It’s always cool when a barrista takes the extra effort to at least make a classic apple or rosetta in your crema. Inventor Oleksiy Pikalo is taking it all to a new level, with his DIY Latte Art Printing Machine. I was a little surprised that someone with such an enterprising mind would already be trying to sell out to Starbucks through their My Starbucks Idea site, a sort of on line suggestion box… Imagine if after the Starbucks staffer finishes correcting you on how you refer to their sizes, you have to make a decision on whether you want a regular crema or an art crema: “I’d like a lowfat grande Miley Cyrus almond latte with an extra shot, hold the whip”. Even more surprising to me is the fact that Starbucks has a suggestion box in the first place. Not surprising is the fact that the number one suggestion is lower your prices! For more images of crema art created by his machine, see this collection from SIGGRAPH 2008. NOTE: On behalf of purist crema artists out there, it’s only fair to point out that this machine actually uses caramel-colored liquid to achieve the images, not deft manipulation of a dynamic media like tiny bursting bubbles of hot milk.