5 Secrets To Latte Art Baristas Don’t Teach On Youtube

I’ve always been a coffee person since childhood. I fell in love with it as soon as I got my first taste of caffeine.

These days, I have to consciously stop myself from having more than 5 cups a day.

That’s how much coffee has become part of my daily life.

Which was why it was a no-brainer when a friend of mine invited me to become a partner at her cafe where I can give Baristaring a go.

Being new to making beverages for sale, it was pretty tough when I first stepped foot into the drinks counter.

The coffee machine was so overwhelming even though I felt at that time that it was just a hepped up hot water dispenser.

It was then only natural that I started exploring how to do latte art to add more value to my drinks.

So I thought I can easily find the answers online especially on Youtube.

Boy was I wrong.

Because videos after videos that I found are just motion pictures of baristas free pouring foam into art.

NOT ONE actually teaches you specific details or secrets in how to become a foam artist.

Even video tutorials that had more explanations only offer very generic tips like “froth the milk until you get good latte foam” or “pour the milk down into the espresso”.

I never picked up anything useful from Youtube videos on latte art.

So I had learned everything myself from making hundreds of coffees on-the-job.

I was making very little progress in terms of art until about 2 months into my barista tenure. Something finally clicked and I started to improve dramatically.

I found a secret to doing latte art. And when I realize that there are secrets to this skill that can make a huge impact on the results, I started to look out for more secrets.

This is when I started to discover secrets after secrets of latte art.

Here are 9 specific things to take note of if you are a starter barista, or just trying to improve on your technique and skills.

And remember, I learned all this myself. I’d really appreciate it if you share this article with your friends.

1) Pitcher jug tip

This was the first secret that I discovered which totally shifted my approach to the arts.

What I thought was the biggest problem to creating art was that wherever I pour the milk, the foam just don’t stay on the top.

So whatever I “draw” with the milk, the foam just disappears into the crema.

I truly believe that If you working as a barista, you will eventually figure this out.

But here’s the shortcut answer that will save you weeks or even months (like me).

The closer the tip of the pitcher is to the crema, the more instantaneous the milk foam stays on the surface.

This is why you see experts hold the coffee cup at an angle when making elaborate art.

It’s not to exaggerate the show. It’s to get the tip of the pitcher close to the surface of the crema.

2) Depth of cup

If you have gone through countless latte art creation videos on YouTube, you will undoubtedly have seen some baristas making elaborate art by pouring milk into the espresso for what seems like forever.

Their cups never seem to fill up at all!

The simple reason is that they are using pretty large cups with considerable depth.

If you are using a cup with capacity of let’s say 5.4oz(160ml), you are going to find it a very big challenge to get a little art going.

This is because there is simply not enough space… but not in the way you think.

You see, the pitcher we use is often of a standard size. And assuming the milk is frothed to a satisfactory level of happy tiny bubbles, a certain amount of it has to be poured out before thick smooth foam start to reach the tip of the pitcher as in point #1.

This means that by the time you have filled up the base of the crema with milk, and the coffee level becomes ideal to start drawing, the milk in the pitcher has not reach an ideal level where the tip of it can get close enough to the crema.

If you continue pouring till the tip reaches the crema, by this time, the cup will already be too full for you to pour anymore meaningful amount of foam onto it.

The most you can get is probably a basic heart shape.

I’m not saying that it impossible to do a nice design. A skilled and experienced barista should be able to make the most of it. But beginners will definitely not be able to design anything with limited space.

The simple solution is to use a bigger cup with greater depth.

However do note that this might affect the taste of the latte depending on your blend.

it will then be up to you to find a good balance of both.

3) The froth

The quality of the froth plays a huge part in latte art.

It might not make a huge noticeable difference to the taste of the beverage. But when you are going for visual finesse, it is an essential element to get right.

The quality I’m talking about here is in terms of the latte art.

There is really no way to show it here as you can only be able to competently observe the froth in person.

I can only say that the milk should be frothed to a smooth texture will fine bubbly foam that looks as if they are not there.

If there are big bubbles on the surface like those we see on cappucinnos, manually swirl the milk in the pitcher to pop those big bubbles.

You might be shocked at how easy it is to make rosetta art out of the froth when you have nicely textured milk.

4) Don’t move your wrist

I’m sure that if you have spent hours free-pouring, you would have attempted to mimic the latte art videos found on Youtube.

Designing a heart is child’s play.

Crafting designs that are a little more elaborate requires you to move about.

A big mistake newbies make is using the wrist to make movements while trying to create those curves and arcs on the crema.

That is totally the wrong way to do it.

You “draw” by moving the cup, not the pitcher.

And when you are slowly tilting the pitcher as the milk goes down, do not bend your wrist to execute the tilt.

Instead keep your wrist in position and lift your elbows to achieve that tilt.

I’m absolutely positive that this little tip will immediately up your game.

5) Review

If you have in intention to learn the skills for latte art, then you must be aware of what you are doing with each pour.

Keep track of every minute detail of what you did with each pour. And when something goes right, take note of what you did differently.

Then bring it to the next pour.

Finally, it takes time to get to a certain level when it comes to latte art.

As stated previously, it took me two months before I finally entered the door and saw all the possibilities.

It could very well work faster for you.

So don’t rush things and take heart that you would eventually hit that moment of epiphany when everything starts to click like how Neo eventually saw the matrix.