be fun, but now their focus on the wrong things is harming barista skills, says our cantankerous columnist
What The F**k ...Is The Maillard Reaction?
It’s just one of the elements you need to know about if you’re going to roast coffee successfully, as Edgaras Juška explains
Work Wonders
Coffee gets people through the working day. So it stands to reason that better coffee produces better work – and in some places the two are in perfect harmony, says Phil Wain