It's easy to see beautiful latte art. Just order a hot latte in a cafe and wait patiently for the barista to serve it. However, for many coffee lovers, just drinking coffee is not enough. They also hope to make a standard cup of latte coffee with exquisite latte art at home. Today, Front Street will lead you to learn about this classic fancy coffee that is popular all over the world, and teach you how to practice latte art, so that you can become a "coffee master" at home.
First, what is a latte?
As one of the most popular types of coffee, latte is not only the best-selling product in countless cafes, but also the first Italian coffee drinker to taste at home.
Latte means milk in Italian. If you want to get a cup of milk coffee, you have to say "Caffe latte" to the locals. When it comes to Italy, Latte is generally regarded as latte coffee, and the ratio of espresso to milk is about 1:5 to 1:8. Generally speaking, any drink that is mixed with black coffee and milk can be called a "latte". Therefore, in addition to the fancy coffee made with espresso + milk in the industry, in the eyes of many newcomers, black coffee made with moka pots, French press pots, pour-overs, siphons, ear bags, etc., all fall into the category of "latte" after adding milk.
The question is, how to make a good latte?
The raw materials of latte are simple, only espresso and milk. There is no fixed ratio, most of which range from 1:5 to 1:8. Front Street will use a ratio of 1:6, 40g of espresso liquid, and add 240g of milk. The choice of coffee beans is Front Street's classic blend of Italian coffee beans, which is composed of Brazilian red bourbon, Indonesian mandheling and a small amount of robusta. It not only has a rich aroma of butter and chocolate cookies, but also releases rich oil, which is very suitable for making latte coffee.
When making hot latte, Front Street will add espresso liquid to the preheated coffee cup, and then use an espresso machine to steam the milk. The temperature of the milk is best controlled at 55-65°C to form dense and moderately thick milk foam, which will then evenly blend with the coffee liquid. The final latte art is the icing on the cake. Front Street’s hot latte has the sweet aroma of liqueur-filled chocolate and is creamy and smooth. The iced latte on Front Street will first be filled with 75 grams of ice cubes + 25 ml of fresh milk, and then 40 grams of coffee liquid will be extracted and poured on the surface. Customers are reminded to stir thoroughly before drinking.
When it comes to iced latte, Front Street must talk about Dirty coffee, also known as "dirty coffee", which has emerged since 2019. Pour high-temperature espresso on top of the frozen milk, forming obvious layers, and the concentrated liquid sinks along the edge of the cup, giving people a "dirty" feeling. Generally speaking, the cup size of dirty coffee is smaller than that of iced latte. Dirty coffee usually needs to be drunk immediately to enjoy the special taste of "alternating hot and cold".
How should a novice practice coffee latte art?
The crema of espresso and the milk foam produced during the milk whipping process are free on the surface of the liquid due to their lower density. When the two blend, the milk and coffee liquid sink, while the oil and milk foam float to the top. With the sharp contrast between the two colors, a beautiful pattern is formed.
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.
Integration is very important! Dear friends, well-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 points be deducted in terms of appearance, but the coffee may also taste bitter and taste weak, or even have foam layers.
There is also a certain skill in getting the foamed milk and coffee to blend evenly. Generally, you hold the cup in your left hand and the vase in your right hand. According to personal habits, keep the distance between the tip of the lever and the liquid level at 5 to 8 cm, and stir in the same direction, one high and one low, to thoroughly mix it.
The posture must be cool and correct~ 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 patterns. In fact, the postures of these masters 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
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 differences in air intake, vortex, temperature and other details. Until you have enough muscle memory in your hand, you can switch back to milk for "real ammunition" and test the results of practice starting with basic patterns such as hearts and tulips.
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
