November 1, 2009
It has been an exciting time for us. We have just returned from Milan after being invited by the Accademia Italiana Maestri del Caffè (AICAF) to demonstrate our Coffee Art® at the HOST - EXPO Milano from October 23-27.
Click 'Play' on the image to the right to view a short film of our experience.
Each morning we were treated to wonderful cappuccinos created by the best baristas in Italy.
They also provided the espresso over and over again for our paintings. It was fun to have such supportive and enthusiastic people around us while we were painting.
These baristas created beautiful latte art and it was a special connection with them because coffee is our passion and all of us were creating art in one way or another with the coffee.
We had a few ideas in mind for painting concepts, but we wanted to get a feel for the mood of the event. There was so much energy and excitement where we were, we decided to create a spilled cup of coffee splashing all over.
We had a great location for where we were painting. It was near the barista and other competitions. Thousands of people would stop and view our painting in progress. Even though we had a limited Italian vocabulary, we heard "Bravi!" and "Complement" and "Belliso" over and over again. We were creating a connection with these people through our Coffee Art®, and that was quite special.
We were invited by the AICAF's Maestro del Caffé, Luca Ramoni. We could not have asked for a more gracious host. Luca made sure that we were well taken care of and made sure that we were enjoying ourselves.
Painting in front of an audience is a great way of interacting with people. There is something magical about watching a work of art being created right before your eyes. Young, old, owner's of companies, roasters, and everyone else having
to do with coffee watched us paint. It was such a fantastic experience because we were in the midst of third generation roasters, people who have been in the business for over fifty years and they were all excited to see art created from their life's passion.
This is the first painting that we created at the event. We started mid-morning and with breaks for drying, the painting was completed by early evening. It was intense, but the day went by so quickly with all the people stopping and viewing and chatting. One of the viewers was astonished to see that coffee was used to create a painting of coffee. In his broken English, he bursts out "Coffee makes coffee!!" So, that seems like an appropriate title for this painting, "Coffee makes coffee."
With the time being seven hours ahead of our native time zone, it was a little bit of a challenge to adjust. With all the people buzzing around and all the people stopping by and watching us paint, there was little time to be tired. With all the positive comments and encouragement, we couldn't have asked for a better place to be.
Angel was invited to be a judge for the national coffee flavored gelatto competition.
It was a great experience. She sampled over twenty seven different coffee flavored gelattos. From her cupping experience, her palette was keen to the subtle nuances of the coffee flavor in gelatto. Even with a Western palette, good tasting gelatto can transcend continents.
As we continue at the event, we started a second painting. We decided to paint a portrait of Andy's father reading the morning paper with his coffee. This was another popular work of art at the event. People were amazed with the richness and darkness we are able to achieve.
Here is a look at the finished painting of Andy's father reading the morning paper.
On our last day in Milan, we needed to do a little sightseeing. We took the #19 tram to the city center. The duomo is such a magnificent sight, especially at night. It was all lit up and is an awe-inspiring work of architecture. It might be inspiration for a future work of art....!
Right next to the duomo is the Galleria with its high end retail shops. It was also very beautiful to walk through and it is amazing that buildings like these could be constructed so long ago without modern machinery.
Our time in Milan will be forever in our hearts. The people that we have met were so wonderful and we hope that they will be friends for life. Needless to say, it was a huge success and we are quite proud to showcase our Coffee Art® in Milan. We look forward to returning again and again.
