There are scents that evoke memories, flavors that inspire stories and colors that seem to have a sound.
Coffee is one of those multisensory experiences capable of going beyond the boundaries of taste to meet creativity in all its forms.
It’s not just a drink: it’s culture, identity, inspiration.
And it is not surprising that for centuries it has accompanied artists, writers, musicians and painters, becoming in turn a protagonist of art.
Today I want to tell you how the world of coffee and that of art have intertwined over time, creating a deep bond that continues to evolve even in contemporary times.
Coffee in the history of art
The arrival of coffee in Europe, between the 17th and 18th centuries, marked a cultural revolution. The first coffee shops became meeting places for intellectuals, philosophers and creative people. In London, Paris, Vienna or Venice, people discussed politics, literature, science and art while sipping a cup of steaming coffee.
It was not just a habit, but a real social and intellectual ritual.
We see it in painting too: think of Impressionist paintings in which Parisian cafés become vibrant backdrops of light and conversation. Or the paintings of Édouard Manet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Vincent van Gogh, who portray café scenes as living, dynamic places, filled with humanity and creative stimuli.
Coffee even enters poetry and literature: Baudelaire, Balzac, Proust… all great coffee consumers, who celebrate it in their writings as an inseparable companion of artistic creation.
When the cup becomes a canvas
In recent decades, the relationship between art and coffee has gone even further, with artists using coffee directly as a pictorial material. Yes, you read that right: not just as a subject, but as an artistic medium.
Contemporary artists like Giulia Bernardelli, known on Instagram as Bernulia, create real works with spilled coffee drops, transforming the accidental into beauty. Her images are delicate, evocative, poetic, just like a good cup of coffee.
Then there is coffee art, a painting technique that uses the natural shades of coffee to paint faces, landscapes and abstract subjects, a bit like you would do with watercolors. And, of course, we cannot forget latte art, a daily expression of creativity that combines technique, aesthetics and taste: hearts, leaves, rosettes and even portraits made directly on the surface with milk cream.
Coffee as inspiration for designers and creatives
The influence of coffee also extends to design, photography and fashion.
Let’s think about the packaging of specialty coffee shops, increasingly refined, elegant and sophisticated: bags that look like graphic works, illustrated cups, essential but expressive logos. Behind every detail lies the intent to communicate not only the quality of the product, but a true aesthetic philosophy.
In this sense, coffee becomes a visual and identity language, with which to tell values such as sustainability, authenticity, craftsmanship. And we also see it in the way in which the spaces of coffee shops are designed: no longer simple bars, but meeting places cared for in the smallest details, capable of stimulating the creativity of those who frequent them.
Ernani: where art and taste meet every day
We at Caffè Ernani also live this bond between taste and creativity in every aspect of our work.
Each blend and each single origin is conceived as an artistic expression: we start with quality raw materials, processed with medium roasting to preserve their aromatic nuances, arriving at taste profiles that speak to the palate as a painting speaks to the eyes.
In our store in Corso Buenos Aires, 20 in Milan, we like to think that every customer experiences a small aesthetic as well as sensorial moment: from the enveloping scents, to the warm colors of the wood and the coffee shop, up to the experience in the cup.
The passion we put into the selection and roasting is the same that an artist pours into his work: care, listening, attention to detail.
The Future: Between Art, Storytelling and Community
Today more than ever, the world of coffee is also visual and artistic storytelling.
From content on social media to artistic projects related to sustainability or the involvement of producer communities, coffee becomes a means of expression and connection.
Let’s think, for example, of the drawings of children from cooperatives in producing countries, which are printed on coffee sacks to tell the stories of the origins. Or the photographic projects that sensitively document the beauty and hard work of working in the fields. These too are art. And these too, like a good cup, can touch deep chords.
In the end
Coffee is not just a drink… it is a meeting point between senses, emotions and cultures. It is a stimulus for the mind, a refuge for the spirit, an opportunity for beauty. It is a living matter that inspires, accompanies, tells.
So, next time you sip an espresso or cappuccino, stop for a moment.
Observe the color, listen to the sound of the moka or the machine, smell the scent, savor every note. Maybe, you too are living a little moment of art.
Marketing, E-commerce e Social Media Manager
Coffee Lover
