Seoul Barista Creates Coffee Works of Art

The South Korean barista is famous for the artistic creations that he makes into every cup of coffee that he sells. His creations have brought him nearly 200,000 Instagram followers.

"Coffee is a fairytale to me," he tells CNN. "It helps me express exactly what I want and brings my dreams to life. People who specialize in latte art usually only use two colors: black and white. But I wanted to break that color limit."

Even though the creations that can be seen in his cups of coffee are famous masterpieces created by artists such as Van Gogh and Edvard Munch, he also does custom work for customers.

He has received requests of all sorts. From storybook characters, such as the Little Prince, to a Vogue Korea magazine cover. However, no matter the design, Lee says that it is very important that his works of art can actually be consumed, and not just admired.

"It is my rule to not make coffee that people cannot drink," he says. "I only make cream art on cold coffee. If I make it on hot coffee, the taste changes as it cools off, and I don't want the taste of the coffee to change."

The cost of each cream art coffee is 7,500 won ($6.63). It may sound expensive, but one cup can take as long as an hour to whip up, and he only makes three a day, by reservation only.

However, the teddy bear cream art represents an exception, as it can be made in just 40 seconds.

"We are baristas making coffee, not just artists drawing pictures on coffee," he says.

Lee has been making coffee for 10 years. "I started to learn about coffee when I was 18 years old," he says. "At that time, baristas were not well-known in Korea so I worried a little bit. Soon this worry went away as I became so interested in the job."

More than that, he says that he received a lot of support from his parents.

"People around me were critical of me becoming just a 'coffee guy,'" says Lee. "But I stuck to my decision, just like many Koreans. I wanted to show that I could become successful with coffee."

Today, his café is so busy that he only gets to sleep a couple of hour a night. The key to success, he says, is passion and perseverance.

 

Source: cnn.com/travel