Lattes

Why quality is more than just aesthetic

Jared Mattox

Organizer

Imagine. You've just sat down, book in hand with a piping hot cup of coffee. You know that it will take a little bit to cool down as the extra heat is to appease those who take their coffee to go, and won't have a chance to drink it until it gets to their destination.

You, however, have all the time in the world to fall into this book.

You read a couple pages, and get lost in the prose. As the warm scene progresses, you pick up the cup gently and sip gently to get a sense for temperature. It almost cold already!

In a flurry, you gulp down the coffee through the foam, and it's already too late.

Your tongue is on fire, and you wish you have a glass of cool water next to you. How did this happen Again!

This isn't the percolated coffee we were stuck with before Starbucks™ changed the scene worldwide. Patrons coming in and sticking their fingers in the coffee freshly poured stating "if it isn't burning me, it's not fresh enough" only ever came from my first job at Wendy's, which still serves space bag coffee.

These are Lattes. Modern Sophisticated beverages that evoke a balance of the bitter/sweet of steamed milk and the tingly bitter/sour of espresso.

Many things have played into the decline of the latte: Rushed customers whose tipping is minimally impacted by the art.

The DoorDash™ delivery that will inevitably break the foam from the rattle of their lowered suspension.

The dreaded paper cup and lid that seals each beverage against all particulates including Covid-19.

We can do better.

1. Awareness

How are people supposed to know what good lattes are like if they aren't seeing the boundaries of excellence pushed. The middle is defined between the extremes, and we can pull that middle kicking and screaming to a place of excellence. This is where Latte Art Competitions come in.

Take some of the steadiest hands, and sharpest graffiti like baristas, and pit them against each other in nights of intensity and ruckus.