Crystal’s Latte Art

By Crystal Yao

One of my favorite thing to do on a rainy day is to go to a café and have a cup of latte. It is always pleasing to see the latte art on my drink; the pattern maybe a tulip, heart or leaf. I have been working at Starbucks, starting from the winter in 2016, and I enjoy my time there. Personally, I think it is the latte art that tops all the fascinating reasons why I work there.

Latte art is created by pouring steamed milk into a shot of espresso and moving the pitcher for the foam to create a pattern on the surface of the latte. It can also be created or embellished by simply "drawing" on the top layer of foam. Sometimes we use mocha or caramel sauces to do the drawing. Every single Latte art is unique. In fact, the pattern largely depends on the barista’s technics, including the pouring angle, the pouring speed, and the way the pitcher is moved.

Watery shot and large bubbles in steamed milk will ruin the Latte art. This, in turn, is subject to the experience of the barista and the quality of the espresso machine. In addition, the pour itself is a great challenge for most of the latte artists.

The foam on the latte is called "microfoam", which is foamed milk, usually made by using a steam wand on an espresso machine. Milk foam is used to make espresso-based coffee drinks. The opposite of microfoam is macrofoam, also known as dry foam. In contrast to the wet foam, it has visibly large bubbles, which are commonly used in making cappuccinos. However, due to large bubbles, the milk foam of cappuccinos does not make latte art. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latte_art)

I have been trying to do all kinds of patterns known to me, but, still trying. It's too hard to foam forth the same pattern on very cup of latte; sometimes it’s the weather and sometimes it’s the barista. If I'm having a great day, I can do hearts, tulips, and maybe a beautiful leaf. There are many talented baristas in my work place. Like Linda, Vanessa, Grace, and Coco. If you guys are interested in latte art, you are welcome to share your ideas with me and those great baristas.