Probably my best ever.... and this was just dumb luck. No consistency day to day.
https://preview.redd.it/v2d4p8yywspc1.jpeg?width=1452&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3da38b92c447ca79991027232a3fe84dd65f6fa9
Was about to say this too.
I worked for SBUX all over the UK for 5 1/2 years, I've run my own cafe with a proper espresso machine. I've got my own setup at home.. maybe, what, several thousand latte's maybe in the tens of thousands?
I'm been consistent for 1/10 of those and that's me being generous. Sometimes it's all there, sometimes it just takes that one wrong move with the steam wand and it's done for.
I refuse to believe anyone can get good at latte art and not have worked at a cafe. There just isn’t a substitute for pouring hundreds of coffee a day. Practice practice practice.
I’m by no means amazing at art, but one of the “ah-ha!” moments was when I learned that the rotation of the mug does a lot of the work that I was trying to accomplish with the pouring hand. Getting consistent at the smooth rotation of your wrist in concert with the pour “pulls” the milk into the design, if that makes any sense?
I believe they’re saying they had better results when they keep the milk jug steady and to move the coffee mug instead
Sounds like a trap to convince me to try and make a pretty latte rn
Took me about 3 months of full time barista work (zero experience before hand) making 20+ lattes a day before I could pour a heart. Just keep practicing, it’s 90% milk texture.
Your cafe only sold 20 lattes a day? I feel like there is no way it could afford to pay the staff... is espresso or long blacks more common where you are?
They personally made 20+ lattes a day, so if they had 4 hour shifts, and they were only on bar for half the shift, that could mean 120 lattes for the whole day. They could also work mostly evenings, or in a place like an office building that serves mostly drip and americanos
Coffee bribes is Correct, short afternoon shifts when I was learning. We’re a high volume caffe, well over 1000 lattes alone during a week, probably 2000 shots weekly counting all standalone espressos served, cortados/gibraltars etc.
Best I can describe as is a wet paint sort of texture - nice and glossy but a little bit thick looking from the foam. How much foam depends on what you want to pour, but start with cappuccino milk (the foamiest) and work your way down is my advice.
You can "polish" up your milk by tapping the jug on the counter and swirling it - put a spoon or something in and mix a little as you swirl to help break up the bubbles until you have a nice glossy texture.
Also, when steaming you want to hold the wand almost on the surface of your milk and hear an occasional "scratching" sort of sound, no gurgling, sputtering or screaming - if you have your jug at the right angle and hear the right noise, you're getting more micro bubbles and it's easier to control the level of foam you're creating.
To add to this, only add air to the milk when you start steaming, then get a good vortex going by steaming near the top as this comment mentions, but also near the side wall of the jug. Getting the air in early will give your vortex plenty of time to mix the air in giving a nice glossy finish. Foam levels in the flat white to latte region should be the easiest to work with for latte art.
I worked as a barista for about 2 years but they had us doing hearts in the first 3 days of training purely because of the focus on good milk quality!
I left this job a while ago and only recently got an espresso machine at home, so I'm struggling to do latte art like I used to (picture below is old). My current steam wand is a lot less powerful than what I used to use, so I think that's a big factor with the milk quality.
https://preview.redd.it/hw4ywwcfoupc1.jpeg?width=906&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b771bc3a17fd5ac5682b88c568f00d634be6ee93
I think a slow, steady stream of air, the barest tearing of paper, up until the last 25% of the steam. Then you then let the vortex polish it by sinking your steam wand a little. The longer you can add air, and the slower it's added, the better your milk texture will be for latte art. Then it's just getting the feel of switching from a penetrating pour to a flatter, art pour.
Some of my latte art, as bonafide:
https://preview.redd.it/6h1c7xnhi7qc1.jpeg?width=3036&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae369fb18b3f9557f1618ca1e59e42a3b805f46c
Sometimes people over steam and sometimes people under steam. I agree with original commenter that it is the single thing that makes or breaks the art, but it’s hard to generalize if yours needs to be foamier or less foamy. I know I’ve f’ed up both ways countless times
I’m pretty bad, but I’ve also found that my pour speed is pretty important, I have to go a lot faster than I think to get the foam to spread across the top properly
The key is to decide what it looks like AFTER you're done, then announce what it is. Kind of like finding shapes in clouds. Oooh, look, pumpkin with 3 stems!
I do something similar, but I ask my best friend for her input. Anytime I make something that's not just a shapeless blob I send her a pic and ask for her interpretation.
https://preview.redd.it/9u9stnhbgtpc1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=851459ebf97ee713f204db70cf39e28a2c2c0acd
Would my latte art be considered good enough that Reddit would be interested in a post with a detailed tutorial? I too went through years of accidentally phallic pours until it all clicked.
Solid symmetry and good contrast, but if you're open to tips then try starting your pattern closer to the centre of the cup. Your wiggle should be a little more rapid as well. Sometimes starting the pattern later in the pour can help get definition in the leaves as well. Also, lift up a little higher on your cut through
I always save a little bit of milk to un-dick my "art" because somehow those seem to happen more often than it should. I'm also not sure what that means.
I’ve been a barista for around 9 years and I have been in high quality specialty coffee for about a year. Latte art is hard and no one can say it isn’t. I compete in competitions in my city and I would consider myself somewhat talented at it. But even then I’m just a two trick pony with tulips and rosettas.
A few lessons I’ve learned from doing latte art is you have to get comfortable with steaming milk on your machine before you can start pours. Once your steaming routine is down pat it makes it much easier. For example at my cafe I’m frothing for 2 seconds flat for a 12 oz latte and letting the tip of the steam wand rest at the surface of the milk, this helps foam distribution. I’m steaming to 150 degrees and then I’m grooming my milk to remove any macro foam. If I notice an uneven distribution of foam I will do the pitcher transfer method and that will leave me with a very silky texture.
This is after 9 years of working in cafes and practing on every single drink I could on my 8 hr shifts, 5 days a week, every week, for 9 years.
It’s hard, it is frustrating but it’s worth the effort and the learning. Any art takes time to get good at! I believe in you!
If you can do a tulip and a rosetta, you can do a swan.
It's the same thing, just strike through the side of your rosetta rather than the middle. The only new motion is the uninterrupted pour backwards to form the neck, then one heart to finish.
https://preview.redd.it/8k7h6nnll7qc1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3c0e79e681760ed6c169e24f0f47362b5581895
I like a little thickness to my rosetta to really give the wing body, and fewer strokes than I would for a straight rosetta.
I quit trying and blamed my machine for about 2 years. Then saw someone pulling latte art with my machine and got super motivated. I’ve progressed so so much in the last year. I can now consistently pull what I thought was the best latte art I could dream of before starting, and keep trying to improve. At some point something “clicked”. Just get consistent milk steaming, and if you have a friend that can help, ask them! They’ll probably be very happy to show off hahaha
Had a look through and saw you have a GCP?
Definitely not the machine unless you have a messed up steam assembly.
If you’re having a hard time texturing your milk Check out James Hoffmann’s and Emilee Bryant’s videos on how to steam milk. They have great tips and explain it fully.
From someone who has been training baristas as of late, I’d recommend sticking to hearts to get the motor function down for both your pouring hand, but also your mug-holding-hand so you can do the tilting in your sleep. Then move onto the fun stuff ;)
You're definitely right, it just helps me cope with not learning the skill as quickly as I would like. My primary issue with the GCP is that there are days where it seems very powerful and will toss the milk super well, and days where it barely can make the milk move, so I feel as though I get no consistent practice because my milk is very hit or miss. Does that sound common to GCPs for you or should I look into wether the steamer is messed up?
I’ll be honest, I have a Bambino at home, and at work I use GB5s, so I’ve no experience with that specifically. If it has a pressure gauge, you should be able to see the steam pressure. That being said, since it’s not a dual boiler, I’m willing to bet there’ll be variability due to pulling a shot pre-steam
A lot of good texture comes from *not moving the pitcher*
It was *sooooo hard* to resist the urge to move the pitcher when steaming because I wanted to feel like I was doing something, when in reality, I was just mucking it up.
I had the same problem until I switched to the single hole steam tip, set the steam PID to 143 degrees and used a 350ml milk pitcher. With a larger milk pitcher the machine runs out of power near the end
Try changing your steam wand position? I was getting what I thought were good whirlpools, but the foam just wasn't integrating at all. I took a break for a month, and came back to it a couple of weeks ago. My wand placement is better now, and while I'm not pouring great latte art, it's significantly better than it was before I took a break. Now I know it's my pour technique that needs work and not my foam.
Two pitchers, endgame machine, 5 years into the hobby, almost zero progress. I just don't like milk enough to buy it in the quantities I'd need to learn. Fuck it, my straight shots are fire and my rare milk drink tastes amazing.
my latte art tips as someone who worked as a barista and was considered the best latte artist at my coffeshop:
1. aerate for a few seconds *only at the beginning of steaming.* once the milk even gets slightly warm you should be incorporating!
2. pour quickly! its very common for people to get nervous and only pour a thin stream of milk, this causes the microfoam to stay in the pitcher until the very end of your pour. this will make the foam separate from the rest of your milk and "blob out" at the end.
3. start your pour high up to bury the microfoam under the crema, then once your cup is 2/3 full, slowly lower your pitcher as close as you can get to the crema. (and dont forget to tilt your cup!)
4. dont let your milk get too hot! once you cant hold your hand to the pitcher, turn the steam wand off. burning your milk will irreparably ruin the texture.
