While many agree that making good espresso is an art within itself, latte art refers to patterns made in the foam topping espresso drinks.
To make these beautiful designs, ensure that your milk is properly steamed and that your espresso has great crèma, the delicate foam on top of the espresso shot. You’ll be able to free pour or draw beautiful art in the foam in no time!
Page sections
Parts
01.
Making Perfect Foam
02.
Pouring The Milk
03.
Etching and Drawing
01. Making Perfect Foam
Use Cold Milk!
Pour cold milk into a chilled pitcher. Try to chill a metal steam pitcher about 30 minutes before you want to make latte art. Remove the cold pitcher and pour in cold milk until it reaches the bottom of the spout. This will give the milk room to expand and foam as it heats.
- For example, if you have a 12-ounce (355 ml) pitcher, pour in about 10 ounces (295 ml) of milk.
- Because of its high fat content, whole milk is easier to steam than skim or low-fat milk.
02. Pouring The Milk
Pour Slowly
Pour some of the milk into the espresso. Hold the wide-mouthed cup with the espresso in your non-dominant hand. Tilt the cup about 20 degrees towards the pitcher of milk that you’re holding in the other hand. Slowly pour steamed milk directly into the espresso until the cup is about halfway full.
- The goal is to keep the rich crema floating on top. If you pour too quickly, it can wash out the espresso which will make it difficult to create latte art.
Bring the pitcher close to the cup. Once the cup is half full, you can tilt the wide-mouthed cup back until it’s straight up. At the same time, move the pitcher of steamed milk right above the surface of the espresso. You should see some of the white microfoam appear in the espresso. You can now start making a design.
Once you see the white dot of microfoam in the cup, keep pouring right into it. You should get a large white circle. When you’ve almost filled the cup, pour the milk through the white circle towards the other side of the cup. This pulls the milk through the circle to create the heart shape.
- Remember that you’re moving the milk and the pitcher, not the cup with the espresso.
- If the milk is too dry or stiff, you’ll may end up with more of a white blob. Try it again and steam the milk so it’s looser.
03. Etching and Drawing
You Can Also Draw and Sketch Over it!
Etch a design or words in the foam. Take a toothpick or skewer and drag it through the foam on the top of the latte to create your own patterns or art. This works well even if your foam isn’t made of delicate microfoam. You can even use etching to create words in the foam.
- Consider drizzling a syrup over the top of the foam before you drag the toothpick through it. This can create a web-like effect or allow you to write words easier.
Make art with a stencil. You can buy stencils that you simply place over the finished latte. Shake cocoa powder, cinnamon, or a spice mix over the stencil and lift away the stencil. This will leave the image of the stencil on top of the latte.
- You can make your own latte stencil using thin plastic or wax paper. Use a blade to carefully cut away the design you want into the plastic. You can set this over the latte like a stencil.
Use chocolate for unique designs. For a unique design, sprinkle some cocoa powder over the espresso in the cup before you pour the milk into it. When you pour the milk over it, the latte will look darkly speckled. You can also make swirls in the foam using chocolate syrup.
- Experiment by drawing webs, snowflakes, or flowers using chocolate syrup.
The world of latte art is endless.
All you need to do is keep practicing and find your own sweet spot when pouring, making shape or draw. The only limitation is your imagination!