Enjoy latte art at home in seconds with the amazingly easy-to-use Deco Latte strips

We like latte art, and its frothy 3-D variant, as much as the next group of visually stimulated coffee sippers. But as nice as it is to have a trained barista decorate your drink with a kitty or smiley face, most of us don’t have the time, equipment, or manual dexterity to add illustrations to drinks we make for ourselves.

But now those artistic flourishes don’t have to be something you can only have when you go out and pay five bucks for a cup of coffee, with new products that’ll let you enjoy latte art at home for about as much effort as tossing a cube of sugar into your mug.

The first part of manufacturer Takara Tomy Arts’ coffee beautification project is its lineup of Deco Latte sheets.

Instead of making a drawing in the swirls of cream atop your beverage, Deco Latte packs include an assortment of thin, flavorless gelatin strips with cocoa food coloring. Simply pick out the one want, place it atop a cup of the hot beverage of your choice, and watch as it dissolves into the liquid, leaving the picture behind.

Takara Tomy Arts claims drawing on the gelatin allows for more detailed and complex patterns, and the images will last for about two minutes before they start to melt away. You can also speed up the process by giving it a stir with a spoon. Three different varieties of Deco Latte are planned, with original artwork, Rilakkuma, and Snoopy all ready to make an appearance in your cup.

On the other hand, if you want artwork not just in your cup, but peeking out from it, Takara Tomy Arts also has the Awaccino 3-D Latte Art Maker.

After filing the Awaccino with cold skimmed milk or warm soy milk, flip the switch and give it 60 seconds to whip up a batch of foam. Let it stand for two minutes, then squeeze out as much foam as you need to shape your bear, bunny, or snowman.

Once you’ve got the body formed, all you’ve got to do is add some color. Dipping a toothpick into some chocolate syrup or black coffee should give you a good pigment to look for, but if you want to create something more vibrant, Takara Tomy Arts also suggests using shaved ice syrup.

For that matter, you don’t even have to limit yourself to just making art for your coffee. Matcha green tea latte also makes a great canvas, especially if you’re making something like a cute little froggy.

▼ Usually we’d be shocked and appalled to find a frog in our glass, but we’ll make an exception for this guy.

Deco Latte goes on sale December 1, at a price of 500 yen (US$4.40) for a pack of 10 strips. Awaccino hits stores three days later for 3,400 yen, meaning you’ll be able to get your hands on both early enough to enjoy latte art at home all winter long.

Sources: IT Media, Takara Tomy Arts (1, 2)
Top image: YouTube
Insert images: Takara Tomy Arts (1, 2), YouTube (1, 2)

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