The Latte is perhaps the most prized real estate for art in the coffee world, and an increasing norm – so your cuppa would definitely be incomplete without it.
Latte Art has was popularized in the 80s and 90s by David Schomer, who found inspiration for a heart designed latte from a cafe in Italy. He then later formulated and took a course on Latte and Coffee art. Essentially, latte art is many designs of patterns microfoam milk makes as it pierces through the espresso and subsequent crema. It’s important that there is a good layer of crema for the latte art to hold.
Before you move on to making latte designs, you need to get the most important component right – a creamy milk foam. While using whole, full-fat milk is preferred, using something else shouldn’t make too much of a difference. Warm the milk to the right temperature (140 – 180F) before beginning the frothing process. Correctly steamed milk settles comfortably on top of you drink, while anything else will not last too long and diffuse.
Here’s a checklist for all you need for your latte-art adventure:
- A cup
- A Milk Frother to get foamed milk
Latte Art Designs
Heart (A crowd favourite)
Perhaps the most famous one we know and love, and also a great starting design if you’re new to latte art! It helps in mastering a few key techniques that will be useful in slightly fancier designs going forward. Tilt your cup 45 degrees and begin pouring the foam, while moving it from side to side, forming fine lines that will eventually come together like a heart. Think of like it colouring.
Rosetta
The Rosetta resembles a leaf or a fern, and is great in busy cafes since it’s easy to whip cup quickly. It’s a great stepping stone from the heart and a great base to more complex designs. It is a continuous side-to-side pour with great emphasis on symmetry. Along with symmetry, it’s important that your milk foam is not too thick so your lines look distinct from each other.
Tulip
For the tulip, you employ the pour-and stop technique. Start pouring your milk foam from a height and move closer to form a bulb, stop and “push” the first bulb in the middle of the cup. Make a second bulb and push it into the first one, repeat the process. Once you make the last bulb, push it down, cutting through all the other ones to get the classic Tulip design.
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