(Video link here.) Mike Breach never knew he was an artist, until he started working as a barrista. He discovered that the foamed milk inspired him to draw in cappucinos and lattes. The way he found his unique expression seems like kismet to us.

If you’d like to try your hand at drawing in milk froth but need a palette to begin with, we find battery-powered milk frothers make an easy way to make a thick foam. Follow Breach’s basic method, pick up a skewar or a toothpick and then…see what happens.

(We’re thinking kids could do it with a rich cup of cocoa….)

Related posts: the coffee improvisations (pt 1) + oscarina’s old brazil brewing method
the coffee improvisations (pt 2): roasting your own
the oddness and power of real cook’s tools
kramer’s coffee table book (imaginary d-i-y)
coffee-can pot as mystery + reminder

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One thought on “the fine, improvisational art of coffee foam drawing

  1. This reminds me of a family story—

    My great grandmother was Greek, and the coffee my American family drinks has always been reminiscent of that thick strong Greek/Turkish coffee. So much so that one of my old boyfriends–in the 70s, pre-Starbucks–said it was “hallucinogenic”.

    Apparently also, my Ya-Ya would tell fortunes from the thick sediment at the bottom of the coffee cup after it was empty. The sediment made patterns, drawings which were then interpreted.

    My Nana, her daughter, once told my fortune in my cup when I was about 18 or 20, and was poised to begin a professional life of unending travel with no marital prospects on the horizon at all. (At least that she could see!)

    She saw a pregnant woman in my cup, thus proving that some things are passed down forever. It was her way of trying to tether me to family and tribe, to help me stay home.

    It didn’t come true, but I appreciate it now even more.

    Coffee is important…….

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