"Beginner's Latte Art" Coffee art techniques that coffee beginners need to know

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As we all know, latte art is based on espresso and is a beautiful milk foam design. Being able to make beautiful latte art is probably what every barista wants to do. In fact, the essence of each cup of latte art is the fluid collision of milk and espresso. There are many complex patterns, and the techniques are similar. Basically, it can be divided into the following four parts:

1. Height

Before making latte art, you need to let the milk foam and espresso blend together. When you first pour the coffee, pour the milk foam into the coffee from a height of about 5 cm from the surface of the coffee, and the milk flow should be as thin as a mouse's tail, or even thinner. At this point, the milk foam and espresso will blend together naturally. At this point, you can start making latte art. When pouring the milk foam, try to get the mouth of the milk jug as close to the coffee as possible. You will find that as the mouth of the jug gets closer to the coffee, more white milk foam will float on the surface of the coffee instead of all blending with the coffee.

2. Position

When you pour milk foam into coffee to create a symmetrical latte art design, remember that you are pouring one liquid into another. The force of the milk foam pouring into the coffee will push the latte art pattern and the coffee in the cup forward. When pouring the milk foam, you have to blend the white milk foam and the brown coffee as you pour. If you pour the milk foam steadily from the center of the coffee, you will get a pattern that radiates outward from the center; but if you deviate from the center, the force of the milk foam pouring into the coffee will draw a long, clumsy line that curls in the cup like a snake.

Advanced move: If you pour the milk foam with the cup flat on the counter or table, it will make it easier to aim at the center of the cup, but the milk foam will not be enough to create a deep espresso base for you to make a latte art pattern. If you pour the milk foam at a slight tilt in the cup at first and then smoothly return the cup to the center, you will have to gently correct the path of the milk foam to ensure that the milk foam is poured into the cup from the center point, but when you master the technique, you will be able to pull a white and brown pattern with beautiful proportions.

3. Flow

The amount of milk foam flow is an important factor in determining whether you see a colorful or chaotic pattern in the cup. Pouring too much milk foam too quickly will destroy or even disintegrate the pattern we have already completed on the coffee base. If too much milk foam is poured too far away from the coffee, it will splash everywhere, making the pattern a mess and disorganized.

Please note: To increase the flow of milk foam, you must lower the mouth of the kettle, not both at the same time. You should increase the flow of milk foam when you lower the mouth of the kettle to the lowest point or closest to the cup. This continuous combination of lowering the mouth of the kettle and increasing the flow will allow you to pour the white foam in the milk tank from the bottom of the kettle, allowing you to easily (skillfully and artistically) place the milk foam on the surface of the coffee.

4. Control

If you just want to make a heart-shaped latte art or a simple dot, then the first three basic techniques are enough. But if you want to make a rosetta or tulip latte art, you must control the milk foam in your hand. Making a basic rosetta is not as difficult as it looks on the surface, but it does require mastering the first three elements: height, posture and flow.

By control, I mean the gentle swinging of the jug's mouth from side to side to create a symmetrical leaf. First of all, the swing is not an attacking motion from back to front that does not involve moving the whole arm. Instead, it is more of a gradual movement with the brakes on; the gentle swing of the jug is done by holding the jug's handle and slowly swinging your wrist from side to side, but it also requires a combination of firmness and flexibility, and a relaxed and orderly movement, like Tai Chi. Using thumb pressure to control the swing, you can create an even and consistent pendulum swing of the milk jug, so that you can draw the Rosetta leaf after lowering the milk jug and increasing the flow of milk. When you have drawn the number of leaves you want and decide to move on to the finishing stage, raise your milk jug again to about 5 cm above the coffee and use a thin stream of milk to draw a leaf stem from the narrowest part of the leaf to the widest part.

To create a tulip latte art, you must know when to stop and when to continue pouring the milk foam, this rule of slightly pausing. Unlike Rosetta latte art, which requires shaking the milk jug from both sides, the tulip latte art is created by controlling both the height and the flow rate. As mentioned before, the milk foam is poured high and slowly. However, this time, do not continue to pour the milk foam while lowering the mouth of the jug. Instead, stop pouring the milk foam completely first, then lower the mouth of your milk jug.

When you start pouring the milk foam into the center of the coffee again, make sure your milk jug is as close to the coffee as possible and pour the milk foam in firmly and steadily. You should see a white halo in the cup, which is the first layer of the tulip. When the halo is close to your ideal size, stop pouring the milk foam, and then lift the milk jug back before you start pouring the milk foam again (you must lower the jug and pour the milk foam quickly) and make the second layer of the tulip.

After repeating the above process to make the third layer of tulip latte art, reduce the flow of milk foam while raising the milk frother. Then draw a flower stem in the middle of the third layer of tulip petals. This completes the tulip latte art!

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