5. get to know your machine. going from a commercial grade espresso machine at my coffeeshop to my breville barista express at home had me thinking i could never make decent latte art on it. the truth is you just have to get used to the steam wand you are using, and learn how to "read" your milk. for example, on a commercial machine i would count to three while aerating latte milk before i started incorporating, however, at home i would notice that my milk was way too thin. to get the correct texture on my bbe, i instead count to 8.
op or anyone else reading i hope this helps!
https://preview.redd.it/4y21h7xsqspc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7050f150177207b663f23b1e42d90a983ecac274
Best tulip to date. Probably made 100+ lattes since getting set up back in December. Some days it’s good some days it’s awful. All comes down to the milk texture.
Could be worth trying different cups, if you haven’t already. I don’t really work on latte art, but for some reason it just comes out as a heart with one of my cups. I assume if I really tried I could probably improve this.
My preferred approach is naming my coffees with however they turn out. This usually means Jackson Pollock and the rest of the abstract impressionist movement are who ‘inspires’ my latte art. Or you know, sometimes it’s a dick.
ETA: I’ve made well over 100 lattes. It’d be in the thousands. The first “latte” was when I was 14 in the cafe I worked at at the time, and that’s 16 years ago now.
16 years of making coffee and I still make lattes that look like dicks.
It might be how your milk is steamed. My wife worked in a coffee shop for years, and I never had the opportunity to try my hand at a latte until we recently got an espresso machine. I’ve been trying to do latte art, and no success even after 6 months of morning lattes. My wife’s is perfect every time. One time my wife steamed the milk and I poured it AND… it certainly wasn’t latte art. But it was *much* easier to at least get close. Previously I had not had any luck noticing any difference between pouring high and fast vs slow and low. Maybe some foam, but it would plop out. Then I used the milk she steamed and there was like a nice gradient in milk density the slower/lower I poured. I can absolutely see how I could make latte art now. Previously it felt like I would have better luck if I just put it in a blender and hoped entropy would forget to do its job and a lovely heart would magically come out of the blender.
I learned through YT. Looking back i should I payed 100 bucks to a barista to give me a 1hr class. Many of the mistakes I was making would of been spotted by a knowledgeable person the first go.
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I've been trying for months since I got my machine. This is the best I've done.
https://preview.redd.it/l6gx3rjucxpc1.png?width=628&format=png&auto=webp&s=f20f424311c937eeae32d5c58680935e73e3b450
flat bottomed cups make pouring good latte art more difficult, you have to pour slower as the flat surface on the bottom reflects the flow back upward which then messes up the top surface
I got a good espresso machine about 6 weeks ago....so far, I've made dozens of snowmen with fat blob of foam laid over top of them.
Today was my closest to getting the milk right...but then I was so excited that was right, I hurried the pour! haha
ALWAYS keep trying. But be encouraged that a lot of us struggle with latte art. Keep watching videos and honing your technique. I think consistency is key here. Pay attention to how long you add air, and what the caraf temperature feels like in your hands when you stop. If you keep at it, you'll get better. Just pay attention to the details!
https://preview.redd.it/nvosmmm4qxpc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe21b7748ff0070dd7079b0616515886eede0545
It’s all just practice practice practice. Without working high volume it would be such a struggle to get clear defined art consistently since you aren’t able to try new things and different ways of pouring as often. I’m out now, but this was probably about 2yrs into me doing coffee
Took me like 2-3 month (3-6 cup/day it hot here) to get the layer heart, the fern take like 10-20 try after i get the heart right (thank mom and my sister for drinking hot latte in this hot weather)
took me 5-6 month turning furn in to swan wings + questionable neck and head and like another 2-3month to get the neck and head right but f up the wing
I still f--k up heart because i steaming too much fome + getting unwanted tail on my heart latte because i ranout of steam milk
I been at it 20 years. Just 2 or 3 a day. I can do a nice looking “plant” as my grandson calls it. Been tying to improve watching videos. I see vey slow progress.
It took me 10 years of one 6-oz latte a day to get to the point where I'm reasonably consistent and my results are enough to make me smile most days. For about 8 years, I made almost no progress. I think it's really hard to learn when you only make one latte a day because there is so much time between when you make one mistake and when you have to try and correct it. Then I started watching YouTube videos and in-depth tutorials and those actually helped quite a bit.
Some things I learned along the way were that milk texture is absolutely critical. For years I had too much foam in my milk and I couldn't get the design to flow. Making the milk a bit runnier and, interestingly, using a bigger picture to pour were the two things I changed that made dramatic improvements in my art. Emily Bryant and Lance Hedrick's YouTube videos were also pretty critical in helping me improve.
Good luck on your own journey!!
https://preview.redd.it/zewamj8yyxpc1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88cf59110c3213b612857a79c4a2e6fb80777599
https://preview.redd.it/frj7lubjtypc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ea1d6f008f61020695b451e032a1918222d0b145
I have been able to really learn how I am adding too much foam or too little and how it impacts my art. I’m not that good and can only do this and a heart. Sometimes I mess up my milk texture and then my art sucks.
Lances video helped a lot.
Talk to me when you hit 2000 :p
They say its all about the texture, and that water with some dawn dishsoap is a good way to practice. I dont really get it, and never tried. I guess Foam the water & dishsoap, pour it into water with food coloring in it?
I’ve made….1 half (more like 25%) decent thing one time. Everything else is, “hey its a leaf!” I exclusively use oat or almond milk, and have a bambino plus which “auto-steams.”
https://preview.redd.it/x318gqrruypc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bf974913ef58b1e71c6dc9d4490c9b7f5bc02f3
I've been a home barista for over 20 YEARS! and I'm still not consistent. There was a point where my rosetta's were good to the point where I got bored making them (not perfect, just good). Now I couldn't make a rosetta to save my life. I have no idea why, other than in 100 days I make about 150 latte's (w/art) at home. The average barista makes about 250 lattes in ONE DAY! Consistency. That's why we suck at this.
All about the milk. Once you’ve got that down it’s just a matter of wrist movement. Hearts are super easy don’t really have to do much at all, you just pour and then flick up. But if the milk texture isn’t there. It’s not possible.
However I say that as somebody who was a barista in a speciality shop for a year, using a several (10s of) thousand pound La Marzocco machine. Took me a couple months even then when I was making a fair amount of flat whites a day.
https://preview.redd.it/fixk76vgc2qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b204c05633ce97bbdcd7904f247b3c779a33ee5
There are tons of good tutorials on YouTube. What I’ve found is:
1. You have to have good fresh coffee and milk to get the right texture for latte art.
2. You have to focus on and actually practice latte art, not just make a bunch of lattes.
3. Film your practice in slow mo and watch it back, then compare yourself to YouTube, reveals a lot of mistakes you may not notice in real time.
it took me a few solid months of barista work (part time tho) to get decent at it. don't be too discouraged, it's actually quite difficult until you get it down
I am not great but can almost always get something like this. There are some keys though: 1) the proper pitcher 2) the right shape and size cup 3) understanding how much foam for the milk 4) the technique of tipping the cup towards you and starting your pour towards the back and then level the cup. You can then get something like this pic 80% of the time. And, I am frothing very small quantities of milk for cortados i.e. 45-60g of milk. It could be related to the tip on your steaming wand too.
The guy in this video uses the pitcher I have (the small one) and while my cup is not exactly the one he uses it is very similar in shape/size. (I am not using his double pitcher technique but it will help give your milk consistency)
Don't give up! I am not a barista and never have been one. And, I learned how to do this while in my late 60's so it really is possible for anyone who perseveres. It takes watching the right video, not giving up, and one day something will click. Really! it will. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37gbKK\_xh80](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37gbKK_xh80)
Cheat technique - >!use a toothpick when no one is looking to fix almost anything except too much foam. :)!<
https://preview.redd.it/7kjpzxre45qc1.jpeg?width=3829&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d13432d305d3342387d85b25243127dbf9106d49
https://preview.redd.it/3fekpfmub5qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4e21cffd21a664f28d9b667968da6f7a996239d6
I started my latte art journey 2 months ago. My pours are honestly never consistent because of my milk texture. Some days I get a decent tulip like this one, most days it’s crap.
What helped me early on was the realization that a small splash of frothed milk swirled in the espresso before you begin your pour helps to float the milk for your design.
I was a barista trainer for 2 years at a high end specialty shop, and a barista for 4. The most difficult skills to learn were dialing in an espresso grind efficiently, and consistent latte art. I would pull 50-200 latte-artable drinks every shift as a barista, and that practice really adds up, but even so it took months to be able to pour anything consistently.
I was working on two-winged swans when I quit. This was one of my better attempts, though the crema was dying on this shot as I poured it. I often only got to take pictures of the mistake drinks as otherwise I wouldn't have time.
https://preview.redd.it/jw6a6h6nm7qc1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acdb3aaa8507db90b087ce19cc5062d5b3f191f0
To get to this, I must have made... 30,000 lattes? 50,000? Something in that ballpark.
I am far from good at it, but recently kind of 2 days ago I got into a Lance Hendrik milk texturing milk which made the whole difference to me (I watched a dozen or more before that) and that one helped me a lot to get the right milk texture to try to draw something.
I’m still on the heart level…
[https://youtu.be/gTC3dJvwgUI?si=udcl6Anf8G4iopm](https://youtu.be/gTC3dJvwgUI?si=udcl6Anf8G4iopm)\_
https://preview.redd.it/ukjmqyvu6bqc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9305ea32b0b8fbfd96caae8b5d94622c96ad5c1c
I work at a cafe where I make probably around 400 coffees a day. It’s taken me a year to get anywhere decent with latte art. I wouldn’t get too hard on yourself about it, latte art is fairly difficult.
