Now that’s a lovely looking latte

Kazuki Yamamoto works magic on steaming cups of latte

The next time your barista tries to show off his leaf-drawing skills on your coffee froth, scoff and point him in the direction of Kazuki Yamamoto.

The Japanese artist can be spotted around Osaka, working his intricate magic on steaming cups of latte (and, we hope, finishing them before the drink goes cold). His impressive works of latte art, which are regularly posted on Twitter (@george_10g) range from animals to manga characters and they have attracted more than 50,000 followers.

So how is such art achieved? There are, apparently, two paths to cool crema perfection: free pouring, where the drawing is produced as the steamed milk hits the shot of espresso, and etching, which requires the use of a coffee stirrer to manipulate the foam after it has been poured.