Latte art, also sometimes described as cappuccino art, is a pattern or miniature sculpture produced within the froth that tops off milky¹ coffee drinks such as cappuccino or latte.

 

拿铁艺术（latte art），有时候也叫做卡布奇诺艺术，是一种在卡布奇诺或拿铁等牛奶咖啡饮品的表面用奶泡画出图案或者进行微型雕花的艺术，也就是俗称的咖啡拉花。

 

Latte art is formed by mixing crema (the technical term for the liquid formed from coffee oil and water) and microfoam (the foam² produced when air is passed through milk using a steam wand on an espresso machine). Since neither of these substances are stable (coffee dissipates and foam becomes liquid milk), latte art needs to be admired and appreciated as soon as it's completed, the careful designs simply 'dissolving' after a few minutes!

 

咖啡拉花是将克丽玛（术语：由咖啡脂和水混合成的液体）和牛奶微泡（在蒸汽奶泡机中使用蒸汽棒将牛奶打成的泡沫）混合后形成的。因为这两种物质均不是稳定的（咖啡会消散，奶泡也会变成液体牛奶），所以咖啡拉花艺术需要在完成时立即欣赏，精心的设计图案仅仅存在几分钟就会“消失殆尽”。

 

There are two varieties of latte art – one in which the foam is sculpted³ into a 3D pattern, and the other, more common approach, of 'etching' a pattern in the froth as the milk hits the surface of the coffee. Classic examples of latte art are patterns such as hearts, rosettes and ferns, but designs can be much more complicated, and include cartoon characters, intricate portraits, or even 3D animals. Some more serious 'latte artists' sometimes use colored syrups⁴ to 'paint' on the coffee and bring a vibrant⁵ twist to this unusual form of artwork. (Source: macmillandictionary.com)

 

目前有两种拉花艺术：一种是用泡沫塑成一个立体的图形，而另一种更为普遍的做法是，将牛奶注入咖啡时用在咖啡表面形成的牛奶泡沫蚀刻出图案。经典的咖啡拉花图案有心形、蔷薇花型和蕨类叶型，但是也可以设计得更为复杂，包括卡通角色、精致的肖像，甚至是立体的动物形象。一些更钻研的拉花艺术家们会选用带有颜色的糖浆在咖啡上作画，为这一与众不同的艺术形式增加亮点。

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