Some people like their coffee dark and full of mystery. Others like it milky and full of sweetness. And still others, it seems, like them sparkly and full of whimsy, as evinced by the fact that glitter cappuccinos are a thing that are currently going massively, massively viral. And in an age where Instagramming your food is a beloved pastime, it’s not hard to see why; they’re shiny, beautiful, and surprisingly not tacky. In fact, they’re actually kind of delightful — and I say that as someone who believes very firmly that if Patronuses existed, Daria Morgendorffer would be mine.
The sparkly drinks currently making the rounds hail from Coffee By Di Bella, a local chain of coffee shops based in Mumbai, India (although interestingly, the café was originally founded in Brisbane, Australia in 2002, according to the Coffee By Di Bella website). Officially called a “Diamond Cappuccino,” the beverage is topped with multi-colored, edible glitter — although if diamonds and rainbows aren’t your thing, there’s also another glittery coffee concoction on the menu called the Gold Cappuccino, which is topped with (you guessed it) gold glitter instead. The drinks aren’t new — images of them can be found on the Coffee By Di Bella Instagram page dating back to at least April of 2017 — but they’ve only recently gone viral, because, well… the internet works in mysterious ways.
For the curious, it looks like this:
While the Gold Cappuccino looks like this:
And just for good measure, here's what a glitter cappuccino looks like during the creation process:
Interestingly, Coffee By Di Bella isn’t the only café in the world that makes glitter cappuccinos. Melbourne in Lichfield, which describes itself on its Facebook page as “a small kiosk in the medieval city of Lichfield” in the UK that sells “specialty coffee, whole leaf teas, hot chocolate, tray bakes, cakes, and the Lichfield cruffin” (which, apparently is a muffin/croissant hybrid), has also gotten swept up in the sparkling coffee tide — although their version isn't technically an official or permanent menu item. “The glitter coffees were made with edible glitter … and were never sold on the menu. It was just an experiment to get attention and to make a few customers that were feeling down uplifted,” the kiosk wrote in a statement recently posted to their Facebook page. I’d say they accomplished their goal, wouldn’t you?
Especially with a social media feed full of jokes like that. Well played, Melbourne in Lichfield. Well played, indeed.
In any event, as you might have expected, people across the internet are having rather a lot of Thoughts about glitter cappuccinos. Personally, I feel like they’re one of those food items that falls under the heading of, “If you don’t like it, don’t get one, but also don’t shame other people for liking them,” but, well… here’s what folks are saying:
1Are Glitter Cappuccinos Peak Millennial?
Maybe. What's certainly true is that avocadoes, as wonderful as they are, are no match for glitter.
7Siri, Help Me Out Here
Unfortunately I don't think she knows; when I asked, she just brought me up a list of regular old coffee shops. Curses.
9Apparently They Exist In Las Vegas?
But where? Please share your knowledge with us!
10Speechless
To be fair, "glitter" and "cappuccino" are not words one typically expects to find paired together.
Not located in Mumbai or Lichfield? If you're handy with an espresso machine, you could always DIY a glitter cappuccino — but note this: There is a large and very important different between non-toxic glitter and glitter that’s actually edible. In the United States, edible glitter will always have a list of ingredients on the label; they’re required by law to include one, according to the FDA. These lists will consist of ingredients like sugar, acacia (gum arabic), maltodextrin, cornstarch, and color additives that have been approved for food use — that is, the glitter will be made of things that are actually food. Non-toxic glitter, glitter marked as intended “for decorative purposes only,” and glitter that doesn’t include an ingredients list, on the other hand, is not edible and should not be put on food.
If you do happen to live near a Coffee By Di Bella location, however, do us all a favor: Try one of these treats out and report back about what it tastes like. I assume it'll just taste like a regular cappuccino... but I can't help but wonder if a dose of glitter makes the whole experience a little more magical. The Coffee By Di Bella store locator can be found here.
