Otaku artiste-o-latte..... café-o-latte otaku!!!!

Late
last year, Kotaku first brought word of coffee artist Kazuki Yamamoto.
He makes stunning cappuccino art. In the last few months, Yamamoto has
been perfecting his three dimensional creations. He's gotten even better.

From Hello Kitty to Vault Boy from the Fallout games (friggin' Vault Boy!), Yamamoto whips up pop culture in steamed milk.






Incredible. Yamamoto works as as a barista in Osaka and helps make the internet a better place.

Not everyone can whip up amazing 3D cappuccino and latte art. Heck, the vast majority of us can't. But we still want to enjoy cute characters peeking up at us out of a steaming cup of java. Good thing there's this.
Excite reports Japanese marshmallow specialty shop Yawahada has adorable hand-made cat marshmallows that you can plunk in your coffee (or hot cocoa) for instant 3D beverage art.

Dubbed "Cat Cafe", each one is made by hand one at a time—a time-consuming process. The shop hit on the idea for this particular marshmallow after customers complained that another one of its cat-shaped marshmallows (see below) started sinking, head-first. How sad! Thus, the marshmallow wizards at Yawahada created a cat that poked its head out of your steamy drink.

Besides the marshmallow felines, there are also cat paws that come in different flavors, like "milk tea", "cocoa", and "green tea latte", and that were originally designed for hot milk.
Think of this as 3D coffee for the hoi polloi.

Meet Kazuki Yamamoto. He's a latte artist. You've probably seen the work of latte artists before and how they can draw things like hearts or leaves in steamed milk. But you've probably never seen anything like this.
Yamamoto draws anime, manga, and video game characters in latte—as well as celebrities and animals. Whether it's Pokémon or Ringo Starr, Yamamoto can bring them to life in hot, delicious, and milky coffee. Keep your eye out for a three dimensional latte recreation of Nyanko-sensei from Japanese manga Natsume's Book of Friends.
Currently in Osaka, Yamamoto pops up at coffee events around the city and in nearby Kobe. He one day dreams of opening his own cafe in Tokyo. You might one day dream of ordering a serving of Yamamoto's latte art.
Have a look at his work from his Twitter feed. Yamamoto does regular latte art updates, so if you like his creations, he's definitely worth following.
@george_10g [Twitter]
Cafe10g [Ameba]


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You know what's more mind-blowing that latte art? Latte art drawn in vibrant color. And this Japanese coffee craftsman has mastered it.
You are looking at the work of "Nowtoo Sugi". Starting this past February, Sugi began using colored bartender syrups to, as the hobby artist says, "paint" on coffee. Sugi isn't the only one to create colorful lattes, but is certainly one of the best.
So, for example, Sugi uses Blue Hawaii syrup for, well, blue and strawberry syrup for red or pink. The colors are mixed with steamed milk for variation.
Sugi's work features video game, anime, and movie characters from Japan and the West. The first, or one of the first, color coffees the artist did was of One Piece's Donquixote Doflamingo (below).

Soon after that, the frothy painter followed up with Nintendo's Kirby character.

And Sugi also does 3D latte art—that is, color 3D latte art.

The Japanese latte artist says this as a hobby—a way to blow off steam, if you will. So, since Sugi does this at home, that means only friends and family get to sample this amazing looking coffee. But who could drink such amazing art?





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Sugi, thankfully, does share the work online Below, you can check out some videos, which show how these vibrant java works are bought to life.

Over the years, Japan has seen an amazing array of vending machines. From sushi to bras, there have been some truly peculiar ones. But most serve drinks. One, however, serves latte art.
Located at Tokyo's Haneda Aiport, the "Yojiya Cafe Selection" vending machine claims to be the first in the country to offer "latte art." Heck, it even says so on the machine: "Nihonhatsu" (日本初) or "the first in Japan." One cup of creative Joe costs 200 yen (a little over US$2).
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The machine debuted a few years back, but was featured this week on Japanese television. Instead of using foam to create the latte art, it sprinkles the Yojiya logo on the coffee in a similar fashion that Let's coffee machines in Taiwan sprinkle images.
Yojiya is a famous Kyoto cosmetics company, known for its mirrors, traditional blotting paper (aburatorigami or あぶらとり紙), and natural skin care products. The Yojiya stores also have cafes, which serve latte art featuring the company's logo. Below, you can see the kind of food and coffee the cafes, which are mostly located in Kyoto, offer. Note that none of them come out of vending machines!
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Granted, this latte art is nowhere near as complex or artistic as the human creations you'll see in Japan—or at an actual Yojiya Cafe. But if you are in an airport and want a cup of vending machine coffee, this beats boring old black.
In nearby Taiwan, coffee machines able to "print" (well, sprinkle) photos on coffee were rolled out in Family Mart.

You might have been wondering whether or not 3D latte art has been finally perfected. I'm here to tell you that, yes, it has.
Previously, Kotaku showcased geeky latte art, cool color latte art, and amazing 3D latte art.

And Ito Yuichi at Belcorno, an Italian restaurant in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a master at turning froth into art. You can see his 3D coffee creations below—most of which are in color: