COFFEE drinkers in Wellington are being given a free art taster with every flat white or cortado poured by the town’s Costa store manager.

­Seb Peard has been wowing customers with a variety of artwork created with the textured milk on top of their drinks.

As well as a traditional floret, Seb, 26, has been crafting pictures such as a dragon, a fish and a swan.

It is known as latte art and is poured free-hand by Seb, with some of the finer detail created by also using a milk probe.

Seb, who lives in Taunton and joined Costa just over three years ago, said: “It was not until six months after I started with Costa that my barista skills began to develop and I started to get interested in the art side of it.

“I take a lot of inspiration from watching other, much more skilled baristas from all around the world on YouTube and Instagram and then try to see what I can do.

“I practise on each flat white I make for myself during the day but I do tend to stay safe when giving them out to customers and not go too crazy, unless they ask me to try something.

“It is all about how you texture your milk. You need micro foam, micro bubbles, for a nice thickness to paint. We call it a ‘wiggle’ when you pour it with your hand and then a milk probe is used for some of the intricate detail.

“The artwork will stay on the top once it is there and you can drink your coffee and it will be there until you finish.”

Other images Seb has drawn include a native American chief with headdress, a horse and a Phoenix.

Now Seb is teaching some of his store’s staff and hopes they will be inspired to enter Costa’s barista of the year competition, which showcases latte art and other skills.

One regular Costa customer, IT and mobile phone repair specialist Matt Mitchell, said: “I was amazed when the manager handed me my flat white and I saw a dragon sitting on the top.

“It was just so cool that I took a photo on my phone and put it on my Facebook page for friends to see.”

Some of Seb’s handiwork can be seen on his Instagram account @the_biking_barista