Latte Art

Christy and I have been apart of the Oval Café team here in Harpenden since November of last year. Our time has been a lot of fun so far, learning how to make and serve many different types of coffee, tea, smoothies and other blended drinks. We have also been able to learn a lot about the management and running of a business such as a café, which is one of the main reasons for us joining the team.

One of the skills that I have been trying to learn during this time is how to make good latte art, just to add that little flair to drinks for the customers. I discovered that it is a more involved process than you may first think. You have to steam the milk in a certain way, pour it into the coffee shot with at least two different pour techniques for each drink. My efforts over the last couple of months have been varied, but I am finally managing to get the hang of them (see picture below).

 It has been such a joy to be able to work in this ministry, and to also help train others. The vision of the couple who manage the café is to be able to invest in others so that they can go and establish a community café where they can meet the people who live in the local area and build relationships with them. To give people a space where they can come and ask questions about faith and life, but not to pressure anyone into anything, a neutral place. It has been great to see how the regulars here have engaged and stated to ask some really deep questions of life.

Knowing that God and his kingdom values are at the core of what we do in the café, and having people around whom can both encourage and challenge us in our own faith is such a valuable environment to be able to work in.