Okay, so latte art is pretty. And fun, once you get the hang of it. But has anyone noticed an increase in sales due to latte art? Do customers really tell their friends, "Dude, you''ve GOT to see this!"?[/quote:]It''s like Maslows Pyramid of the Heirarchy of Needs; coffee is at the bottom of the pyramid and latte art is at the top. i''ll drink it just the same though
[quote:0c3a1fb993=\"Coffee Guy\"]I hate to be an $#@%^%#...But art work is for the walls. :twisted: The most important things relating to the drink is the coffee and the milk, if milk is used. Anything additional doesn''t apply :shock:[/quote:0c3a1fb993]wonderful example of the coffee purist aesthetic
I am not sure if Latte art would increase sales, mabye to those who know something about coffee, Latte Art would serve to reinforce the view that said cafe/coffeeshop, knows what the hell they are doing.
All to often (well not that often now because I rarely buy a coffee outside), I am served swill that passes for coffee by completely non interested people (I can't call them Baristas). They press a button and watch uninterestedly as either the 6 second espresso extraction or the 16 second 5 oz americano extraction :shock: , plops it's way into the cup. Usually from a portafilter that was filled with coffee and locked and loaded up to half an hour before, waiting for some unsuspecting mug to come along and order a coffee.
Order a Latte and you get some obscene half pint of milk with an underxtracted 6 second single shot in it, that tastes of nothin. For the Latte, or laughably any attempt at a cappa, a "barista", shoves the steam wand into a 1 litre pitcher of milk that has been heated 6 times over the last 20 minutes and with the usual mindless expression, opens the steam wand and stares into the distance thinking about the evening ahead.
Hell yes....I would tell my friends about any coffee shop that had the slightest interest in their product (e.g. Latte art demonstrating some interest) and serving the customers a decent beverage. Plus without properly extracted coffee with "crema" and at least halfway decent milk frothing with fresh milk, it's hard to pour good art!
In the UK, coffee shops are a joke and have the cheek to serve crap to customers for at least$3.5 to $5 per cup....this is a lot of money for undrinkable swill!
It takes me the same time to pour latte art into the cups I''m making for costumers, so everyone I serve usually get a little leaf or a heart into their cup, both to stay and to go.
My experience is that people usually don''t notice the art though, but maybe that''s just because our regulars take it for granted. As soon as people get their cup they start to pour sugar or chocolate over it and forget about looking into the cup to see the art that''s there.
Heidi is right on, in that it is possible to pour latte art without it taking extra time or sacrificing espresso quality. It''s not an either-or proposition as far as \"either I pour latte art or I run an efficient bar\" and/or \"either I pour latte art or I make great espresso.\" It really is possible to run an efficient bar where baristas pour lovely shots and pour art in lattes, but it requires that the bar is set up to encourage efficient workflow (milk and sink nearby), that correct supplies are available (especially the right amount of milk pitchers, usually at least 6), and baristas all recieve great training. Many of the best and busiest cafes in North America are a testament to this, think Artigiano, Murky, Intelligentsia, etc. (full disclosure- I worked for Intelly for many years).
When we introduced latte art at Intelligentsia, we saw tips go up and sales also steadily increased. One of the other things that latte art does very well is it attracts local press. However, I will also emphasize that latte art is no substitute for excellent espresso preparation and milk texturing.
