Local making a living with coffee art

Ntando Mphathiswa (26), a coffee latte artist from Comet, believes his art form can change and uplift the art industry in South Africa.

He said there are not many latte artists in South Africa but believes with the right exposure many people will be interested in this form of art.

“I’m doing something unique and different. Whenever I do my art, people show love for it. I was hired at different restaurants because of my amazing art.

“People come in numbers at the restaurant I’m currently working at in the K90 Centre to see my art. Customers have varied requests. I have drawn animals, people’s faces and anything else that comes to my mind and people really enjoy seeing me creating the art on their coffee,” said Ntando.

He added that his aim is to inspire young people and show them that nothing is impossible.

“I learned how to draw with coffee and milk in 2018 after I saw a remarkable coffee artist, Dritan Alsela, doing it. That changed my whole perspective of what art is. I started to practise drawing after that.

“It encouraged me to move from Mthatha to Cape Town and then eventually Gauteng. I want people to witness my wonderful work and would love to open a latte art college in the future,” he said.

Ntando believes that latte art can create job opportunities for young people because it is popular with coffee drinkers.

“A young person can be booked to do latte art at an event or even be employed in a restaurant because owners of restaurants are aware that their customers need to be entertained.”

He thanked Sundown Blues, which was the first establishment to give him an opportunity to showcase his skills.

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