I know I seen this discussed before but cannot find it anywhere.

I steam in a 12 oz pitcher generally for smaller drinks - pouring art in a espresso cup is a challenge to say the least. I got pretty good at latte art with my Vivaldi 2 but when I switched to the 4 hole tip I have never recovered the 'knack'.

Here is my specific question. Broad leaves vs high quality skinny leaves. Is this the degree of thickness of the foam at work? The foam 'looks' good but I assume is pouring thick because even after all this time I am stretching too much (although when I dont stretch at all I get no pourable foam).

Is this correct - should I be aware of another variable?

Thanks in advance.

Evan

I'm still pretty new at the whole art thing, but from my experience, the thickness of the leaves depends on the thickness of the foam in combination with how fast you pour (i.e. how thick the stream is once you start pouring the design).

What he said, plus the elevation of the pitcher--holding the pitcher high will make the foam submerge beneath the crema (and/or darkened foam), and holding it very close will make it fan out on the top. Elevation of the pitcher is integral to the speed (mentioned) as well as the direction of the flow. This variation gives you some wiggle-room within how thick you have foamed the milk.

I agree with the earlier comments. To add my two cents worth...

While it's a rather lame pour, my video that opens the thread Latte Art Challenge[d] demonstrates how to thin the milk by "paint swirling" high up the sides of the pitcher. That is, for mixing, I shuffle the pitcher side-to-side, creating two alternating mounds of foam; to thin the coverage, swirl high up the sides. Combine these approaches until you get the right thickness. If you have trouble with fuzzy leaves at the end, try pouring off into a second pitcher. This works especially well if you're pouring two drinks.

Lest anyone get the misguided idea that the above advice implies I have impressive latte art skills, see the photo below for an example of one of my better pours. Not bad, but certainly not gonna win any prizes:


From Latte Art Rumble in Raleigh-Durham, NC!
(click above for larger image)

HB wrote:Lest anyone get the misguided idea that the above advice implies I have impressive latte art skills, see the photo below for an example of one of my better pours. Not bad, but certainly not gonna win any prizes:

Amen to that (referring to myself, not you).


A recent Shameful Tulip.

Good thing we taste with our mouth not our eyes, my pours usually look like trees.

cannonfodder wrote:Good thing we taste with our mouth not our eyes, my pours usually look like trees.

Dave, you can't ask for better than that.

I have the same problem, Dave. I need to work on preserving the crema ring all the way around the cup (right now the base of the "tree" is against the lip of the cup).

Is that a 6oz ACF cup? If so, it's the same cup I use. Hey, maybe it's the cup's fault!

You can pour everything from a faint Halloween ghost heart, through a finely detailed rosetta, a plain solid heart, a classic Italian cappa, to a cappa too far, all from the same frothed milk (if you used a machine fast enough and a pitcher big enough). Here's why:

Foam bubbles expand. If you let the pitcher stand, the foam will get thicker and lighter. If you swirl while doing it, it won't separate.

If you watch some barista competitors, they'll foam without doing a lot of teasing, and then pour first finely wrought leaves and then solid shapes from the same pitcher. I do minimal stretching on my milk (no tearing, sucking or any other sort of sound except a small hiss), finish the shot, clean the wand, swirl and pour. This is not very controlled, sometimes I get fine detail, sometimes a solid shape, depending on how long the shot. But I like the mouthfeel differences in any case.

The taste of food depends both on its appearance and its texture; so even the best cappas still have to pick a compromise between finely etched art and scrumptiously layered foam.

Interesting replies and I thank you. There are some things I had not thought of before.

There is not much time to pour art into a macchiato cup I realize so holding the pitcher higher means you have to go really fast I suspect. Nonetheless, all pours I have see drop the pitcher when the foam breaks through. I assume keeping the pitcher up is a way to compensate for less than adequate microfoam.

Jim. I have seen more often than not that baristas allow the pitcher to rest - still on the counter - prior to pouring art. What is the basis for this - it seems counterintuitive - as you spent your time essentially emulsifying air and milk and then you let it start to unravel. Unless of course if the idea is only to wait for your shot to be pulled. If so then should it be swirled continuously while waiting?

Lastly, I am inferring here that perhaps I need to wiggle faster to keep the leaves tighter. Still I believe that I have not found that right degree of stretch - if I need it at all it seems. That Vivaldi is a powerful monster.

I appreciate the continued help here and hope it is helpful to others too.

Evan