ignorance isn’t bliss - it’s actually the antithesis of gratitude.

what my latte art class is teaching me.

I recently started taking barista classes in Korea. Currently, I’m taking a course specifically on latte art. I practice making hearts & leaves with milk for two hours, three times a week - and as I’m writing this, I realize that taking a class to learn latte art just sounds like a fancy way to waste money. It’s the kind of side quest you do as the unemployed friend on a random Tuesday afternoon. Being post-grad without a proper job means finding bizarre ways to fill your time.

second day of class

The class is small - only three to four people, teacher and I included. During our break today, we were having a conversation about how our experience learning latte art has made us far more appreciative of baristas who take the time to create latte art for their customers. Considering we have only learned how to make a few simple designs at only a partial success rate, buying a latte and receiving one with a design feels like an iykyk moment. It’s the kind of appreciation you can only have knowing the amount of hours it takes to learn how to effortlessly create a couple well-placed squiggles of milk in espresso.

One of my peers, an ex-cafe employee, joked about the three tiers of customers she would encounter while working. The lowest tier customer receives a beautiful latte, takes it, but doesn’t even glance at the design and goes on with their day. The middle tier customer notices the art and briefly acknowledges it, before mixing the patterned foam into the rest of the drink. The highest tier customer, she explained, shows an excessive amount of appreciation for the latte art, takes pictures, and says “it’s almost too pretty to drink” while sipping the coffee.

“Those are the moments where I feel like my work paid off,” she said laughing, taking a sip of her own beautiful latte.

It’s the classic scenario where a beginner’s attempt at creating or understanding a commodity (clothes, for example) leads to the realization of how much work actually goes into the products we take for granted. The more you learn about the process, the more appreciation you have for the craft. I feel like this applies to all art forms, but also technology, academia, research, medicine…the list goes on.

I felt compelled to draw a crude comic of her tier list on my phone while taking the bus home. It’s lowkey giving millennial humor but that ironically makes it funnier to me

Both of my classmates and I discovered that we all had experience crocheting, and we discussed how people don’t realize just how much work goes into the creation of handmade pieces. The labor, skill, material, and time behind the piece goes unseen by the consumer, who only handles the finished product. And when the price tag reflects those unseen factors, it’s suddenly an overpriced scam.

I kept thinking about this theme as we wrapped up the class and cleaned our stations. How easy it was to forget how much invisible work goes into creating everything we use and encounter on a daily basis. How a culture of overconsumption has made us entitled and always wanting more, for less.

The phrase ignorance is bliss is often said with a negative connotation, but I want to take it a step further and say that ignorance is not actually bliss, but the antithesis of gratitude. Ignorance manifests itself as entitlement, and entitlement makes gratitude an exercise, instead of a natural state of being. Studies have shown that gratitude might be the true key to happiness, but gratitude doesn’t just magically form out of thin air. There’s a reason you don’t feel anything after listing “family and friends” on your gratitude list for the hundredth time. Gratitude comes from noticing. From paying attention. When you pay attention, curiosity shyly enters the room and asks if they can have a seat at the table.

How many lattes have I had in my life with latte art on them? I like to think of myself as the highest tier customer, taking pictures and appreciating the little things in life. But today I had the realization that my appreciation and gratitude can grow deeper and wider if I allow my curiosity to step into the picture. It can transform that initial attention into knowledge and wonder. Yes, I can appreciate the latte art. But trying to make the latte art myself gave me a whole new level of appreciation for my little daily pick me up. Beyond the art of noticing, is the art of understanding. The paradox though, is that the more you know, the more you realize just how much you don’t know. And in that space of dissonance I think is where you can unlock a new level of gratitude. Dare I say, a new level of happiness.

The idea that ignorance is connected to gratitude in inverse ways isn’t necessarily a new one, but I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to make this connection for myself. It’s easy to forget how blessed we are in various areas of our lives, especially when there are voices everywhere telling us that we’re not pretty enough, smart enough, successful enough, good enough, enough. We have a limited amount of energy and time in our days, and I don’t want to waste it thinking about all the ways I lack. Because it’s infinite.

I sucked at making latte art my first day. But instead of being sad or frustrated about it, I became that much more grateful for my local barista who makes me a heart with steamed milk in my coffee.

xx