Tasty Latte Art

Latte art. I never really gave latte art much thought. I sometimes thought it was cute but I am more in it for the coffee. Mrs. Ibaraki Eats on the other hand loves latte art. She even has trouble drinking a latte that has amazing latte art on it. That being said, I always wonder how she would fair if I took her to a famous latte art place in Ibaraki. I was finally able to do that a few days ago. The Ibaraki Eats Duo drove to Hitachi no Ushiku and enjoyed some amazing latte art at Cafe Anello.

Cafe Anello

Cafe Anello is a small cafe located in the Hitachi no nishi area of Hitachi no Ushiku. Just drive down Route 6 and you will see the cafe on your left if you are coming from Tsuchiura.
The first time I went to Cafe Anello was a solo adventure. I had just come from Toride and was in the mood for some coffee. I was around Ushiku and had no idea where to go. Then I remembered about Cafe Anello and all their latte art I had seen on Instagram. I drove a bit more and parked at Cafe Anello's parking space on a hot day in August. I checked out the outside sign and headed inside.

Inside

I was intrigued the minute I stepped foot inside Cafe Anello. There was a lot to check out inside the cafe. There were model cars on the shelf, shirts from different sports teams, and Cloud from Final Fantasy 7 was on his motorcycle next to a pink guitar.
When you walk into the cafe there are a few tables that seat four around the cafe and a counter area for ordering, not for sitting. You first go to the order counter, pay for your order, then grab a table, and wait for your coffee and or food. Once you are at your table take a look around the cafe.

The Menu

The menu has a lot going on. There are different food sets, desserts, drinks, and coffees. What really surprised me about the menu was the coffee section and latte art section. Depending on the coffee you order, the latte art will be different. So if you order a cafe latte, you art will be the swirl with a small leaf on top. If you order the cappuccino, you might get the cute looking bear or the sun and moon latte art.
That day I decided to get a lunch special set and a cappuccino.

Waffle Plate

This is a lunch special, the waffle plate. When ordering the waffle plate, you have a choice of different ingredients for your waffles. I chose avocado and prosciutto. The waffle plate came with salad, onion soup, and the waffles. Pretty standard for a cafe. I'll be frank with you as I always try to be. Everything was OK. I wasn't impressed but I wasn't let down. The waffles were nice and crispy which is a plus. I am thankful they didn't taste like rubber tires like many waffles in Japan. That being said, they didn't wow me with any outstanding flavor. The avocados were tasty and fun to eat with the prosciutto. The salad was salad, and the onion soup was OK. Just an average cafe lunch to be honest.

Cappuccino

I guess I got the soon and moon latte art. Look at that sun. It looks super cute. Looking at this latte art, I finally knew what my wife feels every time she gets cute latte art. I didn't want to break that cute sun's face. I put my mouth on the edge of the cup and drank my cappuccino carefully. After a few sips, I am happy to say that the sun and the moon were still perfectly shaped in my cappuccino. As for my cappuccino, I enjoyed it and liked how it tasted. It was strong which is always a good thing and it had a good coffee-roasted flavor to it. The milk and coffee were balanced well and it didn't need any sugar. It felt nice enjoying this cup of cappuccino and hanging out at the cafe. Drinking my cappuccino, I tried hard not to let the latte art break, but it finally did after I got halfway. The sun and the moon split apart and the latte art was over.
I am interested to see what other latte art Cafe Anello does. My wife heard my interest when I got home and said, "Let's go in October and see the Halloween latte art." Well, we are currently in October.

Halloween Latte Art

Late Monday afternoon rolled around and my wife said "Let's go check out the latte art." So last Monday we stopped into Cafe Anello to grab some coffee and desserts. We decided to get the special dessert and the limited-time cheesecake with some coffee.
I ordered the cappuccino and my wife got the hazelnut latte. My cappuccino has the same moon and sun latte art but with a special Halloween twist to it. My wife's hazelnut latte had the jack-o-lantern with the small boy in it. The owner let us see him do the latte art. It was cool to watch and it looks like it takes a lot of practice to get this good. I told the owner that I was interested in trying latte art. He let me know that I was in luck because Cafe Anello does have latte art workshops. If anyone is interested in the workshop, the owner let us know to DM him on Instagram to set up a time and date. I am hoping my wife and I could join the workshop later this year.
Our coffees were delicious but we needed something sweet to go with our coffees. That's why we ordered two sweets.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Only available for a limited time, we ordered the pumpkin cheesecake. When it came to our table it looked very appetizing. My wife got the first fork full of cheesecake and gave it a try. She gave it the thumbs up and then it was my turn. The texture of the cheesecake was excellent and I loved the cream. A little light on the pumpkin flavor but overall I really liked this dessert. What really impressed me though was our next dessert.

A Ball Tiramisu!?

Yes. That is exactly what is was. A ball tiramisu. When I first saw this dessert, I didn't know what to think. My wife, being the lover of tiramisu that she is, couldn't wait to try it. The tiramisu comes with what I believe was coffee syrup. My wife poured some syrup on the ball tiramisu and all the syrup slid off to the side of the plate. We were both a little confused and tried again. Same result. We both started laughing and just decided to dig in. I got the first bite in this time and I have to say, this is an amazing tiramisu. Maybe one of the best I have ever had. I collected some the slid-off syrup on my spoon and took another bite. It was heavenly. I can see why this tiramisu sells out quickly. It is incredibly delicious. We got lucky that Monday because we got the last tiramisu. My wife said, "We are coming back here and having this again." She gets no argument from me.

We both had a great time at Cafe Anello and hope to go back soon. I think this cafe is a perfect place for a date or a nice Sunday after-lunch stop. I am very interested in trying the latte art workshop and hope to report back on it soon. Thanks for the great desserts and coffee Cafe Anello, and thank you for the cute latte art too.

So if you are around Hitachi no Ushiku and would like something sweet with some coffee, why not give Cafe Anello a chance? Who knows, you might see us there, with a ball tiramisu and admiring the latte art.
Enjoy!

For more information on Cafe Anello, check out their Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/cafe_anello/