|
With meticulous strokes of tiny brushes and
spoons, Lee, 26, recreates the likes of Vincent van Gogh's "The
Starry Night" and Edvard Munch's "The Scream" using thick cream
stained with food coloring atop a cup of coffee.
The result of the painstaking 15-minute process is a 10,000 won
($8.71) cup of cold coffee that has won Lee thousands of fans at
his cafe and online.
"One time I drew 'The Starry Night' and it looked so special as
the famous painting placed on top of coffee. After that, lots of
people ordered that coffee," Lee said, as he copied the painting
off an image on his smartphone.
"Customers usually ask me to draw their favorite art works," he
added.
On his Instagram profile where he regularly posts images and
videos of his so-called "creamart," Lee says he has never
learned to draw. He started brewing coffee at age 17, during his
mandatory military service and enjoyed it so much that he bought
a coffee machine and opened his first cafe for fellow soldiers
in his camp near the border with North Korea.
Customers at his cafe are delighted with Lee's art, which ranges
from intricate paintings to cheeky recreations of Disney cartoon
characters like Aladdin and Bambi.
"I heard (on TV) that this barista draws these kinds of famous
paintings. I think he has very talented hands," said Kim
Su-Kyung, a 24-year-old university student who recently visited
Lee's store, named "Cafe C. Through."
South Korea's per capita coffee consumption has nearly doubled
since 1990 to 2.3 kg (5 lb) per person, according to the
International Coffee Organization - still roughly half the 4.5
kg that Americans consume.
($1 = 1,148.1700 won)
(Reporting by Minwoo Park; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing
by Sam Holmes)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