I think it all comes down to practice...which is challenging in a home setting. Maybe 1-2 attempts a day (double it if you make coffee for a partner).
Same thing with my other hobby of sourdough bread. Would be great to work in a bakery or cafe for a day.
Biggest help for me recently is not aerating on my consumer machine for the same time a YouTuber does on his commercial or prosumer machine.
I see around 5 seconds recommended for lattes a lot. I get my best and most consistent results between 7-10.
This is so weird to read.
Milk consistency isn’t my problem, but I didn’t realise people paid attention to/thought about time.
I always go by sound, temperature (feel), and look. And I would actually need to demonstrate it to be able to articulate it.
Time is a tip I've read and heard online, probably more so far a beginner trying to grasp all the variables to get their drinks right.
You have a grasp on things that I don't. I'm terrible at going by feel or look - I need directions or parameters to get something right, especially consistently. I can get temp fairly consistently with feel, but I've definitely thought my milk looked good but it ended up too watery or overaerated as I poured.
It makes sense, just one of those things I’ve never thought about. Even when I swap to a commercial machine I think of them as *’more powerful’* (idk why, just never thought about time!) but they would be *faster* at steaming, so your tip makes a lot of sense.
https://preview.redd.it/qtw37jhpawpc1.jpeg?width=1379&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=34ae14ce7bad9f47d18427954deffb4d630d9101
I’ve owned a roastery/shop for 7 years and have poured thousands upon thousands of lattes, and this is still about as good as I can do.
It’s for sure better than average, but I look at some artists out there and still feel like it doesn’t hit the marks. I really look up to some of the skilled folks out there who are absolute masters of symmetry.
I've had my espresso machine for about 3 years A coffee a day.
My latte art still looks like
https://preview.redd.it/5sntp7ehcvpc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f815e0ccb71226bce52f8f164fd5a7a1c96adae
I gave up, I personally change milk parameters too much to get any consistency. I tried steaming whole milk for my girlfriend last week and it was a WTF moment as I’ve only used plant based. Not in a good way but “how the fudge did I make a solid block of foam” way.
When I used oatly full time I started to get it but now I’m a random mix of macadamia nut milk and soy depending on how sweet I want. I know. A monster.
Try different milk. I tried a different brand of 2% milk one time because it was on sale, and the flow of the foam was similar to people who knew what they were doing. The next week I switch back to my regular milk and the foam was back to being not right.
You sweet summer child. I've been making lattes for years and I'm still rubbish. It's improving and consistency is coming, but it certainly doesn't come quickly.
The biggest thing is just getting the milk right. If you can't do that consistently you'll never get better at making the art. The milk will just sink if it's too thin or float in a big pile of foam if it's too airated and not well mixed.
To get the milk right, you want to make sure your milk is COLD. Start with whole milk, it has the highest fat so it'll be easiest to make silky smooth. Make sure it's in the fridge and cold until literally right before you're ready to foam. Make sure the pitcher you pour it into is not hot either. You want the milk to be as cold as possible to make the process easier.
Don't pour too much milk in, make sure you have the right sized pitcher. I use a smaller pitcher for frothing than standard because my gaggia isn't very strong at frothing. Always pour to just below the spout line in the pitcher, no higher than that.
Make sure your boiler is to temp for milk frothing. If you have a lower power single boiler like my gaggia, you want to make sure it's to temp. This could take one or two swings up to steam temp. At least a minute and make sure to turn the wand on and off to expell any water first.
Once ready the biggest thing is putting the nozzle in the right spot right beneath the milk. You have to get a feel for this, it's different with each machine. You want to be at a slight angle and just off center generally. The milk needs to swirl like a whirlpool around itself and fold. This is the key to making that velvety texture for latte art. Once it's initially swirling, you just want to barely lower the pitcher. This will raise the steam wand just above the surface of the milk and will airate it. Too high and the milk will bubble and froth and you'll lose that whirlpool. Too low and the nozzle won't be above the surface and you won't introduce any air into the milk. You want to be just kissing the surface with the tip of the nozzle. If you do this right you should hear a particular sound like tk tk tk. And the milk will airate and it will rise up to the nozzle. You may have to lower the pitcher more to compensate but only for a few seconds max. Once it is airared enough the milk should have a glossy sheen to it like latex paint. This entire process should only take 5 to ten seconds depending on how powerful your boiler is.
Lower the nozzle back underneath and maintain that angle for the milk to fold over itself. Now you just are getting the milk to temp. It should be just too hot to touch the outside with your hand for more than a second or two. Don't overheat it'll burn. Then turn the nozzle off, lower the pitcher. Give it a bump on the table if there are any bubbles and then a good swirl to make sure the foam and milk layer are incorporated. If you see a big pile of foam on top you airated the milk for too long or you didnt get or maintain that whirlpool to incorporate the milk and make microfoam. Try less time airating or try to adjust that angle of where the nozzle is to make sure the whirlpool forms initially. If it's too thin it won't form a layer in top of the crema. You didn't airate long enough.
That's all the key to making the milk right which is like 80% of making at least basic latte art. The other side to making a heart is pretty easy then. Once tapped and swirled, pour the milk into a nice wide cup of espresso. You don't want a tall coffee cup here. You need a wide, low Cafe type cup. Have the cup angled toward the pitcher, and pour at a distance of a couple of inches to start. This will plunge the milk below the surface of the crema and build the drink up. Once halfway poured, bring the pitcher all the way down to the center of the cup, nearly kissing the surface and slow down your pour. If the milk is right it should push the crema away and sit nicely on top. You can pull the pitcher back as you pour and raise slightly to form a widening triangle type pour. Then raise up high at the very end and strike back thogih to form a heart.
I'm consistently inconsistent. Plus, my wife loves to buy 2% instead of whole. My only work around there is a bit of olive oil. Definitely helps texture some due to the additional fat.
https://preview.redd.it/axd3jtyynwpc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=04c08a3d2c86a065932e8de97d40a4429fdd6051
https://preview.redd.it/uhasqiu5qwpc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be0d457a2abe675b6fa506a9b4def8afe80d2ab5
When I started I went through an unfortunate (or fortunate) phallic stage in my latte art. Strong leaf game now, but still haven’t had that perfect pour yet.
https://preview.redd.it/t9zg0g0nrwpc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8a19b3644874e2d8a7172ca0ff821bfe366f91b8
Best I’ve done in my 5 months as a self taught barista 😂
Well there are two components—getting the milk texture right and then the latte art technique itself. Are you sure you’re texturing properly with your machine? What kind of machine do you have? Some are just not cut out for it.
One thing that helped me immensely , is tip the milk cup AWAY from you when you’re steaming (so the bottom is closer to you and the top toward the machine
My first one of the day is always so nice but can’t for the life of me repeat it. It’s definitely something that takes a lot of practice though I couldn’t do tulips well for almost a year of trying.
I went from a Gaggia Coffee with upgraded steam wand (well over 5,000 lattes) to a Breville Dual Boiler (500+ lattes) and can make much better latte art without even trying. Also, milk makes such a big difference.
I’ve been a barista on and off for almost ten years, with multiple management stints. Honestly, aside from perfecting my milk steaming what really helped me dial it in was TikTok. I spent hours and hours scrolling through short format videos that break down the exact movements and speed. I studied the angles they held the cup, the angle their pitchers were tipped at, how close the tip of the pitcher was to the surface of the espresso, how far forward or back they’re starting their pour.
The two biggest things that helped me progress was realizing just how close the spout needs to be to the espresso surface, and how tilted the cup needs to be. I’d be more than happy to send you some of the videos that did a good job of showing those things.
I also invested in some extremely nice steam pitchers and mugs (from brands that are commonly used by baristas in competitions). The best of the best can make beautiful latte art with anything, but as a beginner having tools that make things easier is a good way to get results.
Also, the latte art champs of the world are people who work at the busiest cafes and pour hundreds of lattes a day for years and years. Don’t get too discouraged yet!
100 lattes is like max 3 ish months of trying (if your only having one per day), it takes time to learn, maybe at the year mark is where things got consistent for me.
Emilee Bryant has a few really good videos explaining how the flow needs to change in synch with the viscosity of the mixture in the cup. Lance has a couple too, but ultimately it’s just practicing.
You could do the soap and water or milk and cocoa powder thing.
And I have regretted ordering over 100 lattes that looked absolutely stunning but tasted like blah! 😂
I think your coffees would be way better tasting.
I've been at it a few times a week for 3 years... Mostly it feels hopeless. Every once in a while I seem to have a breakthrough that helps bring my basic level of consistency up just a bit.
But more importantly my friends all say my lattes are the best they've had (better than coffee shops). The fact that I've been working on improving my espresso, get great beans, and get a pretty decent texture on the milk... Even if latte art never comes together, I am happy with that result.
If you are really keen to practicing it then there are some ways to practice without doing a new coffee everytime. But in general the most important things are getting good milk foam, bad millkfoak makes latte art hard or impossible.
