Past.Present.Future: Basic Guides

Latte art is achievable. Let's get into it!

Free-Poured Patterns

These are created by simply moving the milk jug a certain way when pouring, don’t be disappointed if you can’t get these patterns correct immediately as they are hard to do and require a lot of practice. Ultimately you will need it to ensure you are getting perfect shots and perfect milk every time in order to start trying these designs.

The hardest form of coffee art is ‘free pouring’. This is where we get into creating art, such as the heart, Rosetta, tulip, swan, wave of heart and other designs. Coffee art is only limited by the Barista’s artistry, skills and imagination.

Much like rubbing your tummy and tapping your head, pouring latte art requires that you do two things at the same time. Pour the milk at a consistent and even rate and shake the pitcher side to side with the even tempo of a metronome. Use a wide mouth cup. The trick is with the wide mouth you will more easily see the design develop and if anything the wide mouth can assist in its development.

Here's something you might not want to do, but should: Practice with water ﬁrst. It doesn’t have the same viscosity of milk but it can give you a chance to get a feel for pouring and then shaking at the same time. You will also need to be gradually but steadily raising the pitcher so that the milk continues to pour at a steady rate. Later in the pour there is less milk in the pitcher and to keep the milk ﬂowing you will need to tilt the bottom of the pitcher up.

To give you a further sense of what's going one you need to have patience when casting the line, letting the line drift back, waiting until it loads the rod before accelerating the line again with the snap of your wrist. When pouring latte art there is a mimicking of this process swinging the pitcher side to side, waiting for the milk to "load" up in the side of the pitcher before changing direction and swinging it to the other side. Typically new learner oscillate the pitcher back and forth too quickly, trying to rush the process. The side to side motion needs to be more rhythmical, almost lazy, much like Chinese calligraphy. Be patient and let the milk set the timing of the oscillations.

Getting back to the practical, you're ready to pour, and you need to position. Hold the cup on a slight angle, with the back of the cup being raised up and the edge of the cup closest to you sitting slightly lower. This fans the coffee out in the cup and helps in the development of the leaves for our Rosetta.

Pour starting in the center of the coffee, especially for small cups. Just start pouring straight into the middle of the coffee. I like to keep the edge of the pitcher resting on the edge of the cup at this point.

With the cup about halfway to 3/4 full give the pitcher a little side to side shake and you should start to see the leaves of the penumbra begin to form.

Continue the shake, continuing to pour in the center of the coffee. The leaves should move away from you on the surface of the espresso. After about 4-6 shakes you will need to begin moving the pitcher back towards you, continuing to shake side to side with a little bit of a tighter oscillation. This movement is slower than what many people attempt initially. Don’t get nervous and try to rush things. It won't work. Slow, steady, almost "natural" slow beat metronome movements are your goal. As you near the edge of the cup having created lots of leaves or delineations in the surface of the espresso you want to then draw through those leaves with the pour of the milk. Do this slowly, and also elevate your pour just a bit to keep the center stem slim and complimentary to the leaves.

Do it too quickly and it will pull the leaves up tight making your Rosetta look like a Christmas tree that hasn't had its branches come down yet.

Last bit of advice: Practice, practice, practice. Pro Baristi pour hundreds of drinks a day, and that's their practice time. You have the luxury of no line-ups to deal with. Use it.

Pouring the milk

Steps

You should texture the milk whilst the espresso is being brewed.
Start with the tip of your jug on the edge of the cup and pour steadily. Once the cup is about half full, lower the pour close to the crema and the foam should appear.You should pour the milk as soon as possible. Hold the cup at its ear and slightly at an angle.
Start pouring the milk slowly into the crema. You do not want to pour too slowly; this will leave the foam behind in the jug. You also do not want to pour too quickly because this will break the crema apart. Pour slowly in a few spots in the cup to break through the crema.
Start pouring the milk into the back of the cup once the cup seems just more than half full. Now slowly but very steadily move the pitcher from side to side. This is a wrist movement and should be done just slightly, the milk should not swing from side to side in the jug.
Keep moving it from side to side in one spot in the cp until you see the foam appearing. If you see distinct white lines forming, you’re on the right track. Keep practicing and eventually you will be rewarded with your own latte art.
Once you see the foam breaks through the crema you can start pouring patterns.

Heart

1. 1 Pour slowly in the middle to settle the crema so you can have a base to work with.

2. 2 About halfway through, start tilting the jug forward to release some froth.

3. 3 Continue pouring into the middle and let the white circle form.

4. 4 Near the top of the cup start tilting the jug back upwards and move to the other side of the cup in a scooping motion.

Tulip

1. 1 This one is a lot like the heart but you start and stop to get different layers to create the tulip.

2. 2 Start pouring at one end of the cup and once you get your first blob of froth in the coffee, stop.

3. 3 Move the jug closer to you and start pouring again until you have a smaller blob.

4. 4 Near the top of the cup start tilting the jug back upwards and move to the other side of the cup in a scooping motion.

Rosetta

1. 1 To start with, pour slowly to settle the crema to give you a good base to start. This allows the milk to separate to form the pattern.

2. 2 About halfway through pouring, move the jug from side to side until you see the foam appearing on the surface. Keep moving the jug from side to side until you see curved white lines appear. Now slowly move the jug backwards while still moving it from side to side.

3. 3 Once you have reached the edge of the cup, start tilting the jug back upwards and move back down the center of the leaves in a scooping motion.

Double Rosetta

1. 1 To start with, pour slowly to settle the crema to give you a good base to start. This allows the milk to separate to form the pattern.

2. About halfway through pouring, move the jug from side to side until you see the foam appearing on the surface. Keep moving the jug from side to side until you see curved white lines appear. Now slowly move the jug backwards while still moving it from side to side.

3. 3 Once you have reached the edge of the cup, start tilting the jug back upwards and move back down the center of the leaves in a scooping motion.

4. 4 Repeat steps 2-4 on the other side of the cup to achieve your Rosetta.