Latte Art How-to

Latte art is no easy skill to master.

I myself have had a difficult time trying to master my latte art skills. I still get scared when someone gets their drink "for here" in a mug, because then it means the pressure is on to show off my skills. Somehow, I always seem to do my worst work when it actually matters, haha!

Everyone you talk to is going to have a slightly different technique for creating latte art, but for this blog, I have recruited my co-worker Adam to be our coach to teach us how to create latte art!

Adam is a veteran barista at Nervous Dog and has been there for close to 7 years. He and I have become close over the past 4 years, but our friendship really took off in the summer of '21. We worked almost every day together and would listen to Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour album on repeat. Each shift I would catch him up on the latest Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and Joshua Bassett, love triangle drama. And ever since then, he's been like my cooler older brother.

But anyways- who wants to learn about latte art ?? 

In Adam’s words, “the name of the game is to get as much microfoam dispersed as evenly throughout the milk as possible” 

• Basically, this “microfoam” is what allows the milk to float on top to create the ribbons of white. 
  

First, you start by filling your metal pitcher with the milk of your choice, and begin pulling your espresso shots. Adam suggests having your espresso shots finishing up around the same time that your milk is steaming. That way your espresso shots aren't sitting around for too long by the time you begin pouring the milk.

“When I start streaming, I want to have the head of the steam wand at the top of the milk and it should create a paper-tearing sound”

• This “paper tearing sound” is the steam wand shooting air into the milk. This is what creates the foam. 
  

“You want this sound for about 3-5 seconds, and at that point you want to sink the steam wand fully under the milk. The goal is to create a whirlpool in the pitcher”

• The whirlpool helps to mix the air bubbles evenly into the milk. Remember when he talked about the “microfoam”? This is what he meant. 
  

“I get it to about 120 degrees on the thermometer and then have it stop, so it should end somewhere around 140 degrees. Then, swirl your pitcher so that the foam runs along the edges, and tap your pitcher to break up the bubbles a little bit. 

• After swirling the pitcher and tapping it on the counter, the consistency of the milk will look like smooth glossy paint.
  

“When  you start to pour your milk, you want to be as gentle as possible so that the stream of milk goes through the espresso, allowing for the brown espresso to stay on top. Begin gently swirling your milk stream in circle motions”

“Then towards the end, bring your milk to the top edge of your cup and make “S” motions moving towards the opposite end of the cup. Once you reach the opposite end, draw a backwards line through your other white lines” 

• This technique creates leaf-like latte art. 
  

And just like that, you have a beautiful latte! Like I said before, it takes a lot of skill and practice to do this, and even seasoned baristas (like myself) have difficulty at times. But practice makes perfect, so it looks like I need to get to practicing!