If you’ve ever looked at your cup after the barista has made your latte and wondered how they made a love heart or leaf design across the top, look no further than our latte art beginners guide. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be able to impress your friends and family with your amazing latte art skills. Let's get started!
Latte art can be created with any type of coffee, and we recommend making an espresso for the best results. However, the most important part of latte coffee art is to pour the milk correctly. But before you even think about that, you’ll need the right equipment.
Equipment needed to create latte art:
1. Pouring jug
2. Milk of your choice (if you're using a milk alternative, we recommend you use the barista version of it – as it works much better)
3. An espresso machine (if you don't have an espresso machine, fret not! A milk frother will do the trick)
4. Coffee beans or ground coffee
5. Grinder (if you're using whole beans)
6. Scales (optional but recommended for precision)
How to make latte art
1. The first step is to choose your coffee. You can use whole beans and grind with a coffee grinder or use pre-ground coffee.
2. Once you have your coffee, it's time to brew it. You can use any type of coffee maker, but we recommend using an espresso machine for the best results.
3. Once you’ve brewed your espresso, it's time to start prepping your milk of choice. The most important part of this process is to pour the milk correctly.
4. Pour you milk into your pouring jug and place it under the steam wand. Be sure to have the steam wand slightly under the milk in the jug for around 30 seconds.
5. Once the milk has been steamed, swirl it around in the jug a couple of times. Pour milk into the coffee cup slowly, and in a circular motion. Keep your hand close to the cup when you pour so that you can control the flow of milk.
6. As you pour, the coffee and milk will start to mix and create beautiful patterns. Aim to pour towards the centre line of the cup, so that both sides produce symmetrical patterns. Try to keep a couple of centimeters away from the cup edge.
7. Keep practising and experimenting with different pouring techniques until you find one that works for you.
And there you have it! Your very first coffee art masterpiece. Now all you need to do is enjoy your coffee and show off your new skills to your friends. As time goes on, you’ll become better at pouring the milk, which is where the technique lays.
If you haven't got any of the equipment needed to create coffee art. You can always check out our brewing equipment to level up your coffee making.
For more tips to help you in your own pursuit of coffee perfection, visit our coffee blog or for step-by-step advice on how to use different types of coffee equipment, check out our brewing guides.