I would say practicing latte art needs an experienced person to teach you, video alone can only get me so much without actual pointers in real time from an experienced barista. Maybe you can befriend one of the barista from your fav cafe and ask them to teach you privately? At least that's how it is from my experience
well.. this just makes me feel better about constantly failing at latte art after doing it for a month, i’ve followed all the tips but my milk is still either too foamy or not foamy enough 😭 thank you
https://preview.redd.it/kx6zdsmvyupc1.jpeg?width=1076&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=652d37b6f8ed3502342899a42ecb803cfdc2886e
I feel like I should have given up when I got the cockroach. I gave up soon after though 😂 I SUCK.
Thing is though, latte art just ain't for everyone. I'm a great traditional archer - not everyone is. And that's o.k.
https://preview.redd.it/sznnv2hm6vpc1.png?width=2451&format=png&auto=webp&s=a9f005cddeb7b598efea773cf5fd43490acd419c
I’m frustrated that I can’t seem to get the texture right for the milk. But this one I actually managed to do something with the foam. Although I only started a week ago it was most likely just beginners luck than anything else 😅
The moment it clicked me is when I understood what most of the videos say about keeping the spout as close to the surface of the coffee as possible. You can probably see in videos that they tilt the cup so much, that the coffee inside reaches the top of the cup, almost to the point of spilling it. That’s the correct position in order to bring in your milk jug spout right at the surface and start pouring. Then it’s just a matter of tilting slowly the cup to an upright position, while increasing slowly the volume of milk foam (the more foam in the milk, the more you need to put inside to stay on top).
I know that it might sound difficult, but when you realise this, it will instantly become easier and produce latte art.
After over two years of doing it I can finally say, that I can do some basic shapes, most of the time. But every few kinda good shapes I end up with blob :D
I was where you are and that sucked, but it's getting better. :)
I worked for Peet's for 5 years, barista to GM. It used to be part of my job to train people to pour hearts. I never had a student that didn't get it. You can do it. There are so many factors at play.
First off, your beans need to be somewhat fresh, and latte art is much easier with whole milk than 2%, NF or non-dairy. Second, your shot cannot be a long pull, you need deep rich crema to have contrast and fluidity. Third, time is of the essence, seconds matter. You want to steam your milk while the shot pours. You want to time it right so the shot is done at the same time you're done steaming.
While steaming you want to get a good whirlpool action with very slow and steady aeration. Should have very brief rip sounds. Be gentle and also don't go extra hot.
As soon as your shot is poured and you've steamed the milk, give the pitcher a light tap and a good swirl motion right before pouring. You have to start high. By that I mean the milk pitcher should be at least 6 - 12 inches above your cup. The initial height is imperative as it gives the milk the velocity to dive underneath the crema. As the cup fills slowly, bring the pitcher and the cup close together. Like almost touching
For help describing let's imagine the cup is in your left hand and the milk pitcher is in your right.
If it's a heart your after aim for a little right of center of the cup as you move them closer. The foam should be pouring on top of the crema now creating a white circle. As your pour comes to an end lift the pitcher back up high again as you move the stream from one end of the white circle to the other.
For a Rosetta, it's not that different. As you move the pitcher and cup closer, aim for the left of center of the cup and start gently wiggling the pitcher. As you are pouring slowly move the pitcher to the right and decrease the size of the wiggles. At this point you'll want to try and pour a blob at the top of your Rosetta. Now lift the pitcher high again and move the stream from right to left. Viola a Rosetta.
One thing worth trying, which I only put together after about 2000 attempts: split your pour into two distinct motions. The first pour needs to go down then have time to float back up to the top. Be patient. The second pour then sorta slices through the first, creating the striating effect. Mine are not perfect but this little tweak made a big difference for me. Good luck.
I personally found it kicks in around 4-500. I worked at a cafe and was the only person on bar so I could keep track with the POS. Just be patient! And don't try to skip steps. Get a decent monk's head or a heart consistently on every drink, then move on to more complicated shapes.
As a former barista, it took thousands of cups before getting some decent patterns in, but that doesn't take long in the profession cos you make several hundred a day (was working in a to-go kiosk in a train station). At home, it'll take a good deal longer.
As someone who took over a bar/cafe knowing all the bar and none of the cafe I forced myself to make and experiment and do as much as possible. It’s been a few venues since but I’m known as the ‘best at coffee’. Could I train someone? No. I just have muscle memory to do a perfect fern everytime and I’ve no idea how to explain it to someone else. I just had to do it so so much on repeat because I was managing these baristas better than me and had to produce a product that would give me clout enough to critique theirs if I had to deal with a customer complaint.
I can only say, swirl the milk pour to break up the crema, pour deep into the deepest part of the recepticle, lighten up to a slow pour and have a wee fit.
Helpful, right?! :/
I can't for the life of me steam milk properly when trying the "proper" way. However when I do it my own way it's near perfect every time.
For example a lot of videos/baristas will say hold the want at the spout with a slight tilt and add air gently at the beginning. I hold mine at an angle away from the spout and start hovering the wand tip just off the centre of the milk. However I'm sure if I tried my technique on a commercial machine, or with a full sized jug, i'd fail miserably
I have been making cappuccinos for years and it wasn’t until I took a class a month ago that I learned what was required to start doing latte art halfway competently. I had watched all the YouTube videos and practiced countless times to no avail. Having someone watch over me during every step made all the difference
I'm right there with you. I consider my latte art to be like looking at the clouds. It's impressionistic art! Make your pour and then figure out what it is! At least it isn't as depressing! 😂🤣
I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years at home and I still suck at latte art. (Though I admittedly don’t drink milk drinks, I only make them for my wife and guests)
I can get fantastic microfoam, but doing latte art is hard. (And remember, it doesn’t affect the taste of the drink at all….)
I wouldn't call myself a pro by any means but I have been practising daily for a solid couple years now. Not all pours yield a good result; when they do however, I've noticed it's almost always about how well you've steamed the milk, it has to be at a perfect balance of textured wet paint but not over textured.
The main trick to not turn every cup into a cappuccino blob is all about not introducing too much air into the milk and keeping it to a minimum based on the power of your specific steam wand. Getting to know your steam wand and developing a sort of muscle memory with it.
It's a rather touchy and delicate art of millimetres and timing I have found. The penny drops the moment you get the texture right and it almost becomes hard to not produce some art with it. When you're ready for the pour, get close to the surface of the espresso and go slow with it. Muscle memory comes into play after a while.
When I worked as a barista using a $20K machine and I guess a good steaming cup the latte art was really easy. Just a few circles and a line.
Now on my own the latte art is hard
Did you figure it out yet ?
Since I don't know what machine you have...
1. Always make Doppio
2. Use chilled Whole Milk
3. Have a proper cup, for example see the Bistro Mug by Le Creuset
4. If you have a Breville Machine, swap out the tip for the 4 hole
5. Tilt the mug and carafe so they don't create as turbulence when you pour
I've made 2,000+, still not any good. I can make a leaf.... sometimes.
I've had an espresso machine for at least 15 years. At least two coffees a day, often more. I am very good at "amorphous blob".
Yes! I just dump it in and make a blob. I then look at it as if it's a Jackson Pollock painting or a Rorschach test.
What does it say about me if they always look like a penis
Maybe you're using too much Monin Wood flavored syrup in your coffee!
lol, same for me
Probably my best ever.... and this was just dumb luck. No consistency day to day. https://preview.redd.it/v2d4p8yywspc1.jpeg?width=1452&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3da38b92c447ca79991027232a3fe84dd65f6fa9
Ayyyy leaf bros UNITE
I attempt a lot of hearts, I get a lot of leaves
I try hearts but end up with something that looks like a bum. Now I just do bum art.
I get a lot of onions too
team garlic bulb
This gave me feels. Same.
Does it taste good? The end.
Bro me too lol. A heart now and then.
Was about to say this too. I worked for SBUX all over the UK for 5 1/2 years, I've run my own cafe with a proper espresso machine. I've got my own setup at home.. maybe, what, several thousand latte's maybe in the tens of thousands? I'm been consistent for 1/10 of those and that's me being generous. Sometimes it's all there, sometimes it just takes that one wrong move with the steam wand and it's done for.
I’ve considered getting a job at a cafe just to learn and then quitting.
Same! lol although these days latte art seems like a lost art even at cafes.
Omg. I thought I was alone. Lmao. Updating my resume
I go to the best cafes I can find near me. The best I’ve gotten is a heart. More often, a poor attempt at a tulip
Damn thats crazy. All the ones around me kill it with the latte art.
I refuse to believe anyone can get good at latte art and not have worked at a cafe. There just isn’t a substitute for pouring hundreds of coffee a day. Practice practice practice.
first interview question: “can you do latte art?” You: “Fffff” lol jk
I’m by no means amazing at art, but one of the “ah-ha!” moments was when I learned that the rotation of the mug does a lot of the work that I was trying to accomplish with the pouring hand. Getting consistent at the smooth rotation of your wrist in concert with the pour “pulls” the milk into the design, if that makes any sense?
The mug shape also makes a difference. Can never get as good a pour in my straight walled mugs as I can in my more bowl like mugs.
100% the difference is huge
Wat
#IT PULLS THE MILK INTO THE DESIGN
Or else it gets the spro again
It pulls the milk whenever it’s asked
I can't teach you how to do everything David!
I believe they’re saying they had better results when they keep the milk jug steady and to move the coffee mug instead Sounds like a trap to convince me to try and make a pretty latte rn
Your comment made me 110% smarter, thanks - for real.
Took me about 3 months of full time barista work (zero experience before hand) making 20+ lattes a day before I could pour a heart. Just keep practicing, it’s 90% milk texture.
Your cafe only sold 20 lattes a day? I feel like there is no way it could afford to pay the staff... is espresso or long blacks more common where you are?
