Latte art for home baristas

Who doesn't love the perfect homemade cappuccino with delicate latte art? You don't always have the time or inclination to go to your favorite café to be served a work of coffee art by your trusted barista. So that you don't have to miss out on a beautiful-looking cappuccino with a leaf, tulip or the popular heart at home, in this article we explain step by step how to create latte art. We'll tell you what equipment you really need and give you tips for choosing the ingredients and step-by-step instructions for your coffee art. By the end, you will be able to draw two classic latte art motifs and patterns.

Preparation and accessories

No latte art without perfect milk foam

The bitter truth has to be said: Without perfect milk foam, you will never conjure up a heart, leaf or other intricate images in your espresso. A fine-pored, creamy milk foam is a must for drawing clear lines and creating details in your caffeinated works of art. However, it is not possible to produce a suitable milk foam with simple tools. You need a portafilter machine with a steam lance and a lot of pressure to produce a creamy milk foam that makes fantastic drawings possible. If you haven't yet taken the plunge and bought a home portafilter machine, you can achieve relatively acceptable results with hand frothers and electric milk frothers. Latte art will be possible, at least on a small scale. However, we advise against cheap battery-operated milk frothers. In our opinion, this is a waste of money and will give you more trouble than presentable art.

Which espresso beans are the right ones?

The perfect latte art naturally starts with the choice of espresso beans. Many swear by the best results when using dark-roasted espresso beans. As latte art is all about "drawing" with milk and coffee, the contrast between the two colors brown and white is paramount. However, whether it has to be a strong contrast is in the eye of the beholder. When selecting espresso beans, we therefore recommend focusing on an excellent crema, good quality and, of course, personal taste. Our low-acid coffee is perfect for latte art due to its rich crema and will quickly turn you into a hobby barista.

Our tips: Coffee beans roasted for use in coffee filter machines are not necessarily suitable. These usually produce hardly any rich crema and are not really suitable for high-contrast latte art.

All milk is foamable!

Is there a best milk for milk foam? Yes, there is: cold milk! Whether you use cow's milk or plant-based alternatives is up to you and plays a secondary role in our eyes. One foams better, the other less well. Cow's milk has a higher temperature tolerance, while plant-based milk definitely doesn't like it too hot and tends to collapse again if the froth is too hot. Different fat and protein contents in the different types of milk result in different foaming behavior and produce different results in terms of both taste and the firmness of the foam. The fact is, however, that only cold milk can be foamed properly.

Which cups are particularly suitable for latte art?

Really great results can be achieved above all in round, smooth cups with a size between 180 ml and 350 ml. Cups or glasses with extreme edges, corners or rough surfaces are completely unsuitable.

One milk jug is mandatory, two are optional

The classic milk jugs are made of stainless steel and are available in many different sizes and colors, as well as different handles and spouts. For latte art, you always need at least one milk jug with a pointed spout. The size you choose depends on the quantity or number of drinks you want to make. However, as you rarely make more than two cappuccinos at the same time, a milk jug with a capacity of around 350 ml should be perfectly adequate for starting out as a home barista. Over time, you will know exactly how much milk foam you always need and perhaps purchase additional milk jugs.

Instructions for latte art

Perfect latte art is a mixture of a steady hand, creativity and speed. From the moment the milk is ready to be frothed, a maximum timeslot of 30 seconds runs before the milk foam settles on top and the liquid milk makes itself comfortable under the foam. Then the only option is to spoon the foam onto the top of the coffee. It's better than nothing, of course, but latte art looks different.

This 30-second timeslot results in really good preparation and the mandatory sequence to follow when making latte art: Brew the espresso first and froth the milk during or immediately afterwards.

Preparation in 3 steps

1. pull espresso

Anyone who tries their hand at latte art certainly already has a great way of making perfect espresso. Whether the espresso is made with a portafilter machine, stovetop pot, aeropress or fully automatic machine is irrelevant for latte art. Make it easy for yourself and use Black Label Coffee coffee beans for fully automatic machines. What really matters is a nice, rich crema and the taste.

2. froth the milk with the steam lance of the portafilter machine

Our tip first: If you have no experience in frothing milk with a steam wand, you can fill the jug with cold water and a drop of washing-up liquid instead of milk to save resources. This is a great way to practice, as the foaming behavior of the water and washing-up liquid mixture is similar to that of milk.

