Did you know? Latte art in a coffee shop may seem very simple, but in fact it can be a bit difficult when you actually learn it. First of all, good-looking latte art must meet three conditions: fresh espresso beans, refrigerated fresh milk, and a coffee machine with a boost function.
No matter what method is used to extract coffee, the freshness of the coffee beans is very important! The coffee beans sold by Front Street Coffee are freshly roasted and shipped within 5 days. But one thing to note is that stale coffee beans will affect the flavor, and beans that are too fresh will also affect the extraction of coffee. Front Street recommends that when purchasing espresso beans, it is best to keep them for 7 days (i.e. 7 days after roasting) before extraction. The best tasting period of coffee beans is within 30 days after the beans are raised, and the flavor preservation time of the coffee beans does not exceed 45 days after the roasting is completed.
The principle of latte art is that after the milk is frothed, it is suspended on the dark black coffee fat to create a contrast. Therefore, when making latte art, you must use fresh milk with higher protein and Italian coffee beans with rich oil. For novice baristas and home production, the first choice is the Front Street boutique blend and the Front Street black cocoa basic blend.
"Front Street Premium Blend Coffee Beans" is suitable for homes/offices and boutique community coffee shops. Colombian washed coffee beans + Brazilian semi-sun-dried coffee beans have flavors of nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel, and also provide a comfortable sweet and bitter taste. When paired with milk, the latte has a smooth entrance, stable latte art shape, and rich roasting aroma. Making dirty can not only present beautiful layers, but also have dark brown "tiger spots" on the surface of the coffee.
"Front Street Black Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans Recommended by Many Baristas" is suitable for all types of coffee shops, bakeries, beverage shops and home coffee machines. Yunnan washed small coffee beans + Brazilian semi-sun-dried coffee beans, which combines the acidity of nutty ripe plums. When ground into powder, it will exude the aroma of cream chocolate and cocoa cookies. The taste is balanced, and the oil is golden and shiny. It is very suitable for friends who open a shop or use it at home.
Basic steps for coffee latte art:
Before latte art, we first use the Front Street black cocoa base blend, extract 40g of coffee liquid from 20g of coffee powder, and control the time to 25 to 30 seconds, and then move on to the milk frothing process.
If your milk jug is 450ml, then you can use about 200-250ml of milk. Drain the air before frothing the milk, mainly to clear the condensed water in the steam pipe. Place the steam wand jet nozzle toward 2-3 o'clock or 9-10 o'clock on the clock. The steam wand jet nozzle is submerged into 2/3 of the milk. It should not be too deep and should not touch the walls and bottom of the milk tank. It should not be too shallow, otherwise large bubbles will continue to form on the surface. The air on the surface is pulled into the milk, forming foam. At this time, you will hear a "hissing" sound of air intake (if you hear a harsh pig-killing sound or no sound after opening it, it means that it is not in the process of beating).
The vortex is used to eliminate rough foam and stratification. By adjusting the angle between the steam wand and the milk (not the contact point), the milk forms a "vortex" in the milk vat, and the foam generated during the whipping process is pulled and torn through the "vortex". The coarse foam is decomposed into fine foam, and the upper foam merges with the lower milk. Stop the [whisking] process at the right time. When the milk temperature reaches 55-65°C, turn off the steam and pull out the steam wand.
-Milk foam thickness
The first is the requirement for milk foam. Delicate milk foam is the most basic requirement. However, it has a high tolerance for thickness and only requires fluidity. To translate, it’s no problem to whip the milk from 5 minutes full to 6 to 8 minutes full. Even if it is thicker and drawn out, the pattern will look better. Sometimes players who are used to embossing may not be able to draw a nice big heart for a while.
-Amount of fusion
The amount of fusion depends on the amount of "convection" required when plotting, because the less fusion, the stronger the "convection". For example, when pulling "Embossed Tulip", because the drawing requires more "convection", it only needs to be blended until the cup is 4 minutes full. For example, when pulling "wheat ears", the amount of "convection" required is not much, but more fusion is required, usually reaching 8-9 points.
Pulling "Big Heart" requires "convection", but not too much, so it will be integrated to 7 points. If there is too little fusion, the heart will be very large; if there is too much fusion, the heart will be small, neither of which is very beautiful.
-Plot point
The heart pattern is symmetrical, so it should be injected along the axis. If there is an offset, the entire pattern will be biased to one side, which is not beautiful. The injection point should be close to a quarter of the side of the latte art tank, so that the entire peach heart will be in the center.
-Publish pictures
When drawing the picture, you need to pour as much milk as possible. This can increase "convection" and make the pattern fuller. While pouring the milk, push the milk injection point full from the quarter to the center, slowly return the cup with your left hand, and at the same time slowly raise the mouth of the cylinder with your right hand to prepare for the finish. (There will be error examples below)
-Finishing
The finishing move is very important, and many friends are ruined at the finishing point. When it reaches 9 minutes full, it is necessary to prepare to finish. When finishing, it is necessary to reduce the flow, raise the cylinder mouth, reach the bottom of the heart along the axis, and decisively cut off the flow. This will give you a short tail.
Some friends like to drag the heart outside the cup wall when finishing. This will cause the heart to drag a long tail, which is not very beautiful. And it will also affect the cleanliness of the coffee cup.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
