Latte art is one of the fun parts of being a barista. We get to show off a little and beautiful drinks always make people smile. Latte art takes a while to learn, but once you get the basics down it doesn't take long to master the different designs.
Photos By Devorah Freudiger, Gimme! Coffee
Use a pitcher that is the right size for your drink, at gimme we have three different pitcher sizes for our different sizes of milk drinks. This way you can fill each pitcher to proportionally the same level, but have more or less milk. Also, having a good spout on your pitcher makes certain designs possible. You want room to stretch the milk, so start with cold milk at a level below the beginning of the spout, about an inch below is correct for most drinks.
Always purge your steam wand before starting to steam your milk. You don't want to put a burst of water into your milk. You can also look to a make sure that steam is coming out of all the holes in the tip of the wand. If it isn't, you have some major cleaning problems. Start with the tip of the wand submerged just below the surface of the milk.
The secret to great milk in is in the angles. Rest the shaft of the wand in the point of the pitcher spout going into the center of the pitcher. Then tilt the pitcher about 45 degrees, you can move the pitcher to the right or left. I work only with this angle, never tilting my pitcher forward or back. If you keep the wand halfway between the center of the pitcher and the edge, once you turn on the steam pressure you will notice that your milk starts to spin around in a circle.
Having the wand just below the surface of the milk will allow some air to mix in, it should sound gentle, like tearing paper. If it sounds like blowing bubbles you are too close to the surface. If it sounds like shreaking you are too deep into the milk. You want to add air during the first part of the steaming, until the pitcher starts to get warm to the touch. Then submerge the tip of the wand a little, to let the milk swirl around, breaking down the bubbles into smaller and smaller ones.
You can change the depth of your milk vortex by moving the tip of your wand closer or further from the edge of the pitcher. Closer to the edge makes a steeper vortex, more in the center or a pitcher makes a gentler roll. If you have large bubbles stuck in the center a steeper vortex will cause them to pop. Wipe down your wand and blow some steam out after every drink.
Your milk will have grown from adding air to your milk to create foam, how long you add air to your milk will determine the thickness of the foam. Different cafes have different standards for drinks. At Gimme we look for half an inch or less on Lattes, half an inch to an inch for our Cappuccinos. In the time that you took to clean your steam wand the foam will have risen to the top of the milk, forming a separate layer.
To pour good latte art you need well incorperated, creamy foam. You get this by swirling the milk in your pitcher until it shines. We call this polishing and do it before pouring every drink. Your well polished, textured milk should look like wet paint. Don't be scared of polishing too much, you aren't going to hurt your milk.
Polishing incorporates the foam into your milk, allowing you to pour both at the same time. Skim and soy milk, because they have less fat, will separate quicker and require a little more polishing to get smooth.
Once you have smooth milk, pouring beautiful designs is just a few steps away!
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