• Now it's getting frothy - instructions for the perfect milk froth:
• Fill the milk jug about half full with cold milk or milk alternatives from the fridge.
• Insert the steam wand into the milk and turn up the steam fully. Grasp the milk jug with both hands and pull the jug further down with the rising foam.
• Make sure you always stay just below the surface of the milk.
  
• As soon as the contents of the jug have almost doubled, you can gently pull the milk jug up and down for a few seconds. This will cause the milk to "roll" in the jug, giving it a creamy consistency.
• If the milk jug gets too hot for you, this is usually an indication that the milk is at the right temperature and you can turn off the steam.

Important:

If the milk is frothed too hot, the milk foam collapses very quickly. The right temperature for milk foam is around 60-65 degrees.

If there are still too many large bubbles in the milk foam, you can tap the milk jug flat on the work surface two to three times. This will burst the large bubbles.

Once the milk has finished frothing, you only have a few seconds to create your work of art. Ideally, the finished milk foam should be used immediately. If you want to decorate several drinks with the same milk foam, the milk needs to keep moving. To keep the froth nice and creamy until it is poured in, swirl the jug slightly and let the milk rotate in it.

Our tip: Ideally, you should have two milk jugs. Before pouring into the cup, the frothed milk is swirled into the second milk jug, whereby the milk and froth mix once again. To do this, carefully but quickly pour the frothed milk at an angle into the second jug, which is also held at an angle.

3. drawing with milk

Now it gets exciting, because we come to the actual part of the latte art. How you hold the cup in your hands when pouring is a matter of taste. Some baristas swear by only holding the cup from the bottom, while others only use the handle. But with plenty of practice and the perfect pouring technique, great works of art can also be conjured up in a standing cup.

Now it gets exciting, because we come to the actual part of the latte art. How you hold the cup in your hands when pouring is a matter of taste. Some baristas swear by only holding the cup from the bottom, while others only use the handle. But with plenty of practice and the perfect pouring technique, great works of art can also be created in a standing cup.

The most popular latte art pieces are:

• The latte art sheet
• The tulip in the milk foam
• The heart on the cappuccino

The all-time favorite: the latte art heart

Now it gets exciting, because we come to the actual part of the latte art. How you hold the cup in your hands when pouring is a matter of taste. Some baristas swear by only holding the cup from the bottom, while others only use the handle. But with plenty of practice and the perfect pouring technique, great works of art can also be conjured up in a standing cup.

• Hold the cup at an angle and hold the milk jug fairly close (2-4 cm) to the edge of the cup
• Now pour the creamy milk into the center of the espresso. The milk should "disappear" under the espresso or crema
• Once the cup is about ⅔ full, bring the milk jug very close to the cup and continue to pour in the middle. A white, growing milk spot appears in the middle
• The cup is gradually guided into a straight position
• When the cup is almost full to the brim, the jug is held higher again and the cup is completely upright
• This makes the milk stream thinner and it must be drawn once across the white milk spot

Voilá: Your first heart is ready!

The timeless one: The filigree leaf

Drawing a leaf is only marginally more difficult than the heart, but it makes a lot of difference. The first steps are similar to the heart, but the leaf requires a little more courage, swing technique and speed.

• First, the cup is held at an angle, as with the heart
• Hold the milk jug close (2-4 cm) to the edge of the cup and pour the milk in a circular motion up to halfway up the cup, pulling the milk jug slightly higher in the process
• Now bring the milk jug very close to the center of the crema again
• From now on, the speed of pouring must be increased slightly and at the same time you quickly swing the jug from left to right
• This pulls the jug evenly upwards again, away from the cup
• As soon as the cup is almost completely full, draw the now thin stream of milk once across the blade to the edge of the cup

Voilá: A filigree leaf!

And now it's your turn! If it doesn't work the first time, don't lose heart and keep at it. Latte art takes a lot of practice, patience and skill. We hope you enjoyed our article Latte art for home baristas?

Tip for advanced users: You can conjure up great works of art on many other hot drinks that are infused with milk. For example, with latte macchiato, hot chocolate or chai latte. Simply stir the chocolate or chai powder with a little hot water in the cup and then pour the frothed milk into the cup as described above.