CHICCHI

Latte art is a style of pouring steamed milk into a shot of espresso that creates a pattern or design on the surface of the resulting 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.

The milk
You need cold and fresh milk. Most people prefer full fat milk for Latte Art but it is really up to you, if you use a right technique then it doesn’t make too much difference. Just make sure that the milk is fresh and straight out of the fridge. Do not expose it to heat or light before you steam it.

Never use the same milk again when you are working on Latte Art.

The jug
Use a stainless steel jug with a narrow spout. Make sure that the jug is cold and clean before use. Fill up the jug with enough milk for your cup and make sure that you have enough milk so you have time to texture the milk. Too less milk will cause the milk to heat up too quick so a little bit more milk is better. Do not worry about the wastage too much.

Thermometer
Use a thermometer that has a clip to attach to the jug. The thermometer should have a good size so you can easily read it. Make sure that the thermometer is adjusted right, you can do this by putting it in ice water and correcting the dial. Usually you can adjust the dial with a screw in the back. The best way to adjust your thermometer is to compare it with a digital probe. Do not place the thermometer in the dishwasher, the moisture will break your thermometer. It is also possible to judge the temperature of the milk by touch.

Steam Wand
Always make sure that you turn the steam on all the way. Purge the steam wand before use. This will clean it from any condensation. Do not turn the steam wand on before you insert it into the milk. Your steam should have a pressure of around 1 bar, the pressure is related to the temperature of the boiler. The more holes the steam tip has, the more steam power.

Espresso
The espresso is just as important as the milk. Make sure that the espresso is fresh and has a good thick and strong layer of crema. It becomes very difficult to create good Latte Art without good crema on your espresso.

Cup Size
It is probably easiest to use 1 oz of espresso in a 6-8 ounce cup. Use a cup that has a wide surface area to work with, usually a low cup with a large wide diameter.

Steaming Milk
Start with the steam wand inside the milk. Turn on the steam completely. Hold the jug with two hands. Slowly lower the jug until the tip of the steam wand breaches the surface of the milk. You should hear a sh-sh-sh sound (high chirping sound). Do this for only a few seconds, this is when you are forcing the bubbles in to the milk to create foam, it is called foaming or stretching. Be very careful when you lower the jug, you should not see any bubbles being formed. You should hear the foam being created but you should not see it. You only need to foam for a few seconds, do not make the mistake to foam too much. Do not foam over 40 degrees Celsius or 100 Fahrenheit.

Once you have enough foam insert the steam wand deeper into the milk. There is no need to move the jug up and down. You should have a whirlpool inside the jug, you are now texturing the milk. The milk is now twirling inside the jug and any bubbles that might be present will dissolve into the milk. Once you have reached about 60 to 65 degrees Celsius turn off the steam. Then take out the steam wand and clean it with a clean cloth.

Put the jug down with a slight tap on the work top. This will destroy any tiny bubbles that might have been visible on the surface. You should not have any more bubbles visible after this. If you do then you can gently tap the jug a few times on the counter to get rid of them. However, tapping the jug on the counter makes the foam thicker and is not advisable. If you foam and steam the milk with the right technique then you should not have to tap the jug on the counter.

Pour the milk as soon as possible. This is very important because the foam will start separating very quickly. Spin the milk around just before you pour to make sure that all the foam is mixed with the milk.

Pouring The Milk
We suggest that you steam the milk whilst the espresso is being brewed.

Start with the pour a little high. Once the cup is about half full lower the pour close to the crema and the foam should appear. Go from high to low and pour with a steady speed.

You should pour the milk as soon as possible. Hold the cup on it’s ear and slightly at an angle. Start pouring the milk slowly in to the crema. You do not want to pour to slowly, this will leave the foam behind in the jug. You also do not want to pour too quick because this will break the crema apart. Pour slowly in a few spots in the cup to break through the crema.

Start pouring the milk in to the back of the cup once the cup seems just more than half full. Now slowly but very steady move the pitcher from side to side. This is a wrist movement and should be done just slightly. The milk should not swing from side to side in the jug. Keep moving it side to side in one spot in the cup until you see the foam appearing. If you see this happening than you have cracked it! Once you see the foam break through the crema you can start pouring patterns.

Rosetta / Leaf
Move the jug side to side until you see the foam appearing on the surface. Keep moving the jug side to side until you see a pattern appear. Now slowly move the jug backwards whilst still moving it side to side. When you have reached the end of the cup move the jug in a quick straight line through the pattern.

