There’s a portrait in your coffee—at least, there could be if you order a latte at Studio 6 Coffee House in the Santa Fe art district.

Java shop owner Michael Keen is taking latte art up a notch. “I started experimenting with the classic latte fern to impress other baristas,” Keen says. “But I quickly began to draw whatever was in front of me.” He also taught himself to whip up convincing renditions of John Lennon, President Obama, and Will Smith. His elaborate works of art are attracting big buzz; he even recreated Al Roker’s face in a Today show appearance. These portraits are chronicled in Keen’s coffee-table book The Art of the Latte, which he is shopping around to publishers.

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It’s not all whimsy here: The Boulder-roasted Silver Canyon coffee beans taste smooth, and warm croissants are delivered daily from Figaro, a nearby bakery. But the art does seem to be the star. “I want to show people there are subtle places of beauty in the world,” Keen says, “sometimes right inside your coffee cup.”
910 Santa Fe Drive, 303-534-8900, studio6coffee.com