Latte Art - Pictures and Techniques

[Holly Moore]

I've started collecting pics of latte foam designs. These are all from Philadelphia. The first three are from various baristas at La Colombe, the last is from La Va Cafe.

Photo doesn't really do this one justice. To the eye - a tulip.

[KatieLoeb]

Holly:

Nice pics, btw.

You need to check out Chestnut Hill Coffee Co. on Germantown Avenue. The barista there, John Hornall, trains other baristas for these sorts of competitions. I suspect he could do the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in a big enough mug.

[JasonTrue]

I had this one in Tokyo, one of the nicest rosettas I've ever personally been served.

Macchinesti was created by someone who learned from David Schomer of Vivace... they now have a location in Omotesando and another spot not terribly far from there.

[mizducky]

An additional reason why I think wistfully of Espresso Vivace Roasteria in Seattle (besides their absolutely kick-ass coffee) was their barristas' talents in latte foam art. They even posted photos of especially nice designs on the wall.

[Beto]

Here's a cappuccino that I made a few days ago.

[melkor]

Here's the latte I made myself early last week.

Edited July 28, 2007 by melkor (log)

[Genny]

Oh my goodness! How do you do these designs? I have a fabulous Jura coffee maker that provides a nice thick crema so I'd love to play with my designs. It would be a special treat to sip away and enjoy the design.

Can you provide a site or just provide some techniques?

Thanks!

[phaelon56]

You need to check out Chestnut Hill Coffee Co. on Germantown Avenue.  The barista there, John Hornall, trains other baristas for these sorts of competitions. 

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John is one of the former principles of Hines market Coffee in Seattle. They used to have a retail location before Seattle's New-York-ification trend resulted in their building being demolished for a condo/retail complex (people are being priced out of their rental apartments in increasingly large numbers in Seattle as more and more buildings go condo). John has a great reputation in the specialty coffee biz and I second Katie's suggestion to visit Chestnut Hill Coffee.

I'm humbled by great latte art and mine is a bit on the rudimentary side. But I'll see if I can produce a decent rosetta this week - I feel inspired

Here is one of the best on-line tutorials I have ever come across for latte art. Keep in mind that their milk temps are given in Celsius not Fahrenheit.

Become a Latte Magician

[Beto]

Very nice latte, Dave!

[melkor]

Oh my goodness!  How do you do these designs?  I have a fabulous Jura coffee maker that provides a nice thick crema so I'd love to play with my designs.  It would be a special treat to sip away and enjoy the design. 

Can you provide a site or just provide some techniques?

Thanks!

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I think you're likely to be up the creek with your fabulous Jura machine. Most of the super-auto machines have a milk frother rather than a steam wand so you end up with the rabid styrofoam stuff rather than microfoam. Without properly textured milk, you won't be able to pour any sort of art.

[melkor]

Very  nice latte, Dave!

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Thanks! I just wish I could make them more consistently. It's tough only making two or three drinks a day to get enough practice.

[FanGJiN]

recently i have seen few clip in youtube showing people their coffee, and they draw very beautiful picture on it like a love or butterfly etc.

i would like to know what are things i need to know before i start to draw the coffee. currently i am using full cream milk(nestle brand), i feel it is not thick enough.

is there any books or VCD can teach people how to draw the picture on the coffee.

[Richard Kilgore]

recently i have seen few clip in youtube showing people their coffee, and they draw very beautiful picture on it like a love or butterfly etc.

i would like to know what are things i need to know before i start to draw the coffee. currently i am using full cream milk(nestle brand), i feel it is not thick enough.

is there any books or VCD can teach people how to draw the picture on the coffee.

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Are you talking about the designs people make when making an espresso based coffee drink? Can you post a link to the You Tube clip?

[Richard Kilgore]

recently i have seen few clip in youtube showing people their coffee, and they draw very beautiful picture on it like a love or butterfly etc.

i would like to know what are things i need to know before i start to draw the coffee. currently i am using full cream milk(nestle brand), i feel it is not thick enough.

is there any books or VCD can teach people how to draw the picture on the coffee.

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Are you talking about the designs people make when making an espresso based coffee drink? Can you post a link to the Youtube clip?

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Ah, here's a few YouTube clips of intricate latte designs:

Perhaps someone here can help in some way.

[jgm]

I don't know anything about the kind of drawings you're interested in, but I have found a way to get a really thick foam on hot milk - and I use skim milk. I assume a higher-fat milk might be even better.

I pour the hot milk into a French press coffeemaker, and put the lid on. Making sure to leave an opening at the spout for steam to escape (this is critical to avoid exploding milk and accompanying burns), I work the plunger up and down a few times. Ta-da! Foamed milk. Very thick foamed milk.

Hope this helps.

[nickrey]

This clip covers a few pours and gives a good idea of technique. If you read the commentaries after it, there are some good hints.

The barista is only 17 years old!

One of the key secrets to doing it is getting the milk right. For this you need a decent manual espresso machine. I get good rosettes from micro foam made with my Rancilio Miss Silvia machine which is preferred by many "coffee geeks." As an aside, for great coffee, you also need a good burr grinder. For a review of the coffee machine, see here:

http://www.home-barista.com/silvia-flash-review.html

[barrett]

One from a long time ago:

a pour

edited: because I have to host images on the gullet.

Edited October 16, 2008 by barrett (log)

[Hard H2O]

Don't play with your food.