Scott Rao is the author of the much praised The Professional Barista's Handbook, and last week, I had the pleasure of spending a morning with him, in my kitchen, playing with coffee. We started with drip and went through a few coffees, some fresh, some frozen, and a batch that was sitting in Scott's car for three days baking in 100 degrees heat.
We tried a few parameters on the Technovorm, modifying the soaking time, using a spoon to stir the wet coffee bed, and modifying the grind settings from one extreme to the other to see its effect on taste. The flavors ranged from chicken broth (the baked beans) to a watered down Yemen (Stumptown's Yemen Hariri).
Scott mentioned in passing the other day that he can teach anyone how to pour latte art in 15 minutes. I made a mental note of it, and when we met again in my kitchen, I challenged him to take me as a subject. I make maybe 10 cappas a year, as I do not enjoy milk, and I managed to wean my guests of milk drinks altogether when they come for a visit. So, pouring latte art was never something I tried to master. My steaming is almost as bad as my latte art, for the same reasons.
So off we went with our quick steaming and latte challenge.
Learn how to steam without using milk
UPDATE: New video demonstration, thanks Scott and John! Milk is expensive. The following method, as taught by Scott, does not use milk and yet is an excellent way to learn how to steam: Instead of milk, use very cold water, and drop a TINY drop of liquid soap into the pitcher. Do not stir it - start steaming immediately. The following picture is the result. Could you guess from the picture that it isn't milk?
Soap Steaming
Scott's book covers beautifully steaming techniques, and there is enough written about it on this site. The tip that stuck in my head from our session was the importance of creating a vortex in the 2nd stage of steaming (after stretching is completed). It is important that the vortex sucks in all the residual bubbles on the milk surface. If it doesn't, move the pitcher slightly until it does.
Latte Pouring
After mastering soap dish steaming, we moved to milk and latte pouring. In the first latte pour session, I was loosely holding the pitcher handle while Scott was doing the pouring. I then moved to using water to practice the motions of pouring a few times on my own. After that was done, I was ready for milk. A quick steaming session, a nervous pour, and the result is below. A pathetic Rosetta by all counts, but Rosetta it is. And the time? From a Philistine to a nervous latte artist wannabe in less than 15 minutes. I am keeping my day job, but I'm mighty proud of that little leaf, an achievement worthy of Charlie Brown.
My first try at a Rosetta - Could Charlie Brown do a Better Job?
