Frappuccino Turns into 'Selfieccino'

A customer holds their 'Selfieccino' coffee at the Tea Terrace in London, Britain, December 19, 2017. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
A customer holds their 'Selfieccino' coffee at the Tea Terrace in London, Britain, December 19, 2017. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
TT
20

Frappuccino Turns into 'Selfieccino'

A customer holds their 'Selfieccino' coffee at the Tea Terrace in London, Britain, December 19, 2017. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
A customer holds their 'Selfieccino' coffee at the Tea Terrace in London, Britain, December 19, 2017. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

Many images of coffee cups featuring customers’ photos have been recently shared on Instagram. Some thought it to be a visual trick, however, the service is actually available in a cafe in London and another in Singapore.

Singapore's “Selfie Coffee” Cafe offers its guests the chance to drink a "Frappuccino" with a special foam that features their selfies.

The shop is located in the Haji Lane area, and it is the first-of-its-kind to offer such a service since its opening in 2015.

Customers can choose to either snap a selfie on the spot using the cafe’s specially-designed mobile phone, or send one they already have to the counter staff. The staff then prepares the beverage, while the image is uploaded to a designated machine, which proceeds to print the image on a layer of whipped cream in few minutes only.

The shop’s manager explains that the printing technology is similar to the mechanism used to print pictures onto personalized cakes. Colored vegetable oils are used to replicate the colors in the selfies with surprising accuracy and crispness.

However, printing out images on a liquid rather than a solid layer proved to be a bigger challenge, as a firm layer of whipped cream became the edible canvas on which the image rests.

In London and at the Tea Terrace Cafe in the House of Fraser Shopping Mall on Oxford Street, the Frappuccino can also be served in Selfieccino style. Since the coffee shop launched the service, customers come and wait their turn to have a “personal” cup of coffee.

The selfie image can be printed on Frappuccino or hot chocolate. This service is available for an extra five pounds (about $7).

The process takes four minutes. The picture is taken with the smartphone and then uploaded to a special machine; and before the delivery of the coffee, its image will be shared on all social media outlets such as Instagram and Snapchat.

The Tea Terrace owner says that we live in the age of social networking, the drink should not just be served, but it also should be good enough to share on Instagram.

This means that barista's task of decorating coffee cups with a feather or a heart has become an old fashion. Today, the customer is demanding and seeks unusual ideas, and peoples’ rush to try this service is great evidence.

Starbucks cafes last summer launched a new Frappuccino in the form of a rhinoceros, but the Selfieccino has proven to be the best when it comes to creativity. It is important for Starbucks stores to stand up to this kind of challenge and compete to offer the best.



Disasters Loom over South Asia with Forecast of Hotter, Wetter Monsoon

The Himalayan mountain range of Annapurna and Mount Machapuchare (top, C) are pictured from Nepal's Pokhara on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)
The Himalayan mountain range of Annapurna and Mount Machapuchare (top, C) are pictured from Nepal's Pokhara on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)
TT
20

Disasters Loom over South Asia with Forecast of Hotter, Wetter Monsoon

The Himalayan mountain range of Annapurna and Mount Machapuchare (top, C) are pictured from Nepal's Pokhara on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)
The Himalayan mountain range of Annapurna and Mount Machapuchare (top, C) are pictured from Nepal's Pokhara on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)

Communities across Asia's Himalayan Hindu Kush region face heightened disaster risks this monsoon season with temperatures and rainfall expected to exceed normal levels, experts warned on Thursday.

Temperatures are expected to be up to two degrees Celsius hotter than average across the region, with forecasts for above-average rains, according to a monsoon outlook released by Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on Wednesday.

"Rising temperatures and more extreme rain raise the risk of water-induced disasters such as floods, landslides, and debris flows, and have longer-term impacts on glaciers, snow reserves, and permafrost," Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a senior adviser at ICIMOD, said in a statement.

The summer monsoon, which brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall, is vital for agriculture and therefore for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and for food security in a region that is home to around two billion people.

However, it also brings destruction through landslides and floods every year. Melting glaciers add to the volume of water, while unregulated construction in flood-prone areas exacerbates the damage.

"What we have seen over the years are also cascading disasters where, for example, heavy rainfall can lead to landslides, and landslides can actually block rivers. We need to be aware about such possibilities," Saswata Sanyal, manager of ICIMOD's Disaster Risk Reduction work, told AFP.

Last year's monsoon season brought devastating landslides and floods across South Asia and killed hundreds of people, including more than 300 in Nepal.

This year, Nepal has set up a monsoon response command post, led by its National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

"We are coordinating to stay prepared and to share data and alerts up to the local level for early response. Our security forces are on standby for rescue efforts," said agency spokesman Ram Bahadur KC.

Weather-related disasters are common during the monsoon season from June to September but experts say climate change, coupled with urbanization, is increasing their frequency and severity.

The UN's World Meteorological Organization said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a "distress signal" of what is to come as climate change makes the planet's water cycle ever more unpredictable.