This stunning latte art can be made with a special printer

Disclosure: This story resulted from a trip paid for by CES.

There’s latte art, and then there’s this. The Ripple Maker is a printer that creates detailed images on top of coffee foam in just seconds. It comes with an app that lets you send self-created images to the printer to decorate your coffee with.

Here’s a video of the printing in action at CES:

Cafes and restaurants can use this machine to make their hot beverages pretty. There’s plenty of room for creativity. Selfies, brand logos, and customized messages (like “happy birthday sweetie”) are possible.

Ripples, the Israeli startup behind this, has sold these machines to cafes in New York City. There’s a catch though. Ripples only sells to businesses, so forget about trying to impress your guests with this gadget. But who knows, a consumer version could be in the offing.

These printers don’t come cheap. They start at US$1,299 each, with a service fee of US$85 a month. Like inkjet printers, you’ll need to replace its ink catridges, or Ripple Rods. The ink is coffee extract, and each Pod prints up to 1,000 cups of coffee.

It’s only available in the US for now, but the startup is working on an international rollout. Some eating establishments will buy this for sure. But at this price point, it doesn’t sound practical for small cafes still struggling to pay rent.

Follow our extensive coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show here.

This story resulted from a trip paid for by CES.