By Harriet Mallinson | Published on July 7, 2017
Do you ever find yourself impressed when your barista pours a heart or a leaf onto your morning latte?
Well, stop right there, thank you very much, because there’s a man in South Korea who will put all those paltry creations to shame with his mind-blowing latte art.
Lee Kang-bin, 26, draws everything from world-renowned paintings such as Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ and cherry blossom trees to Disney cartoon characters and famous actors.
Lee Kang-bin pours his artistic lattes
The talented artist – a barista at C.Through, a coffee shop at Seonsu Station in Seoul – uses a thin metal rod and a palette of food dyes to etch the images on a thick layer of cream atop the coffee. He’s even dubbed the art form ‘cremart’.
It takes him about 15 minutes to create the dazzling art, which he copies from pictures pulled up on his phone, and costs the customer 10,000 won (£6.74) – and yes, it is cold by the time you can actually drink it.
Lee’s love of coffee started at 17 when he started brewing the stuff while undertaking his mandatory military service. According to Reuters, he enjoyed the process so much that he bought a coffee machine and went on to open his first cafe for soldiers in his camp near the border with North Korea.
Amazingly, Lee says he never learnt to draw but that hasn’t stopped him amassing 161,000 Instagram followers and a judge’s seat at multiple latte art competitions around the world. He now hopes to bring his latte art to the World Latte Art Championship.
MACROS have rounded up a selection of Lee’s most stunning designs
I scream for coffee cream! Edvard Munch’s The Scream
Never get between a man and his rose: The Little Prince
Avast me hearties! Captain Jack Sparrow aka Johnny Depp
Feeling blue
Wish upon a star: Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night
Man’s best friend
Coming up roses
My, what long legs you have! Bambi
Flowers on another level: Cherry Blossom tree (using popcorn)
Full speed ahead!
A tale as old as time: Beauty and the Beast
Phoning home: E.T
Cheeky chappy
Harriet is Editor of MACROS and perfectly capable of eating an entire log of goat’s cheese in one sitting.
