Latte Art is the practice of drawing designs on the surface of an espresso drink using microfoam or steamed milk, with standard designs including hearts, rosettes and tulips.

Where did Latte Art come from?

The practice presumably began in Italian cafes and was popularized in the United States by Seattle barista David Schomer of Espresso Vivace across the 1980s and 1990s.

What does Latte Art mean?

The term refers to freehand foam designs poured or etched into a latte, cappuccino or similar milk-based espresso drink, most often variations on the heart, tulip and rosette.

How do you use Latte Art?

Baristas pour steamed milk into an espresso shot to draw shapes directly in the crema, or use a thin tool to etch details onto the foam surface after pouring.

Is Latte Art still popular?

The practice fed a global culture of championship events and tutorial videos through the 2010s, with the World Latte Art Championship anchoring the competitive scene from 2011 onward and Osaka barista Kazuki Yamamoto pushing the format into 3D by 2013.

Latte Art

1992viral art trendclassic

Published September 5, 2026

Latte Art, also called Barista Art or Coffee Art, is the craft of pouring or etching patterns into the microfoam surface of an espresso drink. Seattle barista David Schomer refined the signature rosette pattern in 1992, and a wave of 2000s YouTube tutorials pushed the technique from cafe counters into a globally viral coffee craze.

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Overview

Latte Art has two main techniques. Free pouring builds hearts, rosettes and tulips by pouring steamed milk directly into a shot of espresso, while etching uses a thin tool to draw finer detail on top of the foam6. Poured designs hold their shape longer because the crema stays intact, whereas etched work breaks down as the foam settles.

The rosette became the pattern every trainee barista learns first, and later work pushed into three dimensions. Japanese barista Kazuki Yamamoto, working out of Osaka, models Hello Kitty, Vault Boy from Fallout and other pop culture figures out of sculpted steamed milk sitting on top of cappuccino1.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Coffee shops (Italy / Seattle) / YouTube (viral spread)

Creator

David Schomer

Date

1992

The exact starting point for Latte Art is fuzzy, but Italian cafes are usually credited as the source. In the United States the technique was popularized by David Schomer of Seattle coffee shop Espresso Vivace across the 1980s and 1990s. By 1992 he had developed the signature rosette pattern from a photograph he had seen at Cafe Mateki in Italy, and the earliest dedicated online barista resource, LatteArt.org, launched on July 15, 20026.

How It Spread

YouTube pushed Latte Art's global reach. A latte art tutorial uploaded on April 27, 2006 gathered millions of views over the following years2, and a 2008 upload titled 'World's best latte art' showed baristas free-pouring designs to another multimillion audience3. The dedicated sharing site Barista Jam went live on June 17, 2009, followed weeks later by a widely watched clip showing ferns, peacocks and a dog poured in a single cup4.

Another tutorial posted November 17, 2010 kept the trend growing on YouTube5. The World Latte Art Championship put its official site online on February 3, 2011, and on February 7, 2013 BuzzFeed compiled 40 notable microfoam examples6. Later that year on May 21, 2013 Kotaku ran a feature on Osaka barista Kazuki Yamamoto's 3D cappuccino sculptures, spotlighting Hello Kitty and Fallout characters shaped in foam1.

How to Use This Meme

A typical Latte Art pour starts with well-textured microfoam and a fresh shot of espresso. Baristas hold the milk pitcher close to the crema, angle the pour, and move through the cup to draw hearts, tulips or rosettes on the surface. Common convention is to finish poured designs with a fast pull-through stroke, while more detailed work often uses a thin pick or skewer to etch fine lines into the foam after the base pour4.