Latte Art

Such a shame that most of you hide that beautiful foam underneath a Starbucks plastic lid. And those of you that ask for "no foam", I will never understand why. That's the equivalent of asking for no icing on a cake. The foaming of the milk is a natural occurrence and should never be tampered with. But that's just my personal insight.
In Italy, it is not uncommon to have the barista experiment with different variations of 'latte art'. What is 'latte art' exactly? Well I'll tell you.

It is simply a method of pouring the steamed milk into your shot(s) of espresso in such a way, resulting in a particular pattern or design on the surface. Go ahead and try this yourself, and I'll be impressed if you master it before trying 50+ times.
The crema of the espresso is to the foam of the milk, as peanut butter is to jelly (or Fluffernutter, to be more aesthetically correct). The contrast of the white and brown can result in some incredible designs.

Their are basically two different methods of making your 'latte art'.
The first being the quicker, more common method of, free-pouring. Essentially just pouring the milk from the pitcher into the cup with a certain tilt and control. I could try to explain to you how to do this, but in truth it'd be better to just watch it on youtube. Typical designs that are done with free-pouring are hearts, rosettas, flowers, apples, etc.
The second method, can be referred to as striking or etching. This basically implies the use of an extra tool, such as a stirring rod or spoon. This technique is used for more complicated designs and obviously gives you more control over the end result.

So next time you're in a Starbucks, request a "for here" mug and give the barista a hard time if they can't provide you with a heart of foam.

* I didn't even request for this to be done, but I was given this simple apple design in my cappuccino this morning.