Quick movements from side to side will create a rosetta with lots of leafs. Slow movements from side to side will create less and thick leaves.

Heart
Move the jug side to side in one spot in the cup. Keep doing this until you get a big circle of crema. Slightly move the jug forward just a bit. Then keep pouring the milk on the big spot of foam until the cup is almost full. Finally move the jug in a quick straight line forward to finish of your heart.

Does all milk foam?

Yes, as long as there is protein present in the milk and the milk is fresh. All milk will foam: fully skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole fat, soya, goat milk etc. Steaming, which is forcing air bubbles into the milk, causes the protein to ‘connect’ with the air bubbles. This means that you can create as much foam as you like as long as there is protein left in the milk. It is advisable to use only fresh milk, that has not been steamed before, when you want to create foam.

You will get the most amount of foam from fully skimmed milk, this is because of the low fat percentage (the fat works against the protein). However, you will not get such a rich foam from fully skimmed milk as from whole milk. If your foaming technique is right than you should not really have any problem with any type of milk, as long as the milk is fresh and cold.

Milk foams best when it is below 40 degress Celsius or 100 Fahrenheit. This is simply because the milk is denser.

Why does milk taste sweeter after heating? Milk contains lactose and the solubility of lactose is increased when the temperature is increased which gives the milk more sweetness. Focus on heating up your milk between 60 and 65 degrees Celsius.

Why won’t my milk foam? Usually this is because the milk is too old. Fat will brake down in the milk and the free glycerol is working against the protein in the milk. Try to use your milk within 3 to 4 days.

UHT Milk

UHT milk is heated for 1-2 seconds to a temperature exceeding 135 C. This temperature kills the spores in milk. UHT stands for Ultra-high temperature processing or ultra-heat treatment.

UHT milk is not the only UHT product, UHT processing is also used for creams, yoghurts, wines, soups and fruit juices.

UHT processing gives a different flavour to the milk then fresh milk. The advantage with UHT milk is that the milk will stay fresh for up to 12 months unopened. This means that it’s easy to store, can be stored at ambient temperature. For barista’s and coffee shops this could be good, for it will almost always foam.

Milk Foaming Techniques – basic rules

There is a lot of information on the Internet about foaming milk. Many people have something to say about this and not everybody agrees with certain techniques. However, if you stick to some basic rules then you can have good quality milk for Caffe Latte’s and Cappuccino’s in no time.

The most important thing that you should think about is control. You need control over the jug, so you will need to control the jug with two hands. Do not do other things whilst you are steaming your milk, focus entirely on the milk.

You are looking for milk that is around 60 to 65 degrees Celsius and that has smooth and shiny foam without any visibile bubbles.

Here are some basic rules that you should stick to:

• - use fresh milk, the milk should come straight out of the fridge
• - start with a clean cold jug and use the right size of jug
• - steam only the amount of milk that you need. You can add extra milk if you like so you can texture longer to make the milk even smoother
• - foam the milk only when it is below 40 degress Celsius, foaming above this temperature will create hard bubbles that you don’t want
• - when you stretch the milk to create foam by just breaking the surface with the tip of the steam wand, do it bit by bit. You should hear the foam being created but you should not see any bubbles
• - when you have stretched the milk enough and you are happy with the amount of foam then place the steam wand a little deeper into the milk. Create a whirpool inside the jug, you should see the milk moving around a lot. This will break down any existing bubbles and makes your foam smooth and shiny. There is absolutely no need to move the jug up and down, just keep it still, the angle of the steam from the steam wand does the trick for you.

And don’t forget to turn the steam off before you take the steam wand out of the jug.

Best milk temperature for Caffe Latte or Cappuccino

Different temperatures of steamed milk will give different flavours to a Caffe Latte or Cappuccino. It is therefore very important that we achieve a temperature that, in general, gives the best flavour. A higher temperature will be harder for the tongue to analyze. This is because the tongue is a muscle and reacts to heat. Milk with a temperature well over 70 C can burn the tongue and is not desirable. Milk starts to boil around 80 C.

The best milk temperature for Caffe Latte or Cappuccino is between 60 C and 70 C.

A good way to reach the desired temperature is to use a good calibrated thermometer. There is a little delay with a thermometer which means that the steam should be turned of just a few degrees below the desired temperature. It is possible to judge the temperature by touch and usually the temperature is right when it is not possible to hold the jug for longer than two seconds.