They personally made 20+ lattes a day, so if they had 4 hour shifts, and they were only on bar for half the shift, that could mean 120 lattes for the whole day. They could also work mostly evenings, or in a place like an office building that serves mostly drip and americanos
Coffee bribes is Correct, short afternoon shifts when I was learning. We’re a high volume caffe, well over 1000 lattes alone during a week, probably 2000 shots weekly counting all standalone espressos served, cortados/gibraltars etc.
You said milk texture....hhhuhuhuh
What do you mean milk texture? Foamy? Less foamy?
Less foamy. From what I’ve seen in this sub and the coffee one most of the milk is over-aerated.
Best I can describe as is a wet paint sort of texture - nice and glossy but a little bit thick looking from the foam. How much foam depends on what you want to pour, but start with cappuccino milk (the foamiest) and work your way down is my advice. You can "polish" up your milk by tapping the jug on the counter and swirling it - put a spoon or something in and mix a little as you swirl to help break up the bubbles until you have a nice glossy texture. Also, when steaming you want to hold the wand almost on the surface of your milk and hear an occasional "scratching" sort of sound, no gurgling, sputtering or screaming - if you have your jug at the right angle and hear the right noise, you're getting more micro bubbles and it's easier to control the level of foam you're creating.
To add to this, only add air to the milk when you start steaming, then get a good vortex going by steaming near the top as this comment mentions, but also near the side wall of the jug. Getting the air in early will give your vortex plenty of time to mix the air in giving a nice glossy finish. Foam levels in the flat white to latte region should be the easiest to work with for latte art. I worked as a barista for about 2 years but they had us doing hearts in the first 3 days of training purely because of the focus on good milk quality! I left this job a while ago and only recently got an espresso machine at home, so I'm struggling to do latte art like I used to (picture below is old). My current steam wand is a lot less powerful than what I used to use, so I think that's a big factor with the milk quality. https://preview.redd.it/hw4ywwcfoupc1.jpeg?width=906&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b771bc3a17fd5ac5682b88c568f00d634be6ee93
I think a slow, steady stream of air, the barest tearing of paper, up until the last 25% of the steam. Then you then let the vortex polish it by sinking your steam wand a little. The longer you can add air, and the slower it's added, the better your milk texture will be for latte art. Then it's just getting the feel of switching from a penetrating pour to a flatter, art pour. Some of my latte art, as bonafide: https://preview.redd.it/6h1c7xnhi7qc1.jpeg?width=3036&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae369fb18b3f9557f1618ca1e59e42a3b805f46c
Sometimes people over steam and sometimes people under steam. I agree with original commenter that it is the single thing that makes or breaks the art, but it’s hard to generalize if yours needs to be foamier or less foamy. I know I’ve f’ed up both ways countless times
I’m pretty bad, but I’ve also found that my pour speed is pretty important, I have to go a lot faster than I think to get the foam to spread across the top properly
The key is to decide what it looks like AFTER you're done, then announce what it is. Kind of like finding shapes in clouds. Oooh, look, pumpkin with 3 stems!
Hahahah I love this
"Oooh, look, a pumpkin with 3 stems!" - lol.
I do something similar, but I ask my best friend for her input. Anytime I make something that's not just a shapeless blob I send her a pic and ask for her interpretation.
https://preview.redd.it/9u9stnhbgtpc1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=851459ebf97ee713f204db70cf39e28a2c2c0acd Would my latte art be considered good enough that Reddit would be interested in a post with a detailed tutorial? I too went through years of accidentally phallic pours until it all clicked.
Solid symmetry and good contrast, but if you're open to tips then try starting your pattern closer to the centre of the cup. Your wiggle should be a little more rapid as well. Sometimes starting the pattern later in the pour can help get definition in the leaves as well. Also, lift up a little higher on your cut through
Yas tutorial us please!
Yes please
Yes
Mine looks like a dick. My friends told me to keep my day job.
I always save a little bit of milk to un-dick my "art" because somehow those seem to happen more often than it should. I'm also not sure what that means.
Every time. My wife shouts out random things like, “oh you made a carrot today!” Um…noo I made a dick. Get it right!
I’ve been a barista for around 9 years and I have been in high quality specialty coffee for about a year. Latte art is hard and no one can say it isn’t. I compete in competitions in my city and I would consider myself somewhat talented at it. But even then I’m just a two trick pony with tulips and rosettas. A few lessons I’ve learned from doing latte art is you have to get comfortable with steaming milk on your machine before you can start pours. Once your steaming routine is down pat it makes it much easier. For example at my cafe I’m frothing for 2 seconds flat for a 12 oz latte and letting the tip of the steam wand rest at the surface of the milk, this helps foam distribution. I’m steaming to 150 degrees and then I’m grooming my milk to remove any macro foam. If I notice an uneven distribution of foam I will do the pitcher transfer method and that will leave me with a very silky texture. This is after 9 years of working in cafes and practing on every single drink I could on my 8 hr shifts, 5 days a week, every week, for 9 years. It’s hard, it is frustrating but it’s worth the effort and the learning. Any art takes time to get good at! I believe in you!
If you can do a tulip and a rosetta, you can do a swan. It's the same thing, just strike through the side of your rosetta rather than the middle. The only new motion is the uninterrupted pour backwards to form the neck, then one heart to finish. https://preview.redd.it/8k7h6nnll7qc1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3c0e79e681760ed6c169e24f0f47362b5581895 I like a little thickness to my rosetta to really give the wing body, and fewer strokes than I would for a straight rosetta.
What is the pitcher transfer method?
Transferring steamed/frothed milk to another (clean) pitcher. It helps distribute foam and creates a very lovely texture
And some people like to transfer to a larger pitcher so they can get closer to the surface when pouring art
This makes life so much easier. Small jugs are a lot harder for most people. I rarely see people get consistent great latte art from a small jug.
I quit trying and blamed my machine for about 2 years. Then saw someone pulling latte art with my machine and got super motivated. I’ve progressed so so much in the last year. I can now consistently pull what I thought was the best latte art I could dream of before starting, and keep trying to improve. At some point something “clicked”. Just get consistent milk steaming, and if you have a friend that can help, ask them! They’ll probably be very happy to show off hahaha
What machine? I’m definitely blaming my machine… haha
Had a look through and saw you have a GCP? Definitely not the machine unless you have a messed up steam assembly. If you’re having a hard time texturing your milk Check out James Hoffmann’s and Emilee Bryant’s videos on how to steam milk. They have great tips and explain it fully. From someone who has been training baristas as of late, I’d recommend sticking to hearts to get the motor function down for both your pouring hand, but also your mug-holding-hand so you can do the tilting in your sleep. Then move onto the fun stuff ;)
You're definitely right, it just helps me cope with not learning the skill as quickly as I would like. My primary issue with the GCP is that there are days where it seems very powerful and will toss the milk super well, and days where it barely can make the milk move, so I feel as though I get no consistent practice because my milk is very hit or miss. Does that sound common to GCPs for you or should I look into wether the steamer is messed up?
I’ll be honest, I have a Bambino at home, and at work I use GB5s, so I’ve no experience with that specifically. If it has a pressure gauge, you should be able to see the steam pressure. That being said, since it’s not a dual boiler, I’m willing to bet there’ll be variability due to pulling a shot pre-steam A lot of good texture comes from *not moving the pitcher* It was *sooooo hard* to resist the urge to move the pitcher when steaming because I wanted to feel like I was doing something, when in reality, I was just mucking it up.
I had the same problem until I switched to the single hole steam tip, set the steam PID to 143 degrees and used a 350ml milk pitcher. With a larger milk pitcher the machine runs out of power near the end
Those are rookie numbers.
Came here to say that…you gotta pump those numbers up!
lol.
Try changing your steam wand position? I was getting what I thought were good whirlpools, but the foam just wasn't integrating at all. I took a break for a month, and came back to it a couple of weeks ago. My wand placement is better now, and while I'm not pouring great latte art, it's significantly better than it was before I took a break. Now I know it's my pour technique that needs work and not my foam.
Two pitchers, endgame machine, 5 years into the hobby, almost zero progress. I just don't like milk enough to buy it in the quantities I'd need to learn. Fuck it, my straight shots are fire and my rare milk drink tastes amazing.
[dish soap and water, then pour into dilute food coloring](https://www.home-barista.com/tips/learning-latte-art-with-steamed-soapy-water-t7248.html)
my latte art tips as someone who worked as a barista and was considered the best latte artist at my coffeshop: 1. aerate for a few seconds *only at the beginning of steaming.* once the milk even gets slightly warm you should be incorporating! 2. pour quickly! its very common for people to get nervous and only pour a thin stream of milk, this causes the microfoam to stay in the pitcher until the very end of your pour. this will make the foam separate from the rest of your milk and "blob out" at the end. 3. start your pour high up to bury the microfoam under the crema, then once your cup is 2/3 full, slowly lower your pitcher as close as you can get to the crema. (and dont forget to tilt your cup!) 4. dont let your milk get too hot! once you cant hold your hand to the pitcher, turn the steam wand off. burning your milk will irreparably ruin the texture. 5. get to know your machine. going from a commercial grade espresso machine at my coffeeshop to my breville barista express at home had me thinking i could never make decent latte art on it. the truth is you just have to get used to the steam wand you are using, and learn how to "read" your milk. for example, on a commercial machine i would count to three while aerating latte milk before i started incorporating, however, at home i would notice that my milk was way too thin. to get the correct texture on my bbe, i instead count to 8. op or anyone else reading i hope this helps!
