Harlequin café V Starbucks Latte Art Challenge

Harlequin café V Starbucks Latte Art Challenge
"Starbucks nil Harlequin café ten"

Following a ring around York cafés only three claimed
they were skilled in free pour latte art two of which included the high street heavy weight Starbucks on Coney street and café Harlequin , 2 Kings Square York, pictured left.

But claims are just that, I wanted proof and in the style of the cook report or MacIntyre Undercover if your younger I turned up to both cafés threw down the gauntlet and asked them to unleash their finest coffee topping artistry and this is what happened.

Café Harlequin rolled out a seriously astonishing portfolio of shapes (all latte art pics produced by Gordon off the cuff at café Harlequin) from tulips to hanging hearts it soon became apparent Gordon the head Barista was indead a seasoned Don in the game of latte art.

Drinking them seamed wrong a bit like biting into a blumenthal blueberry muffin baked in liquid nitrogen and topped with icing imported from a parisian patisserie.
(It took me ages to come up with this analogy and I'm still not happy with it)





But drink them I did and it was akin to having a culinary orgasm. This stuff tasted good but what coffee blend was behind the magic i hear you cry. Answer: "Has Been Coffee" (pictured left) plus Gordon tel 0845 202 2326. The specific blend used was the "Brazil Sao Judas 2010" describing its self as a chocolate and cocoa sweetness with honeycomb.

Cant say I tasted the honeycomb but my palette was clearly telling me this was no Happy Shopper Instant.


Ok so over to Starbucks. I went knowing Harlequin café
had delivered top draw latte art what would Starbucks answer be? A 3D rosetta or perhaps Bansky reproductions I could hardly wait.

Well the answer was nothing, yes diddly squat, nada. Despite Starbucks letting me know on the phone they do latte art when it came to the crunch I got a blank canvas :-(

When I asked the staff member to pour me some latte art they looked at me as if three willies had sprouted out of my forehead. For this they score zero out of ten. I would have given 1 point if they gave it ago but latte art is just too off their skill radar and at the mo it remains in the hands of the pro namely Gordon senior Don Barisata of café Harlequin.

I'll finish this post with my fave pattern courtesy of Gordon aka Don Barista café
Harlequin York.
Want to raise your game then serve gourmet standard coffee and rent espresso coffee machines