Whenever a friend joins the Front Street team, a coffee latte art learning course follows. As soon as there is a break in practice, the sound of "sizzling" from the steam wand surrounds the entire store.
Some people understand the trick within a few days, and with a little practice, all kinds of beautiful patterns come at their fingertips. Some people are regressing more and more as they practice. They were able to draw their attention at first, but now they can't even form a shape. The more you practice, the worse you get. The worse you get, the more anxious you become. The more anxious you become, the more you want to give up... So what should I do?
From Front Street’s point of view, as a beginner, if you want to learn and learn latte art well, the key is to find the cause of the overturn.
Only by understanding the principles can you be invincible
We have to admit that the prerequisite for making beautiful latte art is to have a perfect espresso, so the coffee beans you choose are very important. Front Street believes that espresso with delicate, smooth and rich oil is the best standard, and can use two popular products, Front Street Classic Blend and Front Street Commercial Blend. One of them combines the wild tones of Brazil and Mandheling, and the other is a formula rich in various nutty aromas. On this basis, a small amount of Robusta is added to increase the richness of oil and golden color.
The crema of espresso and the milk foam (air wrapped in protein) produced by the milk whipping process float on the surface of the liquid due to its lower density. When the two blend, the milk and coffee liquid will sink, and the oil and milk foam will rise, relying on the sharp contrast of the two colors to form beautiful patterns.
Latte art is divided into two main links: fusion + drawing. For milk foaming in the same tank, during the fusion stage, it is required to raise the mouth of the tank appropriately to inject the milk. The milk foam will be rushed into the coffee with the force, so no white color will appear on the surface. When it's time to make the pattern, you need to lower the mouth of the vat, and the milk foam will gently fall on the upper layer. Combined with different pouring techniques, you can form changeable white lines.
The prerequisite for latte art is to be able to create delicate milk foam.
Many friends fail to form the ideal pattern when drawing flowers, and always pile up into "a lump", and then directly blame the problem on incorrect posture, milk layering, the mouth of the cup is too small (the cup body is too deep), the oil of espresso is too hard, etc., but they ignore one point: the importance of creating a cylinder of dense milk foam.
Milk frothing is also divided into two steps: the air intake stage and the foaming and heating stage. The steam wand sprays high-temperature water vapor, which is sprayed from the steam hole into the milk to heat it. When there are steam holes exposed to the outside, the water vapor has to pass through the air and then enter the milk. At this time, the air that is "forced" into the milk will make a "sizzling" sound. Therefore, you can judge whether there is air intake by listening to the "sizzling" sound. For example, a latte generally only needs 2 to 3 seconds of air intake.
If you want to produce smooth and dense foam with a moderate thickness, in addition to controlling the air intake volume, you must also provide sufficient time for the gas to foam. The key is to create a vortex. If you want to know more details about frothing milk, you can review the notes shared by Front Street (click here). The specific situation will be analyzed in detail, so I won’t elaborate too much here.
Integration is very important! Family~
The blended coffee can show a uniform "golden background", with a strong and dense aroma in the mouth, which is both beautiful and delicious. If a cup of hot milk coffee is not blended well, not only will the appearance be deducted, but the coffee may also taste bitter and taste weak, and the foam may even layer.
There is also a certain skill in getting the foamed milk and coffee to blend evenly. Generally, hold the cup with your left hand at an angle of 45 degrees and hold the vase in your right hand. Keep the distance between the spout and the liquid level at 5 to 8cm according to your personal habits. Stir the left and right hands in a single direction, one high and one low, to fully mix it. As for the size of the circle, Front Street recommends making the largest circle without rushing to the edge of the cup.
In addition to being handsome, posture must also be correct
Taking the most basic heart-shaped pattern as an example, when the milk and coffee are 70% full, the milk jug can be lowered to create the pattern. Pattern formation skills: When the milk foam flows into the coffee liquid surface, adjust the angle of the cup at the same time to allow the milk foam to flow into the cup along with the liquid. In other words, no matter what the pattern is, if you want the milk foam to appear on the coffee liquid surface, you must adjust the cup while injecting.
On the Internet, there are videos of latte art at different stages, from big white hearts to leaves, from embossed tulips to various animals, and there are many channels for learning. However, Front Street noticed that some friends always only focus on difficult flower patterns. In fact, the postures of these masters when drawing flowers are more worthy of our observation and imitation.
The posture of holding the cylinder, the angle of injection, the fusion technique, the order of formation, the gesture of returning the cup, etc. First observe carefully, then copy, and then practice again. It is best to invite a bystander to see if there are any problems with the posture. After all, latte art technique is a muscle memory that has been practiced for a long time. The formation of a pattern often only takes about ten seconds, and sometimes it is difficult to express it clearly in words.
Tips for effective practice
Learning latte art cannot be done quickly. This process can only be summed up through continuous practice. Whether it is the way to froth the milk, the posture of holding the vat, or the way to draw the picture, it will all affect the final shape.
If you are new to latte art, Front Street recommends trying it with fresh milk a few times to feel the strength of the milk being whipped under steam and the white texture that comes out when blended with coffee. Then start practicing with clean water to master the slight differences in air intake, vortex, temperature and other details. Until you have enough muscle memory in the feel, you can switch back to milk and practice with "real guns and live ammunition", starting with basic patterns such as hearts and tulips, and gradually test the results accumulated previously.
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