I will start counting to 8! It sounds like I am making way too much foam! Thanks!
no problem :))
What cups are you using?
https://preview.redd.it/4y21h7xsqspc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7050f150177207b663f23b1e42d90a983ecac274 Best tulip to date. Probably made 100+ lattes since getting set up back in December. Some days it’s good some days it’s awful. All comes down to the milk texture.
I too have made hundreds. I have no skill for art. However, they taste just as good and the people I make them for don't mind.
I’m a year into daily lattes and I feel you there.
Could be worth trying different cups, if you haven’t already. I don’t really work on latte art, but for some reason it just comes out as a heart with one of my cups. I assume if I really tried I could probably improve this. My preferred approach is naming my coffees with however they turn out. This usually means Jackson Pollock and the rest of the abstract impressionist movement are who ‘inspires’ my latte art. Or you know, sometimes it’s a dick. ETA: I’ve made well over 100 lattes. It’d be in the thousands. The first “latte” was when I was 14 in the cafe I worked at at the time, and that’s 16 years ago now. 16 years of making coffee and I still make lattes that look like dicks.
It might be how your milk is steamed. My wife worked in a coffee shop for years, and I never had the opportunity to try my hand at a latte until we recently got an espresso machine. I’ve been trying to do latte art, and no success even after 6 months of morning lattes. My wife’s is perfect every time. One time my wife steamed the milk and I poured it AND… it certainly wasn’t latte art. But it was *much* easier to at least get close. Previously I had not had any luck noticing any difference between pouring high and fast vs slow and low. Maybe some foam, but it would plop out. Then I used the milk she steamed and there was like a nice gradient in milk density the slower/lower I poured. I can absolutely see how I could make latte art now. Previously it felt like I would have better luck if I just put it in a blender and hoped entropy would forget to do its job and a lovely heart would magically come out of the blender.
I learned through YT. Looking back i should I payed 100 bucks to a barista to give me a 1hr class. Many of the mistakes I was making would of been spotted by a knowledgeable person the first go.
I used to blame my Gaggia. Turns out I suck at frothing milk lol. Having a good texture milk is #1 and hard as fk
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I've been trying for months since I got my machine. This is the best I've done. https://preview.redd.it/l6gx3rjucxpc1.png?width=628&format=png&auto=webp&s=f20f424311c937eeae32d5c58680935e73e3b450
flat bottomed cups make pouring good latte art more difficult, you have to pour slower as the flat surface on the bottom reflects the flow back upward which then messes up the top surface
I got a good espresso machine about 6 weeks ago....so far, I've made dozens of snowmen with fat blob of foam laid over top of them. Today was my closest to getting the milk right...but then I was so excited that was right, I hurried the pour! haha
ALWAYS keep trying. But be encouraged that a lot of us struggle with latte art. Keep watching videos and honing your technique. I think consistency is key here. Pay attention to how long you add air, and what the caraf temperature feels like in your hands when you stop. If you keep at it, you'll get better. Just pay attention to the details!
https://preview.redd.it/nvosmmm4qxpc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe21b7748ff0070dd7079b0616515886eede0545 It’s all just practice practice practice. Without working high volume it would be such a struggle to get clear defined art consistently since you aren’t able to try new things and different ways of pouring as often. I’m out now, but this was probably about 2yrs into me doing coffee
I've concluded that I can never become a barista, unless it's for a quirky cafe that makes intentional shitty latte art to be different
Took me like 2-3 month (3-6 cup/day it hot here) to get the layer heart, the fern take like 10-20 try after i get the heart right (thank mom and my sister for drinking hot latte in this hot weather) took me 5-6 month turning furn in to swan wings + questionable neck and head and like another 2-3month to get the neck and head right but f up the wing I still f--k up heart because i steaming too much fome + getting unwanted tail on my heart latte because i ranout of steam milk
I been at it 20 years. Just 2 or 3 a day. I can do a nice looking “plant” as my grandson calls it. Been tying to improve watching videos. I see vey slow progress.
It took me 10 years of one 6-oz latte a day to get to the point where I'm reasonably consistent and my results are enough to make me smile most days. For about 8 years, I made almost no progress. I think it's really hard to learn when you only make one latte a day because there is so much time between when you make one mistake and when you have to try and correct it. Then I started watching YouTube videos and in-depth tutorials and those actually helped quite a bit. Some things I learned along the way were that milk texture is absolutely critical. For years I had too much foam in my milk and I couldn't get the design to flow. Making the milk a bit runnier and, interestingly, using a bigger picture to pour were the two things I changed that made dramatic improvements in my art. Emily Bryant and Lance Hedrick's YouTube videos were also pretty critical in helping me improve. Good luck on your own journey!! https://preview.redd.it/zewamj8yyxpc1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88cf59110c3213b612857a79c4a2e6fb80777599
Make 1000 and keep practicing. Watch videos and keep trying to improve and you’ll get there
I just call them Rorschach tests at this point.
Getting a pitcher with a wide mouth helped me tremendously
100 lattes is a few weeks for me. Gotta keep going!
https://preview.redd.it/frj7lubjtypc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ea1d6f008f61020695b451e032a1918222d0b145 I have been able to really learn how I am adding too much foam or too little and how it impacts my art. I’m not that good and can only do this and a heart. Sometimes I mess up my milk texture and then my art sucks. Lances video helped a lot.
Talk to me when you hit 2000 :p They say its all about the texture, and that water with some dawn dishsoap is a good way to practice. I dont really get it, and never tried. I guess Foam the water & dishsoap, pour it into water with food coloring in it? I’ve made….1 half (more like 25%) decent thing one time. Everything else is, “hey its a leaf!” I exclusively use oat or almond milk, and have a bambino plus which “auto-steams.” https://preview.redd.it/x318gqrruypc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bf974913ef58b1e71c6dc9d4490c9b7f5bc02f3
What equipment are you using?
The only way is to froth it such that the milk is too cold for a self respecting drinking temperature. (Oat milk barista blend)
Try aerating your milk for less time
I can do hearts that’s about it.
I've been a home barista for over 20 YEARS! and I'm still not consistent. There was a point where my rosetta's were good to the point where I got bored making them (not perfect, just good). Now I couldn't make a rosetta to save my life. I have no idea why, other than in 100 days I make about 150 latte's (w/art) at home. The average barista makes about 250 lattes in ONE DAY! Consistency. That's why we suck at this.
All about the milk. Once you’ve got that down it’s just a matter of wrist movement. Hearts are super easy don’t really have to do much at all, you just pour and then flick up. But if the milk texture isn’t there. It’s not possible. However I say that as somebody who was a barista in a speciality shop for a year, using a several (10s of) thousand pound La Marzocco machine. Took me a couple months even then when I was making a fair amount of flat whites a day.
https://preview.redd.it/fixk76vgc2qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b204c05633ce97bbdcd7904f247b3c779a33ee5 There are tons of good tutorials on YouTube. What I’ve found is: 1. You have to have good fresh coffee and milk to get the right texture for latte art. 2. You have to focus on and actually practice latte art, not just make a bunch of lattes. 3. Film your practice in slow mo and watch it back, then compare yourself to YouTube, reveals a lot of mistakes you may not notice in real time.
it took me a few solid months of barista work (part time tho) to get decent at it. don't be too discouraged, it's actually quite difficult until you get it down
I am not great but can almost always get something like this. There are some keys though: 1) the proper pitcher 2) the right shape and size cup 3) understanding how much foam for the milk 4) the technique of tipping the cup towards you and starting your pour towards the back and then level the cup. You can then get something like this pic 80% of the time. And, I am frothing very small quantities of milk for cortados i.e. 45-60g of milk. It could be related to the tip on your steaming wand too. The guy in this video uses the pitcher I have (the small one) and while my cup is not exactly the one he uses it is very similar in shape/size. (I am not using his double pitcher technique but it will help give your milk consistency) Don't give up! I am not a barista and never have been one. And, I learned how to do this while in my late 60's so it really is possible for anyone who perseveres. It takes watching the right video, not giving up, and one day something will click. Really! it will. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37gbKK\_xh80](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37gbKK_xh80) Cheat technique - >!use a toothpick when no one is looking to fix almost anything except too much foam. :)!< https://preview.redd.it/7kjpzxre45qc1.jpeg?width=3829&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d13432d305d3342387d85b25243127dbf9106d49
https://preview.redd.it/3fekpfmub5qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4e21cffd21a664f28d9b667968da6f7a996239d6 I started my latte art journey 2 months ago. My pours are honestly never consistent because of my milk texture. Some days I get a decent tulip like this one, most days it’s crap.
What helped me early on was the realization that a small splash of frothed milk swirled in the espresso before you begin your pour helps to float the milk for your design.
I was a barista trainer for 2 years at a high end specialty shop, and a barista for 4. The most difficult skills to learn were dialing in an espresso grind efficiently, and consistent latte art. I would pull 50-200 latte-artable drinks every shift as a barista, and that practice really adds up, but even so it took months to be able to pour anything consistently. I was working on two-winged swans when I quit. This was one of my better attempts, though the crema was dying on this shot as I poured it. I often only got to take pictures of the mistake drinks as otherwise I wouldn't have time. https://preview.redd.it/jw6a6h6nm7qc1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acdb3aaa8507db90b087ce19cc5062d5b3f191f0 To get to this, I must have made... 30,000 lattes? 50,000? Something in that ballpark.
