Latte Art

The best and complete latte art for your latte art designs.

Latte art is a method of preparing coffee created by pouring steamed milk into a shot of espresso and resulting in a pattern or design on the surface of the latte. It can also be created or embellished by simply "drawing" in the top layer of foam. Latte art is particularly difficult to create consistently, due to the demanding conditions required of both the espresso shot and milk. This, in turn, is limited by the experience of the barista and quality of the espresso machine.

Latte art technique

Latte art developed independently in different countries, following the introduction of espresso and the development of microfoam, the combination of crema (which is an emulsion of coffee oil and brewed coffee) and microfoam allowing the pattern; it presumably was initially developed in Italy.

How to make a latte/ how to make a coffee latte

Todd from whole latte art heart uses an empty pitcher to contain the vapor as he pulses the wand before use. This is the way How to make a latte.

You should clean your wand immediately after each use, and pulse it on and off a couple times before steaming more milk. This ensures that the duct is free of any particles. Careful though, that jet of steaming hot vapor can hurt you from about a foot away, so angle it away and keep yourself clear as you do this.

Latte art at school

Fill your pitcher with best milk for latte art approximately to the bottom of the spout and turn on the wand. Submerge the wand and then raise it up just to the point where you can hear a couple of hisses. If you’ve raised it too far you’ll see large bubbles forming, and it will start to sound like violent hiccuping.

Latte art at home

You can tilt the pitcher towards you to see inside. The milk should be swirling evenly. In the video below from Whole Latte Love, they advise keeping the pitcher low but then raising it up as it becomes warmer, so that the wand is swirling deeper in the pitcher.

Latte art tips

Turn off the wand once the milk has reached about 140°F–180°F. Some baristas tell the temperature simply by touch, others listen to the rising pitch of the steaming in order to know when it’s done. Use a clip-in thermometer for accuracy and experiment from there.

Give the pitcher a firm tap on the counter. This disperses any large bubbles, effectively giving you thicker foam. If you don’t fully submerge the wand, it can cause the steamed milk and the foam to form as two distinct layers, which makes latte art more difficult. You can swirl the pitcher around to incorporate the layers.

Coffee latte art is easiest in a rounded bowl-shaped cup. Pour your espresso into the bottom of the cup and then add a small amount of your steamed milk and swirl to incorporate it. The main aspects of the pouring technique are speed and height above the bowl. Pour slowly and evenly at a fairly high distance. This allows the milk and espresso to continue incorporating. You can pour in a circular motion to ensure it mixes well.

How to steam milk for latte art

The barista advises pulling the espresso shot in making espresso latte art before steaming milk for latte art, which is a better strategy for pouring espresso latte art, although in order to preserve the best taste of the espresso, you should already have steamed milk ready to go — the flavor of an espresso shot can become bitter as soon as 10–20 seconds after it is pulled. As with any new technique, some experimentation is required to find what suits you best.

As you reach the second half of the cup, bring the pitcher closer to the surface. This layer will not incorporate, creating a distinction between the white foam and the body of the latte.