subject: Latte Art, A New Twist On Coffee [print this page] A coffee drink made from hot steaming milk and espresso shot is called Latte. It is derived from Italian word "Caffelatte" which means coffee and milk. The beautiful pattern formed on the top coffee layer by pouring frothy milk on espresso shot is called Latte Art. The unique pattern that is made on the surface of resulting latte looks remarkably lovely and reveals the artists real artistic knowledge. It is possible to create different patterns by actually drawing on the top foamy layer. Latte Art is not as simple as it may sound, because the espresso shot and the steaming milk must fulfill some demanding conditions. Moreover, the pattern on the Latte also depends on the experience of the barista, the espresso machine and last but not the least, Latte Art typically depends on how well the artist pours it!
For this, you need to steam milk till you get the required level of lather on it. While you pour this steamed milk, the froth part floats over the top of the milk, making two separate layers of liquid milk and froth. Now the most tough part is how you pour it over the espresso shot. The espresso shot and the froth on the milk has to be perfect. The latte mug is to be moved correctly while pouring the frothy milk over the espresso shot to form a special pattern as the foam rises.
The foam content over the milk needs to be accurate and the barista should know what amount of foam is needed to get a beautiful latte. A lot of foam will give your coffee a white surface and little foam gives your coffee light-brown homogenous drink with no latte art on it. The froth on the milk should be exact, along with this, the milk should appear shiny with small bubbles equally distributed. The espresso shot should be exact too. The time limit for extraction of espresso should be 20-30 seconds. Also, you need to see the bubbles on the espresso shot, it must be creamy brown in color. This is called crema. When you decant the bubbly milk on this perfect espresso shot, the milk rises and meets the brown bubbly surface of the espresso shot, this creates a beautiful pattern in two contrast hues, white and brown.
Rosetta is the most preferred Latte Art which looks like a flower. The latte cup is kept tilted in one direction and because of this tilted position of the latte cup, the foamy milk that is poured, which gathers on one side. Now the barista moves the latte cup side-to-side, simultaneously filling the cup with foamy milk. He or she then finishes the pattern with a sudden strike, which forms the stem of the flower. However, one can make amazing patterns on Latte, but your experience and your creativity plays a major role. An experienced hand creates wonderful patterns. You too can impress your guests with your own unique latte art. Remember that your espresso shot should be correct, your milk froth must be exact and your art of pouring and tilting the latte pitcher must be creative enough to form wonderful latte art.
