Mastering latte art needs years of practice. You can still try out your inner coffee making skills to make latte art on the top of espresso with these latte art tips.
For one cup, pour enough milk in a steam pitcher or bowl. Turn the steam on and raise the steam wand near the top of milk. There should not be any bubbles and the milk should not stretch too much. Make the milk smooth and velvety instead of vigorous foam.
Raise the temperature to 80° F. Now place the steam wand aside but deep into the milk. The position must be laid, such that it can spin counter-clock wise.
While in motion, raise the temperature further to 150° F-160° F. Now remove the steam wand from the milk.
Now let the milk settle for few seconds, then swirl the milk vigorously. In case you observe any bubbles, just pound the pitcher to remove the bubbles to get a velvety texture.
Continue swirling for 20 - 30 seconds, even if while pouring the espresso.
Now start pouring the milk into the espresso to create different patterns, like flowers, hearts, ferns, etc. Try with simple flower designs by pouring milk to the bottom of the pitcher, leaving 2 - 3 cms away from the bottom.
Shake the pitcher back and forth to get the designs when the cup is half filled. When you do this, the flower will move forward and fill the top of the cup. Shake the cup gently with your wrist.
Once the foam reaches the top of the cup, start pouring the milk to get a white flower etched on the foam. Avoid sinking of the foam and design.
You can embellish the designs as per your choice, using stencils, milk foam and milk powder.
Latte Art Tools
After you know the latter art, you must also know the secret of perfection. This is possible only when you know the tools employed by latte artists to bring about this art with beauty.
You obviously need an espresso coffee maker. Get the best espresso coffee machine for perfection. Automatic or semi-automatic machine with a powerful steam wand is desirable.
Full bodies fresh ground espresso with good quality cream is a must.
To pour and hold the milk, a steam pitcher is required.
Fresh milk, whole-fat quality makes a good latte art. Low fat milk hinders with bubble formation. Prefer cool milk for use.
To start with, use 6 - 12 oz wide mouth cup. Once you gain experience, the cup size won't matter.
