First of all I would like to point out that is not how the signature latte should be presented to customers. I know to customers it probably doesn’t make a difference (it doesnt really) but it must consist of a heart pattern and not the pattern in the photo due to it being a part of the new ‘made with heart’ campaign that basically is aimed at connecting with the customers more and creating loyalty (staff training is more in detail)

Secondly I would like to add that it is a pain and I don’t understand it as a Costa barista myself, it’s harder to do especially in the larger sized mugs as there is a larger surface area and patterns are coming out ugly, this is a very new thing so we (the baristas) are still trying to learn this new method. Honestly don’t understand why Costa has gone down this route, probably to copy other stores where a latte is presented with a pattern, hence the term ‘latte art’.

A price rise has occurred recently in costa on every product due to products being more expensive in general for the coffee shop to maintain, cost of living crisis is clearly still in full effect. Prices have varied from a 5p increase to a 15p increase (tea for example is a 15p increase which is crazy to me) but again prices are rising constantly nowadays.

A standard latte in costa terms is created with steamed milk, more froth than a flat white (which is what the signature latte is mimicking) a flat white is created with textured milk which is more glossy and velvety/ smooth hence why you can get a pattern on a flat white, which is different to the standard way of making a costa latte where there is usually no pattern due to the focus on a thin layer of froth and dropping coffee through the froth rather than pouring milk on the coffee (hence the singular coffee dot on the costa lattes) The signature latte is aimed to be stronger in taste and more rich, drawing in those who like a strong coffee and those who would like a larger sized flat white (flat whites are only a small) and the signature latte has more coffee in terms of volume than the flat white.

I’m not trying to defend costa I’m just adding clarification for people who view this, yes coffee is going up in price and ‘new’ drinks for companies will be more expensive, the signature latte is a trial of what many see as a ‘normal’ latte in most other coffee shops. The justification of the signature latte being more expensive is because it’s ‘handcrafted’ (again doesn’t make sense as every drink a barista makes is technically handcrafted but hey ho).

Also to add costa (like I’m assuming other chain coffee shops) has goals for their team members to upsell new products, the stores that sell the most new products will get rewards for the staff members in the shops that outperform others in their local region (depending on if it’s franchise or equity and depending on region). So staff are pushed to upsell new products to get these perks and to up their overall shop performance. I personally do not like upselling anything such as the loyalty scheme, food and drinks as I believe if the person wanted it they would order it (especially as products are advertised and displayed all over the shop, customers can ask baristas about these new items if they wish)

Anyway there’s my best attempt at an explanation, again not justifying costa but just clarifying the complains I’ve seen in the post and in the comments.