Latte art guide

IMPORTANT ADVICE

To get started with latte art, you need to be patient. You'll also need a few essentials and some advice to get you started. The most important thing is a coffee machine with a steam nozzle (this is commonplace in professional machines, but is often included in smaller, home-style lever, automatic or capsule machines). You must also own a stainless steel barista pot for whisking milk. You can choose the right one by its conical shape and special funnel. To create a froth without residue for one cappuccino, you will need a teapot with a volume of up to 360 ml.

Of course, it is more spectacular for the audience to draw directly whipped foam into the coffee, this technique is called free pour. There is also a gadget that allows you to create more subtle and refined shapes from milk foam, a technique called etching. It's a barista pen for latte art.

ESTABLISHED PROCEDURES

There are established and well-established procedures for latte art that help beginners to get a better grasp of the industry. Patterns are most often created using the two techniques mentioned above. Itis thefree pour technique, where patterns are slowly poured into the created foam base with foam directly from the barista teapot. The tilt of the teapot and the cup, the speed and the method of pouring are worked with. We apply rocking movements with the teapot to create the petals and a milk line at the end, which breaks the pattern and bends the ends of the petals thanks to the microwave. The basic shapes of hearts, apples, which are typical of macchiato, are created. Or the rosetta or fern for a café latte. Popular and more advanced images are the tulip, the long-necked swan or the scorpion. Free pour requires experience, speed and precision.

The second technique is a bit more laborious in terms of procedure. Etching consists of completing the basic poured image preferably with a barista pen, but a simple skewer or toothpick will also suffice. This technique can be used to create simple geometric shapes or quick schematic drawings of animals, flowers or the faces of your beloved customers and celebrities.

HOW TO CREATE FOAM LATTE ART?

Without foam, there would be no latte art. How to make it? Quickly. Speed affects the quality and consistency of the foam. Half fill the teapot with chilled whole milk and bring it to a nozzle set at about 45deg. Point the nozzle mouth to the side of the teapot and dip it about 1cm into the milk. Let go of the nozzle and start whisking quickly, a swirl will form and the jug will fill almost to the brim with foam in a moment. At this point, just keep an eye on the temperature, which should reach 60 to 70℃, so that you can hold the jug comfortably in your hand and not burn the customer's tongue. After whisking, bang the bottom of the teapot on the table a few times to expel large air bubbles. Now the microfoam is ready to be poured into the upcoming beverage. Before and after each use, be sure to thoroughly purge the nozzle with hot steam. Keep a cloth ready by the nozzle and wipe the nozzle mouth just as often.

WHERE TO FIND INSPIRATION

The most inspirational are the video tutorials, which you can find in abundance on the internet today. They will show youin detail how to proceed, what the most common mistakes are and will help you if you are just starting out with latte art. They describe both the technical details (e.g. cleaning the nozzle, setting up the pot, etc.) and the exact procedures for creating individual patterns in free pour and etching. In addition, arevery useful courses focused on Latte art, where you can learn tried and tested tricks and learn various tricks from more experienced baristas who will be happy to share their experience with you .

There are also a large number of annual competitions that you can watch online or take part in directly. The most prestigious are the World Barista Championships, which competitors enter through regional championships - in our case, the Czech Barista Championships or the Latte Art League.

And where to look for inspiration for your own images? Nature offers the most beautiful and varied shapes. For example, you can start by observing the different shapes of leaves and try to imitate them, perfecting your technique to perfection to create, for example, a butterfly or a maple leaf.

NATURAL ART

Barista art is the art of the moment. It is the art of evoking, if only for a moment in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, a sense of well-being and joy. The fleeting charm of milk foam pictures contributes greatly to this. So before the first sip, which unfortunately ruins everything, look into your cup and appreciate the barista's efforts. Some can do real wonders!