Latte foam art depicts world-famous paintings—Seoul’s artistic barista goes viral

▲Seoul barista’s cold latte foam art. (Photo /NongnonggaFacebook page)

By Rita

This is an era where the coffee market has become a red ocean, and many shops and baristas are constantly racking their brains to make their offerings stand out. Take a café in Seoul, South Korea, for example. Its baristas use milk foam to paint world-famous artworks and beloved cartoon characters, which even earned them a feature report by CNN.

In this report, barista Lee Gang-bin mentioned that “foam art” is something he has always wanted to do. “I want to bring dreams into daily life. Many baristas use just black and white colors for latte foam, but I want more vibrant colors.”

▲Cold latte foam art actually takes quite a bit of time. (Photo /NongnonggaFacebook page)

This wild idea has earned him over 200,000 followers on Instagram. His creations include Van Gogh’s *The Starry Night*, Munch’s *The Scream*, Da Vinci’s *Mona Lisa*, and more. Beyond these, there are also characters from storybooks, *The Little Prince*, Korean magazine covers, and others.

Many people wonder if such coffee is still drinkable or if it affects the flavor. Lee Gang-bin responded that his foam art is only done on iced coffee, so it doesn’t impact the taste. As for pricing, each cup costs around 210 New Taiwan Dollars. Since the foam drawing takes a long time, he only makes three cups per day, all of which require advance reservations.

Cafe C. THROUGH
Address: 403-3 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea