2/26/2012

Latte Art - The Joy and Wonder Of Latte Art

By Amy Lee


Latte art is the style of "drawing" on coffee and specifically the most commonly used espresso. The "drawing " is done by pouring milk into the espresso cup thus resulting in the creation of a pattern or a more special design on top of the foam layer of the espresso. Of course to create a good latte creation you need an experienced barista and a high quality espresso machine. Latte art is a rather old style, but it became more and more famous in the last years and nowadays there are even special classes for barista education. Barista is the formal title of a latte artist.

Latte art develops in different tempos depending on the country. However it wasn't a well known art before several years, but because of the recent advance in micro foam research and the developing of the espresso it has become even more popular. The country that is considered the birthplace of espresso is Italy. Latte art needs two main ingredients to be created - foam and crema. Foam is nothing more than buffed up milk and it is buffed by mixing it with air. Crema is the brown cream that appears on top of the espresso. However those two mixtures dissipate rapidly and you can enjoy latte art only for a few minutes.

The quality of the latte art depends on the espresso itself. The espresso is bound to have a cream surface which is usually called crema. After the espresso is prepared the barista starts to pour milk into the cup and as the foam and crema react a pattern starts to be seen on top of the crema. However you need a very steady hand to be able to create delicate figures. Of course pouring milk cannot create delicate forms, so for more complex patterns you will need a barista specialized in etching. The use of the stick is much harder, but results in much clearer and more beautiful forms.

Due to the lack of precision when pouring milk you can only create simple shapes and forms like the most used ones which are hearts and various flowers. While if you use the etching technique you can even create portraits of people and objects. Of course to create such things you must be very experienced and well trained.

Latte art is a beautiful way to change the way your beverage looks like. Despite the fact that you can order a specially drawn espresso you can also learn the latte art yourself just by practicing or visiting special classes. And the best part of latte art is that you can learn it in your home just by practicing on your morning coffee without having to buy any extra stuff, but however the mixture between ordinary coffee and foam will result in more translucent forms, but still visible.




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