DealDash Makes: Latte Art

Latte art is a fun, creative, and inexpensive hobby. Read on for tips and tricks from DealDash to get started.

For starters, if you aren’t familiar with latte art, it refers to patterns made in the foam that tops espresso drinks. It can be just about anything that you wish, from the simple such as the heart design up above, to extremely intricate, such as the series of cats pictured below.

Aren’t those latte art pictures of cats amazing?! Those were most likely done with a combination of pouring skills and stencils. There is truly no right or wrong way to make latte art, as long as you are having fun and are happy with the art that you produce.

How Do I Do It?

First, you will need a latte coffee drink in a cup and some steamed milk. The best way to get steamed milk is with the milk frother on your coffee maker, but you can also make steamed milk by putting milk in the microwave for a few minutes, then putting a top on your container and shaking it. You can also get frothy milk by heating milk in a pot on the stove and whisking it.

Pour your espresso into the bottom of the cup and then add a small amount of your steamed milk and swirl to incorporate it. Pour slowly and evenly at a fairly high distance. As you reach the second half of the cup, bring the pitcher closer to the surface. This layer will not incorporate, creating a distinction between the white foam and the body of the latte.

Basic Designs

Heart:

• Starting off with the milk container close to the top of the cup, pour a little bit of milk in.
• Lifting the pitcher an inch or so up, pour one-half of a circle, making sure to move the milk pitcher, not the mug.
• Hold the stream of milk in the same place, but wiggle the milk pitcher back and forth as you make a ringed circle.
• When your milk is almost completely poured, swing the milk up to create the bottom tip of your heart.

Flower:

• Pour the milk about an inch away from the bottom.
• Once the cup is about half filled, gently shake the milk container back and forth while slowly moving backward. The flower design will move forward, filling the cup.

As with anything else, these things take a lot of practice. Finally, here is a quick YouTube video to get you started.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4xTz_OwlSQ[/embedyt]

Thanks for Reading

Finally, thanks so much for reading this new DealDash article on latte art. Don’t forget to check back here often for new articles as well as on our sister blog, DealDash Tips. If you have any requests for specific articles, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Latte art is much easier with an espresso machine and milk foamer.  Go check DealDash for everything you need for the kitchen. Visit DealDash now to see how much you can save. Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

This blog was written by Dawn E, a mother of 3 who loves DealDash. Read even more at DealDashBlog.com, DealDashTips.com, or on her own blog, DawnBlogtopus.