thaxton wrote:the point is that every machine frothes is a gently different manner. Sometimes it's better to place the wand in the middle of the pitcher, sometimes provoking a whirl works better.
What really matters is how much foam you produce from a certain amount of milk. The more milk the thicker the foam, so if you want to pour latteart, it must be really liquid.
Stretch the milk by placing the wand tip just before the surface, then 'polish' it by placing it deeper to get rid of big bubbles. If the foam is not liquid and shiny, don't pour it to avoid wasting espresso.

<offtopic>
I wondered who got my name on this forum! This feels so Twilight Zone as I am not used to seeing "Thaxton" unless it is me. Well I'll share... This time.
</offtopic>

I am with Randy G. on this one, a little cooler and like latex paint in consistancy. But what do I know I have been trying this latte art thing for almost a whole week

This is my sixth try ever and the only one I didn't drink rapidly to get rid of the evidence.



I am using the ghetto wide lipped Breville steaming pitcher, I need to get one of those cool pointy ones.

Thaxton

Yen-Chen

It looks to me like you have the basics. Actually I would say you have more than the basics judging by your rosetta + 2 hearts.

I think all you need is more practice, you will improve naturally.

@thax - sixth try ever? Very good. I'd say my first 20-30 tries were much more abstract, kind of like picking shapes out of clouds.

RE*AC*TOR wrote:It looks to me like you have the basics. Actually I would say you have more than the basics judging by your rosetta + 2 hearts.

I think all you need is more practice, you will improve naturally.

Thanks, David. Trust me, the first one is the beginner's luck with the large-size cup. Besides, I should have mentioned that I spooned and etched the little two hearts. Only the wired rosetta is free pouring. The second one is more like what normally I can produce...

Thaxton - Good job! Yours got much better and clearer lines of the shape than mine. I have hard time to make the shape with clear edge like yours.

Like ice climbing or photography, the basics are easily grasped.
After that--practice. You'll go through five to ten gallons of milk before you can present the two basic patterns, hearts and roses, without thinking about it much.

You don't need espresso in every practice cup. You can use chocolate milk or add a few drops of food coloring to some half and half. The viscosity of these fluids will simulate crema enough to get the hang of things.

If you're interested in the science and physics of the process, see my article at Whole Latte Love's technical section.

david boise ID

Thanks!
They are looking better as I get the grasp of how much to pour and at what rate before starting the back and forth motions.

I think all my early success hinges from this thread that I read over and over and watched that video a bunch of times too Learning latte art with steamed soapy water [video].

Keeping the pitcher resting on the edge of the cup creates stability and gives a good point of moving side to side instead of swinging in an arc. That helps you pour a steady stream while wiggling.

thax

bogiesan wrote:If you're interested in the science and physics of the process, see my article at Whole Latte Love's technical section.

Thanks, David. More practices are definitely needed and will be done. I am absolutely interested in the science and physics of the process. That will help me think things through a lot, analyze the problem, and make necessary adjustment. I could not find the technical section at Whole Latte Love. Is it under the Article section, forum, or blog? Please let me know. I cannot wait to learn about it.

This morning I practiced one cup with Ovaltine, and it worked well.

I'm in the same situation as you . The video above helped my milk steaming/frothing skills ALOT. They went from terrible to Starbucks. Anyway here is my attempt with soy milk. My mom wanted to try it with soy milk and she agreed to the Brewt and Kony so I did my best. I found soy milk to work much like regular milk. I learned it might be a good idea to use the cappuccino cups not single shot cups.

puchang's video on page 4 of the Latte Art Challenge (d) thread was very helpful for me to see how soon he stopped frothing. He stopped frothing sooner than I had been. The milk was thus thinner than I thought too.
It has taken lots of practice but I've kept improving.

stretch until the pitcher is no longer cold.
then submerge tip and steam until pitcher is warm/hot.

if you stretch until the pitcher is just starting to warm up, you'll get capp milk.
if you stretch until it's just stopping being cold, you'll get latte milk.

wand tip should never come out of the surface or you'll get BAB (big-ass-bubbles).
wand should be angled and off-center (goal is to create a whirlpool).

most people steam the milk too hot. this contributes to the problem.

i prefer to steam before i pull the shot and then swirl in one hand while i pull the shot to polish the milk.

i usually suggest filling the pitcher between 1/4 and 1/3 of the way. this usually requires using a small pitcher.

when pouring, i find it far easier to not hold the handle but rather to hold the pitcher.
the trick is the change the flow of milk slowly always. any sudden changes make life harder. think "calm and gentle hands".

start by learning to pour a dot.
when you can pour a dot, start turning it into a heart.
once you can pour a nice symmetrical heart more than 3/4 of the time, loosen your hand and start turning the heart into a "wavy" heart.
then relax your hand more and start trying to pour a rosette.

I found the video series here very useful. http://www.monkeysee.com/play/8584-latt ... -a-rosetta