Latte Art

Long term lurker over on the other forum - learned a lot from reading the posts of the regulars there who mostly appear to be here now.

Still on the steep learning curve but latte art showing signs of improvement

Latte Art…less. I call it the Coca Cola top…sorry!

Pompeyexile It’s frothy man!!!!

I can’t get my heart to spread in the cup, I end up with a tiny small shape in the middle of the cup.
Is that because the milk is too thin or is it not enough body in the crema to support the milk with most of it just sinking through?
Tried to post a pic but there seems to be an issue, it’s looking for a link instead of from the media centre.

Waitforme Tried to post a pic but there seems to be an issue, it’s looking for a link instead of from the media centre.

Just drag and drop the image…but if you’re using a mac….unless it’s .jpg files or something not maclike, I can’t help.

When we see the photo, lots of people better at art than me will help….I rarely drink lattes.

If the image is too small try pouring quicker. A good latte art pour is surprisingly fast. For a heart the recommended speed is 40ml/s. Time yourself with water and you’ll get a feel.

If you’re close enough to the coffee (<1cm) and fast enough a decent size blob should form. Then just push forward and cut through to produce a heart.

Keep practicing and you’ll get there

Waitforme You may be filling your cup too much before pouring the design. The more you fill your cup, the higher the surface tension, the less the design will spread out.

Try filing the cup less from a higher height. Then drop the pitcher spout and increase flow rate. You should be able to find a happy medium with some practice.

Of course the hardest part is getting the milk texture right in the first place!

Thanks guys, I’ll take your advice on board and see how it goes.

I’m not too bad at getting the milk expanded, I can get it maybe a 25% increase in volume with no bubbles, from just below the spout in the jug to maybe ⅓ way up the spout.

Can we extend “Latte art” to “Coffee art” or “Unintentional interesting pattern on the underside of the puck screen”?

Doram In your future I see many branching paths, with choices, or you will encounter a tall dark tree without leaves.

Trying to get a Christmas tree …. Sometimes I wish I worked in a coffee shop so I could practice on 200 coffees a day

H1udd Looking good…next year we will have to have a competition.

H1udd Very impressive indeed! I doubt coffee shops do these impressions. We don’t even remember! 👏

So it’s been a pretty slow journey, as I tend to only do one milky coffee a day, but I think my latte art is finally making some progress.

A year ago this is what I was proud of, a faint outline in the milk:

This is what I poured this morning to go with breakfast:

It’s not perfect, with some marking I didn’t want at the very bottom, but overall I think it’s respectable. Goes to show that if you just keep practicing you’ll get there eventually. These are both with oat milk as well, which I think makes it a bit trickier.

I’ve been trying for a year to improve my latte hearts but like others here only make a handful each week. Some of the great ones above make me want me to give up !

Perhaps I’ll just stick to caps and claim it as art

I’m about a year down the line - clearly a slow learner!

Mutepost Try pouring the designer faster. That’s what I was missing. It helps the design spread

I steam my milk like that too, but with the wand a bit closer to the edge so that it spins round more.

I was going to say that while I am sure this has resulted in good results for @MediumRoastSteam it appear to violate two “rules” of steaming: 1) having the tip close to the edge for “spinning” to create microfoam and 2) varying the tip depth to not over-aerate at high temps.

So interesting!

limelight varying the tip depth to not over-aerate at high temps

Don’t forget as you aerate the milk, the level rises in the pitcher and it can often cover the steam tip holes sufficiently to stop aeration.

Drank four lattes this morining one after the other in trying to improve my latte art…which it didn’t! Well, at least that’s what the big pink elephant wearing a tutu standing in the corner of my kitchen told me.

Pompeyexile Did you check your blood pressure afterwards ?😂

Elcarajillo Did you check your blood pressure afterwards ?😂

Funny you should say that, as this week I received my yearly MOT letter from my GP, which means I have to check my blood pressure for a week and send the results off. Also, have a blood test, which I think is for spotting any possible signs of diabetes. So, maybe I should have a coffee sabatical for a week whilst I do it. If not, I can see her booking me a table at the morgue.

As Eric Idle once sang…

“Always look on the bright side if life!”

I hope not. Surprising how coffee pushes up the BP very quickly, within minutes.

My latest effort:

I rarely have anything that’s shareable on here lol. They’re also so few and far between, i.e. here’s my previous photo acceptable pour in October:

And this one worked for me today:

Who knows when the next one might be haha. I use full fat milk but my wife has skimmed, hers is always just a white blob so would never make it to being shared!

Alexvs I never have much success with skimmed milk.

DavecUK I never have much success with skimmed milk.

I never have success, full stop! Do you think it is because I drink Goat’s milk?

But I will not give up trying.

Pompeyexile I never have success, full stop! Do you think it is because I drink Goat’s milk?

I don’t know, I have never tried to foam it…I think it has different proteins in to cows milk, but you would think it would work. I’ve sometimes seen it reduced, but never been brave enough to try it.

Not quiteee a latte art query, but very related since milk quality is the basic requirement for latte art quality! Anyone has a picture of a flat white which has just been poured into a glass/transparent cup, from the side? My question is how homogenous the microfoam should be dispersed throughout the drink. Try as I might (I spend about 75-80% of steaming time with a whirlpool going), my flat whites usually separate (almost immediately) into approx 0.5-0.75mm of foam at the top of mostly milk below. I don’t think it’s a question of steam power because the 2l boiler on the Cherub (with 1.5mm steam tip) goes like a locomotive.

First (mediocre) attempt for latte art with Oat-ly barista edition.

ChristosC It’s getting there…keep at it.

I’m getting better results with having upped the service boiler temp to 135*c and then pouring the milk a bit faster than I had been.
I had been pouring very slowly thinking it would allow the milk to spread on the surface better but I think all it was doing was allowing the milk to pour through the crema easier. Pouring faster seems to allow more to stay on the surface and spread.
When did making a coffee get so complicated 😳

ChristosC Looks like a nice even coloured canvas and good definition. To make the heart bigger just pour faster with the spout of the pitcher as close to the surface as possible (max 1cm away).

hornbyben Thanks. Still trying to get texture similar to the one I get with normal milk.

ChristosC I pretty much exclusively just oatly barista and it is a bit trickier than dairy. Seems a bit easier to over aerate. You’ll get there with practice though. After a year I can pretty much always do a respectable heart or tulip, and sometimes a rosetta.