Latte art so far - Page 2

by **orwa** on Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:30 pm

The very tip will get eventually immersed when the steam knob is fully turned on (and hence no one should be splashed with milk), but there will be an overlap between immersing it and the naturally-gradual "turning on" of the steam. That is, you do not immerse the tip completely, turn the steam on, and then raise the tip gradually until you start breaking the surface for the sake of initiating the process (which is the common procedure), but rather turn the steam on as you immerse the tip, in a sort of a skilful movement, which should allow initiating the process without the need to break the surface later on. The tip will then remain very close to, but should not lead into breaking the surface for the rest of the steaming time. This, if done correctly, will lead into the milk extending in size slightly (even though no explicit stretching is present), and you will have to raise the tip to follow the current level of the milk as you proceed. As you may have seen in Callaghan's video, the milk resulting from this method is too liquid compared to the milk obtained the other way, but is thoroughly creamy.

by **Beezer** on Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:33 pm

I shudder to think what it would be like to try to foam with powdered milk. Blech.

Bubbles can form in the milk after pouring from the crema, which is essentially CO2 being released from the espresso. I think some people swirl and tap the espresso before pouring to release the bubbles.

by **drdna** on Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:42 pm

After reading the thread, I recently modified my technique. I have been getting a consistently nice sweet creamy steamed milk for my cappuccinos, but my latte art has remained pretty non-existent, which I attributed to having a new machine for less than a year and making less than a hundred milk drinks a day.

However, after thinking about it for a while, as the new machine has a four-hole steam wand tip, I changed the direction of my steam wand. I had previously pointed it down fairly straight, perhaps slightly outward. I changed that to having the wand closer to hugging the side of the pitcher, pointing perhaps slightly inward.

This results in a terrific whirlpool effect, rapid volume buildup of foam, and homogeneous, sweet microfoam which develops quickly while the milk is still tepid-to-warm, and a nice rosette today. The whirlpool effect now looks very much like you are beating eggs or batter in a bowl.

Anyone who has been getting nice sweet microfoam, but finds it a bit hot, quick to separate, and bad for making latte art, ought to consider the angle of their wand in the pitcher!

Of course, I still use cold milk, keep the wand just below the surface to get the "sucking/ripping" noise, and do everything else you are supposed to do. Just remember, the wand/whirlpool is important as well.

by **davidr88** on Sat Mar 07, 2009 9:03 pm

well done on the improvement in your steaming, im using a Gaggia steamer so its only a one hole tip. need to get a new one.
So today i went down from Aberdeen to the city of Dundee to see a friend of mine and supplier of all my espresso equipment, he was the one that gave me the lessons that got me into the barista scene so it was great to go catch up, but when i came home i decided to try something new so i went for a heart wave latte pour. First attempt and i have to say i am very happy with the results!
(phone camera so the color isnt shown too well and the lighting is bad)
But what do you all think?

bubbles, it had been sitting out a while

by **norfbech** on Sat Mar 07, 2009 9:05 pm

Fantastic...results from a Gaggia Classic? There's hope for me yet!

by **pjones** on Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:23 pm

Here's a photo of my morning latte.

by **orwa** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:14 am

I would like to participate with two rosettas that I have made this week

. The latter of which was the prettiest I ever produced (too bad that my father barely looks before consuming the drink

). The first shot was in sun light which is why it looks alive and vivid, whereas the second was shot in neon light in the evening. However, the first was mediocre compared to the second.

by **trix** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:17 am

orwa,
Well, you certainly have improved! I thought you insisted it couldn't be done.
Yours were much better than my decaf capp this morning:

Do you have chocolate in yours?

by **hperry** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:25 am

drdna wrote:After reading the thread, I recently modified my technique. I have been getting a consistently nice sweet creamy steamed milk for my cappuccinos, but my latte art has remained pretty non-existent, which I attributed to having a new machine for less than a year and making less than a hundred milk drinks a day.

That is a lot of drinks (100 x 365 = 36,500)!

by **orwa** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:01 am

trix wrote:orwa,
Well, you certainly have improved! I thought you insisted it couldn't be done.
Yours were much better than mine this morning:
...
Do you have chocolate in yours?

My problem is two-fold: (1) I claim that it's impossible to achieve similar results using the original wide-dispersion-angle 3-hole tip and (2) even when I use an acorn-nut 3-hole tip that I made I still suffer from my inability to reliably reproduce the same results. Even with the ugly tip I made, I still occasionally encounter long times of failure which time after time makes me feel "insecure" about my ability to produce decent milk reliably. There must be factors that I still don't understand and fail to control, which is something I am willing to resolve. One possible (and easy) explanation could be that the milk quality in Saudi Arabia is inconsistent throughout the year, which could be the cause of these long times of failure I usually encounter. However, I like to believe that there is yet something that I can understand and fix, which makes me feel better as to the amount of understanding (and control) someone can have in this regard.

I do have chocolate in them, yes

(chocolate powder sprinkled on top before pouring as usual).

I would love to say that the art is amazing, but I find myself obliged to tell you that the steaming is not correct :oops:

(I have never done better with the original tip, so it's not your fault

).

by **trix** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:15 am

by **davidr88** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:28 pm

As the original poster of this topic I thought I should update on my progress since the first post.

So here it goes...

A wide one

(a messy double, but the only one I have a picture of)

I only pour coffee at home so the 2 or 3 cups a day is the only practice I get but hopefully I will be working in coffee again soon.

by **trix** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 4:50 pm

Beautiful....
I can only keep trying...maybe eventually my hand will be able to produce something half as good as yours.

by **godlyone** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 5:12 pm

@davidr88

how'd you make that flower in the middle? Etched it in?

by **orwa** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:05 pm

davidr88 wrote:As the original poster of this topic I thought I should update on my progress since the first post.

So here it goes...

Sorry for the intrusion. I have been following your progress, and you're progressing very well

.

by **davidr88** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:58 pm

orwa wrote:Sorry for the intrusion. I have been following your progress, and you're progressing very well .

No intrusion at all and thanks

godlyone wrote:@davidr88

how'd you make that flower in the middle? Etched it in?

Pour a 3 part tulip but make the top larger then the other parts and do not pull through for the stem, the stem is made etching just pulling the milk from the top to the base then etch the flower, its very quick but to get the flower right you need some free pour skill.
I'm not a fan of etching if its for tacky things like bears etc, but this flower seemed nice.

by **godlyone** on Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:02 pm

you think you could post up a video (of your rosetta and flower)? your latte art looks great!

by **davidr88** on Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:05 am

godlyone wrote:you think you could post up a video (of your rosetta and flower)? your latte art looks great!

Yeah I was going to take a couple videos over the next couple of days.

by **godlyone** on Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:50 pm

great, post em up here when you made them!

by **davidr88** on Wed Aug 05, 2009 4:27 pm

I just remembered I had this post of some of my first pours.

I've been working hard since and I believe an update is in order, haha
The first 2 were poured today and the day before.


Contact Us	Legal disclaimer and copyright: This content and all its parts are copyrighted, all rights reserved. Content including all text and images in part or in whole may not be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission. Home-Barista, Home-Barista.com and related logos are trademarks of Home-Barista.com, LLC. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. By accessing this site, you agree to the terms of service. Overall speed: fast, current page: 0.8s, avg: 0.8s, max: 7.2s