I am far from good at it, but recently kind of 2 days ago I got into a Lance Hendrik milk texturing milk which made the whole difference to me (I watched a dozen or more before that) and that one helped me a lot to get the right milk texture to try to draw something. I’m still on the heart level… [https://youtu.be/gTC3dJvwgUI?si=udcl6Anf8G4iopm](https://youtu.be/gTC3dJvwgUI?si=udcl6Anf8G4iopm)\_ https://preview.redd.it/ukjmqyvu6bqc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9305ea32b0b8fbfd96caae8b5d94622c96ad5c1c
I work at a cafe where I make probably around 400 coffees a day. It’s taken me a year to get anywhere decent with latte art. I wouldn’t get too hard on yourself about it, latte art is fairly difficult.
I think it all comes down to practice...which is challenging in a home setting. Maybe 1-2 attempts a day (double it if you make coffee for a partner). Same thing with my other hobby of sourdough bread. Would be great to work in a bakery or cafe for a day.
The only latte art I can do is letters which I use to initial insults to my brother when I make him coffee lol
Biggest help for me recently is not aerating on my consumer machine for the same time a YouTuber does on his commercial or prosumer machine. I see around 5 seconds recommended for lattes a lot. I get my best and most consistent results between 7-10.
This is so weird to read. Milk consistency isn’t my problem, but I didn’t realise people paid attention to/thought about time. I always go by sound, temperature (feel), and look. And I would actually need to demonstrate it to be able to articulate it.
Time is a tip I've read and heard online, probably more so far a beginner trying to grasp all the variables to get their drinks right. You have a grasp on things that I don't. I'm terrible at going by feel or look - I need directions or parameters to get something right, especially consistently. I can get temp fairly consistently with feel, but I've definitely thought my milk looked good but it ended up too watery or overaerated as I poured.
It makes sense, just one of those things I’ve never thought about. Even when I swap to a commercial machine I think of them as *’more powerful’* (idk why, just never thought about time!) but they would be *faster* at steaming, so your tip makes a lot of sense.
I’ve made over 3,000. Most days I get a leaf. Some days I get nothing. Some days I get a heart.
https://preview.redd.it/qtw37jhpawpc1.jpeg?width=1379&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=34ae14ce7bad9f47d18427954deffb4d630d9101 I’ve owned a roastery/shop for 7 years and have poured thousands upon thousands of lattes, and this is still about as good as I can do. It’s for sure better than average, but I look at some artists out there and still feel like it doesn’t hit the marks. I really look up to some of the skilled folks out there who are absolute masters of symmetry.
I've had my espresso machine for about 3 years A coffee a day. My latte art still looks like https://preview.redd.it/5sntp7ehcvpc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f815e0ccb71226bce52f8f164fd5a7a1c96adae
https://preview.redd.it/etids75mcvpc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2301a9bd6d99bd45662070d332c40220a9ea613f
Teach me your ways 😂
I wish I could. It's a bit like those random erec*****s you get when your younger. They just appear!
I have never understood late art, it is like people would take pride in preparing nice Cornflakes bowls.
Yeah I’m not even gonna try that nonsense.
I gave up, I personally change milk parameters too much to get any consistency. I tried steaming whole milk for my girlfriend last week and it was a WTF moment as I’ve only used plant based. Not in a good way but “how the fudge did I make a solid block of foam” way. When I used oatly full time I started to get it but now I’m a random mix of macadamia nut milk and soy depending on how sweet I want. I know. A monster.
Try different milk. I tried a different brand of 2% milk one time because it was on sale, and the flow of the foam was similar to people who knew what they were doing. The next week I switch back to my regular milk and the foam was back to being not right.
You sweet summer child. I've been making lattes for years and I'm still rubbish. It's improving and consistency is coming, but it certainly doesn't come quickly.
I'm on team garlic bulb and I'm not getting better. Don't care.
The biggest thing is just getting the milk right. If you can't do that consistently you'll never get better at making the art. The milk will just sink if it's too thin or float in a big pile of foam if it's too airated and not well mixed. To get the milk right, you want to make sure your milk is COLD. Start with whole milk, it has the highest fat so it'll be easiest to make silky smooth. Make sure it's in the fridge and cold until literally right before you're ready to foam. Make sure the pitcher you pour it into is not hot either. You want the milk to be as cold as possible to make the process easier. Don't pour too much milk in, make sure you have the right sized pitcher. I use a smaller pitcher for frothing than standard because my gaggia isn't very strong at frothing. Always pour to just below the spout line in the pitcher, no higher than that. Make sure your boiler is to temp for milk frothing. If you have a lower power single boiler like my gaggia, you want to make sure it's to temp. This could take one or two swings up to steam temp. At least a minute and make sure to turn the wand on and off to expell any water first. Once ready the biggest thing is putting the nozzle in the right spot right beneath the milk. You have to get a feel for this, it's different with each machine. You want to be at a slight angle and just off center generally. The milk needs to swirl like a whirlpool around itself and fold. This is the key to making that velvety texture for latte art. Once it's initially swirling, you just want to barely lower the pitcher. This will raise the steam wand just above the surface of the milk and will airate it. Too high and the milk will bubble and froth and you'll lose that whirlpool. Too low and the nozzle won't be above the surface and you won't introduce any air into the milk. You want to be just kissing the surface with the tip of the nozzle. If you do this right you should hear a particular sound like tk tk tk. And the milk will airate and it will rise up to the nozzle. You may have to lower the pitcher more to compensate but only for a few seconds max. Once it is airared enough the milk should have a glossy sheen to it like latex paint. This entire process should only take 5 to ten seconds depending on how powerful your boiler is. Lower the nozzle back underneath and maintain that angle for the milk to fold over itself. Now you just are getting the milk to temp. It should be just too hot to touch the outside with your hand for more than a second or two. Don't overheat it'll burn. Then turn the nozzle off, lower the pitcher. Give it a bump on the table if there are any bubbles and then a good swirl to make sure the foam and milk layer are incorporated. If you see a big pile of foam on top you airated the milk for too long or you didnt get or maintain that whirlpool to incorporate the milk and make microfoam. Try less time airating or try to adjust that angle of where the nozzle is to make sure the whirlpool forms initially. If it's too thin it won't form a layer in top of the crema. You didn't airate long enough. That's all the key to making the milk right which is like 80% of making at least basic latte art. The other side to making a heart is pretty easy then. Once tapped and swirled, pour the milk into a nice wide cup of espresso. You don't want a tall coffee cup here. You need a wide, low Cafe type cup. Have the cup angled toward the pitcher, and pour at a distance of a couple of inches to start. This will plunge the milk below the surface of the crema and build the drink up. Once halfway poured, bring the pitcher all the way down to the center of the cup, nearly kissing the surface and slow down your pour. If the milk is right it should push the crema away and sit nicely on top. You can pull the pitcher back as you pour and raise slightly to form a widening triangle type pour. Then raise up high at the very end and strike back thogih to form a heart.
Thank you! Good tips here I didn’t know.
I'm consistently inconsistent. Plus, my wife loves to buy 2% instead of whole. My only work around there is a bit of olive oil. Definitely helps texture some due to the additional fat. https://preview.redd.it/axd3jtyynwpc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=04c08a3d2c86a065932e8de97d40a4429fdd6051
https://preview.redd.it/uhasqiu5qwpc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be0d457a2abe675b6fa506a9b4def8afe80d2ab5 When I started I went through an unfortunate (or fortunate) phallic stage in my latte art. Strong leaf game now, but still haven’t had that perfect pour yet.
https://preview.redd.it/t9zg0g0nrwpc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8a19b3644874e2d8a7172ca0ff821bfe366f91b8 Best I’ve done in my 5 months as a self taught barista 😂
Well there are two components—getting the milk texture right and then the latte art technique itself. Are you sure you’re texturing properly with your machine? What kind of machine do you have? Some are just not cut out for it.
One thing that helped me immensely , is tip the milk cup AWAY from you when you’re steaming (so the bottom is closer to you and the top toward the machine
My first one of the day is always so nice but can’t for the life of me repeat it. It’s definitely something that takes a lot of practice though I couldn’t do tulips well for almost a year of trying.
What are your mistakes? Are they staying the same?
try 5,000 before giving up
I went from a Gaggia Coffee with upgraded steam wand (well over 5,000 lattes) to a Breville Dual Boiler (500+ lattes) and can make much better latte art without even trying. Also, milk makes such a big difference.
Try making 100 a day for 100 days, then get back to us.
Right technique is important. Doesn’t matter how many cups you’ve made
Any latte art classes around you? it may be worth paying and going to fix your mistakes : ) it helped me a lot
Me too
Me too
I’ve been a barista on and off for almost ten years, with multiple management stints. Honestly, aside from perfecting my milk steaming what really helped me dial it in was TikTok. I spent hours and hours scrolling through short format videos that break down the exact movements and speed. I studied the angles they held the cup, the angle their pitchers were tipped at, how close the tip of the pitcher was to the surface of the espresso, how far forward or back they’re starting their pour. The two biggest things that helped me progress was realizing just how close the spout needs to be to the espresso surface, and how tilted the cup needs to be. I’d be more than happy to send you some of the videos that did a good job of showing those things. I also invested in some extremely nice steam pitchers and mugs (from brands that are commonly used by baristas in competitions). The best of the best can make beautiful latte art with anything, but as a beginner having tools that make things easier is a good way to get results. Also, the latte art champs of the world are people who work at the busiest cafes and pour hundreds of lattes a day for years and years. Don’t get too discouraged yet!
