Skip to main content

Print selfies onto your next coffee shop latte with the Ripple Maker app

Latte art is the pride of professional baristas and the pleasure of Instagram users everywhere. In an attempt to personalize the beauty of the art, the new Coffee Ripples App lets New York City residents (or visitors) print pictures into lattes that print out at select locations around the city. Anyone can select and print images onto a perfectly foamed latte or cappuccino. You can even turn your own photos into latte art, and then take photos of your latte photos.

You can’t buy it for home use (at least, not cheaply), but the Ripple Maker machine is already installed in a handful of NYC locations and will roll out nationwide and to other countries throughout 2016. Since it is fully Wi-Fi enabled, Ripple Maker receives image selections to its interface and prints in “coffee scale,” which is like grayscale but caffeinated. Proprietary Ripple Pods are packed with a concentrated coffee extract, so the machine interprets any image or message into a version that can be printed using the extract as a sort of ink.

Ripple Maker is designed for use in hospitality spots like coffee shops and restaurants, but only consumers with the mobile app get the complete experience. The mobile app includes a library of printable “ripples,” which are mostly images, morning messages, and coffee jokes. There’s also a random function in case you’re overwhelmed with your latte art options. The make-your-own ripple is probably the app’s coolest features. Selecting an image from your mobile phone’s camera roll will let you edit, scale, filter, and even add text to your custom latte art before you send it to the machine.

Coffee shops and restaurants that use the machine will have to pay at least $1,000 for a Ripple Maker machine, in addition to monthly service plan fees starting at $85. Luckily, for coffee lovers and latte art aficionados, the mobile app is completely free. Of course, that might mean that your latte ends up costing twice as much, but the mobile app is also geo-enabled so you can locate your nearest Ripple Maker coffee shop and find out.

Recommended Videos

Currently, there are four coffee shops within a few miles of our Digital Trends office in Manhattan.

Chloe Olewitz
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chloe is a writer from New York with a passion for technology, travel, and playing devil's advocate. You can find out more…
Samsung has a new AI cordless vacuum that’s more powerful than Dyson
Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra

Samsung has been busy the last few weeks, announcing a number of additions to its smart home and digital appliances offering – first in refrigeration, then washing and drying, and now in vacuuming. The company hasn't been in the vacuum game as long as the likes of Dyson, but it's just announced what it claims to be "the most powerful cordless stick vacuum cleaner in the world". 

The cordless vacuum was revealed at Samsung's Welcome to Bespoke AI global event in Frankfurt, Germany earlier in March, which we were at so we've seen this new delight in the flesh. Building on the Bespoke AI Jet cordless vacuum, the Bespoke AI Jet Ultra features up to 400W of suction power, which is how it has come to claim the world's most powerful. For context, Dyson's Gen5 Detect has 280W of power.

Read more
Spring just got smarter: the dreame Z1 Pro makes pool cleaning a breeze
Father with two kids hanging out by pool while robot pool cleaner operates

Spring is here, and you know what that means – more pool days and, unfortunately, more pool maintenance. But before you dive into scrubbing walls and untangling cords, consider a smarter approach. Dreame’s Z1 Pro, the world’s first cordless robotic pool cleaner with a poolside-operable remote, is built to make pool upkeep feel less like a chore and more like flipping a switch. And during Dreame’s Spring Cleaning promotion, you can snag the Z1 Pro, or the more affordable Z1 model, at 15% off!
 

Z1 Pro: making pool cleaning a breeze

Read more
Yale reveals powerful new smart lock designed specifically for Google Home
Yale Smart Lock with Matter

Yale is discontinuing the popular Nest x Yale Lock and replacing it with a powerful new device this summer -- the Yale Smart Lock with Matter. Designed specifically for easy integration with Google Home and a style that meshes perfectly with the Nest Doorbell, it's shaping up to be a worthy successor to the fan-favorite Nest x Yale Lock.

The Yale Smart Lock with Matter was built to complement all aspects of the Nest Doorbell and wider Google Home ecosystem. You'll be able to manage your lock remotely, create guest profiles, and get alerts when the lock is being operated. It also benefits from an impressive 12-month battery life and seamless connectivity with Google Home. Best of all, the lock supports Matter, giving you a chance to sync it with other platforms like Apple Home or Alexa.

Read more