Photographed by: JP Gopez
Primer: I am definitely no expert but I have racked up a couple of years experience with specialty coffee and a chunk of that is know-how on latte art. The secret to latte art lies in:
Practice
Patience
Understanding the behaviour of espresso vs. perfectly steamed milk.
Having the right tools available to you for practice (i.e. espresso machine— automatic/manual, doesn’t make that much of a difference as long as you can pull a shot with crema on top, you’re good to go!—steam wand (THIS usually comes with a machine and very crucial for good latte art).
So #s 1 & 2 are pretty self explanatory. Let’s skip to point #3, latte art is all about feeling and rhythm. Sounds quite astral but, there’s no way to prove this point but for you to give it a whirl yourselves! If the crema is too thick, the art doesn’t appear. And if the milk is too frothy, the first pour will immediately rise up to the top, already destroying your art.
So it is important to note that creating pretty acceptable latte art starts with the quality of your ingredients.
Also an important note: there is no correlation between the art and taste of the cup.
Notes:
Espresso Shot: we should always remember never to “break” the crema on your first pour, otherwise the art won’t reveal itself the way you want it to.
Milk: steaming milk IS LITERALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING to achieve acceptable latte art. The finished product needs to look like wet paint when you move your steaming pitcher from up & down, left to right.
Foam: okay so think of it this way, when you steam milk you create layers of it — foam on top and warm milk at the bottom. When you pour, the first thing that comes out is the heavier steamed milk. So this goes under your crema. Once you get to the foam, this is what you pour out to draw your art.
Okay, let’s start. To practice so that you don’t waste milk, you can use dishwashing liquid (1 drop) + water. Steam that and pour unto an empty cup. You just need to practice your wrist action/behaviour for this. Once you’re comfortable, graduate to actual milk and coffee!
Steps:
1. Pull your espresso shot
2. Pour out your milk into your steaming pitcher, until maybe about 1/2” from the pitcher’s mouth.
3. Position the wand such that the nozzle at the tip is halfway into the milk.
4. Start steaming: make sure you see the milk swirling, check for sound (there should be a hissing sound but only at the start, this means the air bubbles are being released, and then quiets down eventually)
5. Use your hands to feel the heat of the pitcher. If it’s too hot to the touch, stop.
…cont
6. Groom the milk in your pitcher. Give it a bit of a swirl and a tap. To check if you did it right, it should look like wet paint when you move your pitcher up and down, back and forth.
7. Now time for the fun! Add a bit of height between the pitcher and the cup, start pouring and rotating your wrist. When you’ve reached (what you feel) is the middle of the pour, make a quick pause.
8. Draw: like pen to paper, start drawing your art. pour, push, pour, push, pour, push, and cut! — you’ve just created a 3-tiered tulip.
Stay tuned for the next articles to find more recipes, tips, and food reviews!