But why shouldn’t the world’s most popular drink become art? For centuries, people have obsessed over coffee beans, perfecting everything from the soil they’re grown in to the multitude of ways it can be roasted. It only follows that today’s coffee would literally mirror the very thing we’ve come to see it as: an edible masterpiece.
Like playing a great piece of music, making latte art is all about technique and timing. The barista slowly moves the picture of milk back and forth over the cup of espresso while pouring. The undulating waves as the milk meets the crema create rich, frothy patterns etched in a white and brown contrast. To pour a truly classic cup, practice and patience are a must. It’s something you can even do at home, if you have the right tools and the drive to commit to a task that requires precision. We’ll learn later how you can get started making latte art at home, but what would a good lesson in technique be without a little history and theory?
Rosettas, hearts, and an Internet sensation
According to author and Seattle-based latte artist David Schomer, latte art is about showing respect for caffee espresso. “After four centuries of slavish devotion to the aromatic promise of the roasted bean, humanity finally has its device to get it into a cup,” he writes. Though it’s not clear exactly when or how latte art began, Seattle coffee shops began serving customers lattes featuring heart patterns created from micro-bubbled milk foam in the late 1980’s. In Italy, baristas were similarly experimenting with “rosetta” patterns that resembled a flower opening. Baristas there were slowly perfecting the pitcher-shaking method that is now so vital to creating many of the patterns we see today.
In recent years, You Tube has helped the sensation of latte art reach new levels. People who’ve never had the opportunity to visit a café with a world-class barista began seeing how latte art was made thanks to hundreds of viral videos popping up on the site. Videos featuring 2006 and 2007 World Latte Art champion Scottie Callahan feature clips of him creating triple heart patterns, rosettas, and leaf patterns have inspired professionals and would-be shot pullers alike to submit their own creations to the site.
So how do you go about creating your own latte art at home? As I said, you’ll need a couple of simple tools to get started. First, you’ll of course want to start with a great cup of espresso. You don’t have to have a fancy model in your kitchen, any automatic espresso machine that provides a good crema topping will do. A cup with a wide mouth also makes it easier to create the shapes you’re after. Next, a small pitcher full of frothed milk is your most essential tool to creating patterns and it’s the object that will guide you into making latte art.
Putting it all together
Once you’ve gathered your tools and prepared the espresso and milk, slowly pour the milk directly into the center of the cup holding the espresso. Tilt the espresso mug slightly, keeping the lower end closest to you. When you’re making a rosetta pattern, the tilting helps develop the look of its leaves. After the cup is a little more than halfway full, you’ll want to start shaking your wrist back and forth to make the patterns with the milk as you continue to pour. Schomer often likens this action to fly fishing, and it’s a great way to visualize the back and forth motion necessary when you’re pouring. Getting the shaking motion coordinated with the action of pouring is often the trickiest part for beginners and a couple of practice sessions with water instead of milk are often a good idea.
Continue the motion as the leaves of your newly formed rosetta slowly move away from you atop the crema. After about five shakes with your wrist, begin to move the pitcher back towards you as you continue the shake-pour movement. This is the moment when you’ll want to keep your movements slow and steady. Once you can see the rosetta floating on top of the espresso, pour a few more lines of milk across the leaves to make a stem. Pouring from slightly higher than you had been will give the stems a more streamlined look. To get a really good idea of how this is done, don’t be afraid to consult the many examples on You Tube. You can read about this all you want, but seeing it done might do the trick for you.
Once you’re finished, let out the breath you’ve been holding, and take a look at your creation. It’s probably not perfect, and it’s probably not what you imagined, but that’s ok. Making latte art is all about practice. Besides, once your friends find out what you’re experimenting with, they’ll probably be more than happy to help sample your creations.
About the author
Article is a courtesy of my-best-coffee.com, home for espresso machine ratings, from the cheapest stove top model to the high end superautomatic espresso machine.