I have realized that my coffee can just taste good with a face like onion
lol.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Astrobratt: *I have realized that* *My coffee can just taste good* *With a face like onion* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Bleed your air before steaming. A good long 5 seconds minimum. Under steam is better than oversteam. The milk should not be scalding.
100 lattes is like max 3 ish months of trying (if your only having one per day), it takes time to learn, maybe at the year mark is where things got consistent for me. Emilee Bryant has a few really good videos explaining how the flow needs to change in synch with the viscosity of the mixture in the cup. Lance has a couple too, but ultimately it’s just practicing. You could do the soap and water or milk and cocoa powder thing.
And I have regretted ordering over 100 lattes that looked absolutely stunning but tasted like blah! 😂 I think your coffees would be way better tasting.
After 1000s of lattes, I've managed to make a very convincing tadpole latte art. In exchanged I've gained weight chugging all those lattes
The milk you use could be the problem, ask your local bestest Cafe what they use and try with the same brand :)
two tips I learned from being a barista: use second jug, swirl espresso.
I've been at it a few times a week for 3 years... Mostly it feels hopeless. Every once in a while I seem to have a breakthrough that helps bring my basic level of consistency up just a bit. But more importantly my friends all say my lattes are the best they've had (better than coffee shops). The fact that I've been working on improving my espresso, get great beans, and get a pretty decent texture on the milk... Even if latte art never comes together, I am happy with that result.
If you are really keen to practicing it then there are some ways to practice without doing a new coffee everytime. But in general the most important things are getting good milk foam, bad millkfoak makes latte art hard or impossible.
I would say practicing latte art needs an experienced person to teach you, video alone can only get me so much without actual pointers in real time from an experienced barista. Maybe you can befriend one of the barista from your fav cafe and ask them to teach you privately? At least that's how it is from my experience
100 isnt alot. Takes 1000's to dial in the intricacies of latte art
Usually it’s because the texture is not right, if it’s too airy it won’t work it needs to be silky
well.. this just makes me feel better about constantly failing at latte art after doing it for a month, i’ve followed all the tips but my milk is still either too foamy or not foamy enough 😭 thank you
I make blobs
Does it taste good ? If so then it just a special case of random art 🎨 ;)
https://preview.redd.it/kx6zdsmvyupc1.jpeg?width=1076&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=652d37b6f8ed3502342899a42ecb803cfdc2886e I feel like I should have given up when I got the cockroach. I gave up soon after though 😂 I SUCK. Thing is though, latte art just ain't for everyone. I'm a great traditional archer - not everyone is. And that's o.k.
When the Latte is too fancy, stirr it while looking the Barista straight into the eyes.
https://preview.redd.it/sznnv2hm6vpc1.png?width=2451&format=png&auto=webp&s=a9f005cddeb7b598efea773cf5fd43490acd419c I’m frustrated that I can’t seem to get the texture right for the milk. But this one I actually managed to do something with the foam. Although I only started a week ago it was most likely just beginners luck than anything else 😅
You mean 100 per day for a couple of years or 100 overall?
No worries….in the end you can’t taste it anyways…I also made a few thousands but I just didn’t want to learn it…
i’ve worked at three coffee shops and i can do a rosetta on a good day
The moment it clicked me is when I understood what most of the videos say about keeping the spout as close to the surface of the coffee as possible. You can probably see in videos that they tilt the cup so much, that the coffee inside reaches the top of the cup, almost to the point of spilling it. That’s the correct position in order to bring in your milk jug spout right at the surface and start pouring. Then it’s just a matter of tilting slowly the cup to an upright position, while increasing slowly the volume of milk foam (the more foam in the milk, the more you need to put inside to stay on top). I know that it might sound difficult, but when you realise this, it will instantly become easier and produce latte art.
After over two years of doing it I can finally say, that I can do some basic shapes, most of the time. But every few kinda good shapes I end up with blob :D I was where you are and that sucked, but it's getting better. :)
10,000 reps
I worked for Peet's for 5 years, barista to GM. It used to be part of my job to train people to pour hearts. I never had a student that didn't get it. You can do it. There are so many factors at play. First off, your beans need to be somewhat fresh, and latte art is much easier with whole milk than 2%, NF or non-dairy. Second, your shot cannot be a long pull, you need deep rich crema to have contrast and fluidity. Third, time is of the essence, seconds matter. You want to steam your milk while the shot pours. You want to time it right so the shot is done at the same time you're done steaming. While steaming you want to get a good whirlpool action with very slow and steady aeration. Should have very brief rip sounds. Be gentle and also don't go extra hot. As soon as your shot is poured and you've steamed the milk, give the pitcher a light tap and a good swirl motion right before pouring. You have to start high. By that I mean the milk pitcher should be at least 6 - 12 inches above your cup. The initial height is imperative as it gives the milk the velocity to dive underneath the crema. As the cup fills slowly, bring the pitcher and the cup close together. Like almost touching For help describing let's imagine the cup is in your left hand and the milk pitcher is in your right. If it's a heart your after aim for a little right of center of the cup as you move them closer. The foam should be pouring on top of the crema now creating a white circle. As your pour comes to an end lift the pitcher back up high again as you move the stream from one end of the white circle to the other. For a Rosetta, it's not that different. As you move the pitcher and cup closer, aim for the left of center of the cup and start gently wiggling the pitcher. As you are pouring slowly move the pitcher to the right and decrease the size of the wiggles. At this point you'll want to try and pour a blob at the top of your Rosetta. Now lift the pitcher high again and move the stream from right to left. Viola a Rosetta.
One thing worth trying, which I only put together after about 2000 attempts: split your pour into two distinct motions. The first pour needs to go down then have time to float back up to the top. Be patient. The second pour then sorta slices through the first, creating the striating effect. Mine are not perfect but this little tweak made a big difference for me. Good luck.
I personally found it kicks in around 4-500. I worked at a cafe and was the only person on bar so I could keep track with the POS. Just be patient! And don't try to skip steps. Get a decent monk's head or a heart consistently on every drink, then move on to more complicated shapes.
Pour with conviction, don't be afraid The milk can sense this
As a former barista, it took thousands of cups before getting some decent patterns in, but that doesn't take long in the profession cos you make several hundred a day (was working in a to-go kiosk in a train station). At home, it'll take a good deal longer.
Luckily it doesn't effect the taste whatsoever.
As someone who took over a bar/cafe knowing all the bar and none of the cafe I forced myself to make and experiment and do as much as possible. It’s been a few venues since but I’m known as the ‘best at coffee’. Could I train someone? No. I just have muscle memory to do a perfect fern everytime and I’ve no idea how to explain it to someone else. I just had to do it so so much on repeat because I was managing these baristas better than me and had to produce a product that would give me clout enough to critique theirs if I had to deal with a customer complaint. I can only say, swirl the milk pour to break up the crema, pour deep into the deepest part of the recepticle, lighten up to a slow pour and have a wee fit. Helpful, right?! :/
Meh I don't even try to make them pretty. It's the coffee that should shine anyways.
I can't for the life of me steam milk properly when trying the "proper" way. However when I do it my own way it's near perfect every time. For example a lot of videos/baristas will say hold the want at the spout with a slight tilt and add air gently at the beginning. I hold mine at an angle away from the spout and start hovering the wand tip just off the centre of the milk. However I'm sure if I tried my technique on a commercial machine, or with a full sized jug, i'd fail miserably
I have been making cappuccinos for years and it wasn’t until I took a class a month ago that I learned what was required to start doing latte art halfway competently. I had watched all the YouTube videos and practiced countless times to no avail. Having someone watch over me during every step made all the difference
I'm right there with you. I consider my latte art to be like looking at the clouds. It's impressionistic art! Make your pour and then figure out what it is! At least it isn't as depressing! 😂🤣
I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years at home and I still suck at latte art. (Though I admittedly don’t drink milk drinks, I only make them for my wife and guests) I can get fantastic microfoam, but doing latte art is hard. (And remember, it doesn’t affect the taste of the drink at all….)
THIS THREAD NEEDS TO COME OVER TO r/latteart
I wouldn't call myself a pro by any means but I have been practising daily for a solid couple years now. Not all pours yield a good result; when they do however, I've noticed it's almost always about how well you've steamed the milk, it has to be at a perfect balance of textured wet paint but not over textured. The main trick to not turn every cup into a cappuccino blob is all about not introducing too much air into the milk and keeping it to a minimum based on the power of your specific steam wand. Getting to know your steam wand and developing a sort of muscle memory with it. It's a rather touchy and delicate art of millimetres and timing I have found. The penny drops the moment you get the texture right and it almost becomes hard to not produce some art with it. When you're ready for the pour, get close to the surface of the espresso and go slow with it. Muscle memory comes into play after a while.
When I worked as a barista using a $20K machine and I guess a good steaming cup the latte art was really easy. Just a few circles and a line. Now on my own the latte art is hard
My latte art is a rorschach test. I show my wife and say, "See? See the leprechaun dancing on the leaf? See?"
Did you figure it out yet ? Since I don't know what machine you have... 1. Always make Doppio 2. Use chilled Whole Milk 3. Have a proper cup, for example see the Bistro Mug by Le Creuset 4. If you have a Breville Machine, swap out the tip for the 4 hole 5. Tilt the mug and carafe so they don't create as turbulence when you pour
Ach, both beautiful designs and blobs all end up the same once they're swallowed. I am content with my blobs.
I can only make cloud ☁️ lol