The Off Switch — How to Avoid Overshooting The heart design is a close cousin of the monk’s head, except that it is a two-element design. It calls upon the same...
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LA 3.03 – The Monk’s Head
An Unbroken Ring of Crema The monk's head design is a well-suited starting point because it is the only single-element pattern in the Latte Art Lexicon. The white circle...
LA 3.02 – Specifications Explained
For each design moving forward, we will supply specifications on how full the cup needs to be, the height from which you should pour, and so on. We use the following terms to...
LA 3.01 – Eddies
Have you ever stood by a fast-flowing river and witnessed an unexpected reversal in some of its direction of flow? In white-water rapids, this usually occurs after the main...
LA 3.0 – What’s in Chapter 3?
We examine eddies — the foundation of the curved bases of the heart, tulip, and rosetta designs. We establish a system to map the specifications of each latte art design we teach...
LA 2.09 – Recap and Glossary
Recap Just as a painter primes a canvas before painting on it, a latte artist needs to prepare an even and highly contrasting background. The blending ratio of espresso and milk...
LA 2.03 – Filling Techniques
1. Spinning — 1:1 Blending After pouring your espresso and steaming your milk, we recommend combining equal amounts of espresso and milk. This act of blending requires you to...
LA 2.07 – More Advanced Brush Strokes
Fishtailing Fishtailing is a variation of the shaking technique. Fishtailing employs the same arch and rhythm, but it also calls for a gradual backwards shift of the pitcher...
LA 2.0 – What’s in Chapter 2?
We begin to compile and describe the nomenclature of the Latte Art Lexicon. We ‘prime the canvas’, examining techniques for creating a perfect background on which to lay your...
LA 1.04 – Recap and Glossary
Recap We use steam to heat milk because we get a payload of extra energy from the latent heat of condensation. We can steam milk to temperature in under 20 seconds, whereas it...
LA 1.02 – Getting a Grip
Holding the Cup by its Handle Many technical latte art designs require continuous reorientation of the cup position. In these instances, holding only the bottom third of the cup...
LA 0.01 – A History of Latte Art
Latte art has gone from an occasional novelty in third-wave coffee shops to a signature of modern coffee culture. It is no longer just the domain of specialty coffee; it has been...
LA 1.01 – Making Microfoam
Since the early 1990s, the latte art movement has introduced a visual and textural luxury to the coffee world in the form of microfoam. In most cafes, achieving this silky foam...
LA 2.01 – Priming the Canvas
Blending Ratios The background is half of what the customer sees of your latte art. This chapter is dedicated to teaching you how to produce a homogenous surface on which to lay...
LA 2.04 – The Halfway Point
In the Blocks — Resetting the Cup Position for Drawing The halfway point, at which the cup is half filled, is now the blank canvas you’ve created for most designs. For very...
LA 2.02 – Pouring from a Height — The Pin-Drop Technique
Pouring from a Height — The Pin-Drop Technique The dive easiest to pull off is the one where you enter the water feet first, with your body as straight as a pin and toes pointed....
LA 2.05 – Flow Rate, Width, & Height
How Flow Rate Influences Line Width In making latte art patterns, the requisite flow rate and the width of the milk stream exiting your pitcher are not static. Even the simplest...
LA 2.06 – Advanced Brush Strokes
Milk Pitcher Manoeuvres The Latte Art Lexicon includes the following eight essential milk pitcher manoeuvres, presented in order of difficulty. These brush strokes all...