Monk’s Head – Placing
Learning a One-Element Pattern
The monk’s head is a well-suited starting point because it is the only single-element design. The white circle (reminiscent of the shaved heads of the Capuchin monks) is poured using only the placing manoeuvre.
The entry point is an important consideration with any latte art design. This is the position your milk pitcher spout is in when you drop to the drawing height. The drawing height is a pouring position within 1 centimetre above the drink’s surface. With the monk’s head, the entry point should be right in the middle of the cup. If the surface of the drink were a dartboard, the spout would be positioned over the bull’s-eye at the halfway point, and it would remain there for the rest of the pour.
To enlarge the white part of this design, which is poured using the ‘placing’ manoeuvre, you simply need to increase your flow rate. It is important that you sufficiently tilt the cup so that your spout can access a <1-cm range from the surface. You should establish this pouring height at the halfway point and maintain it right up to the end of the pour.
The monk’s head lends itself to a commercial setting because it is the easiest pattern to teach. It is also the fastest of the patterns to pour because the placing manoeuvre works well, even at the highest possible flow rate.
Video with the Australian Latte Art Champion, Shinsaku Fukuyama pouring a monk’s head design
Specifications for the Monk’s Head Design
Tilt: Lower the rim of the cup until the surface of the canvas is touching the northern tip of the cup.
Painting height: <1 cm
Manoeuvre: Placing
Entry point: The bull’s-eye
Flow profile: See the chart below.