Italian Latte Art Hand Gestures Illustrated: How Beginners Can Start Learning from Scratch

Want to see beautiful latte art? It's simple—just order a hot latte at a café and wait patiently for the barista to bring it to you. However, for many coffee enthusiasts, merely drinking coffee is far from enough. They hope to craft a standard latte with exquisite latte art patterns at home. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will guide everyone through understanding this globally popular classic specialty coffee and share techniques for practicing latte art, helping you become a "coffee master" at home.

First, What is Latte Coffee?

As one of the most widely consumed coffees, latte is not only the highest-selling product in countless cafés but also the first espresso coffee many enthusiasts try at home.

Latte in Italian means "milk," so to get a milk coffee, you'd need to say "Caffe latte" to locals. However, outside of Italy, Latte is generally understood as latte coffee, with an espresso-to-milk ratio of approximately 1:5 to 1:8. Broadly speaking, any beverage made by adding milk to black coffee can be called a "latte." Therefore, beyond the specialty coffee made with espresso + milk specifically referred to in the industry, in the eyes of many newcomers, black coffee made using moka pots, French presses, pour-over, siphon, or coffee bags, when milk is added, all fall within the category of "latte."

How to Make a Delicious Latte?

The ingredients for latte coffee are simple: just espresso and milk. There's no fixed ratio, but most vary between 1:5 to 1:8. FrontStreet Coffee uses a 1:6 ratio—40g of espresso liquid combined with 240g of milk. For coffee bean selection, FrontStreet Coffee uses their own house-blended Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend, composed of 30% sun-dried Yirgacheffe Red Cherry and 70% Honduras Sherry coffee beans. It not only features rich fermented wine aroma and tropical fruit sweetness and acidity but is also exceptionally suitable for making latte coffee.

When preparing hot lattes, FrontStreet Coffee adds espresso liquid to pre-warmed coffee cups, then uses an espresso machine's steam wand to froth the milk. The milk temperature should ideally be controlled between 55-65°C to create dense foam of moderate thickness, then evenly blend it with the coffee liquid. The final latte art is the finishing touch. FrontStreet Coffee's hot latte presents a sweet aroma of liquor-filled chocolate and is as smooth as cream. FrontStreet Coffee's iced latte first loads 75g of ice cubes + 25ml of fresh milk, then extracts 40g of coffee liquid poured over the surface. Before drinking, customers are reminded to stir thoroughly.

Speaking of iced lattes, FrontStreet Coffee must mention Dirty coffee, also known as "dirty coffee," which became popular starting in 2019. Pouring hot espresso over frozen milk creates distinct layers, with the espresso sinking along the cup's edges, giving it a "dirty" appearance. Generally, Dirty coffee servings are smaller than iced lattes. Dirty coffee typically needs to be consumed immediately to experience the special sensation of "hot and cold alternating."

How Should Beginners Practice Coffee Latte Art?

The crema from espresso and the foam produced during milk frothing, being less dense, float on the liquid's surface. When the two blend, milk and coffee liquid sink while crema and foam float on top, forming beautiful patterns due to the stark contrast between the two colors.

Latte art consists of two main stages: integration + pattern creation. With the same pitcher of foam, during the integration stage, you need to appropriately raise the pitcher spout to pour in milk liquid. The foam is forced into the coffee with force, so no white appears on the surface. When creating patterns, you need to lower the pitcher spout, allowing foam to gently land on the upper layer. Combined with different pouring techniques, varied white patterns can be formed.

The prerequisite for latte art is the ability to create fine foam. Many enthusiasts fail to form ideal patterns when doing latte art, ending up with "a clump," then directly blame improper posture, milk layering, cup rims being too small (cup body too deep), or espresso crema being too hard, while overlooking one crucial point: the importance of creating a pitcher of dense foam.

Milk frothing is also divided into 2 steps: the aeration stage and the texturing/heating stage.

The steam wand emits hot water vapor, which heats the milk when sprayed from the steam holes. When steam holes are exposed outside, water vapor must pass through air before entering the milk. At this time, air "forcibly" beaten into the milk makes a "shhh shhh" sound. So whether there's aeration is judged by listening for this "shhh" sound—for example, lattes generally only need 2-3 seconds of aeration time. To create foam of moderate thickness that's smooth and dense, besides controlling aeration volume, you must provide sufficient time for texturing these gases, where the key is creating a vortex.

The Importance of Integration

Integration is very important, everyone! Well-integrated coffee can present a uniform "golden background," offering rich, dense flavor that's both beautiful and delicious. If a hot milk coffee isn't well integrated, it not only loses points in appearance but the coffee might be bitter in one sip and weak in another, or even experience foam layering.

Getting foamed milk and coffee to blend evenly also requires certain techniques. Generally, hold the cup with your left hand and the pitcher with your right hand. According to personal preference, maintain the pitcher spout 5-8cm from the liquid surface, stirring up and down in the same direction to ensure thorough mixing.

Posture and Technique

Your posture should be stylish and correct! Online, latte art videos from different stages are available—from big white hearts to leaves, from textured tulips to various animals, with many learning channels available. However, FrontStreet Coffee has noticed that some friends only stare at high-difficulty patterns, when in fact the posture of these masters is more worthy of our observation and imitation.

Grip posture, pouring angle, integration technique, pattern formation sequence, cup return gestures, etc. First observe carefully, then imitate, then repeat practice. It's best to have an observer watch for any posture issues. After all, latte art technique is muscle memory developed through long practice—the formation of a pattern often takes only about ten seconds, making it sometimes difficult to express clearly in words.

Tips for Efficient Practice

If you're new to latte art, FrontStreet Coffee suggests first trying a few times with fresh milk to feel the force of milk being frothed under steam and the sensation of pushing out white patterns when blending with coffee. Then start practicing with water to master the differences in aeration volume, vortex, temperature, and other details. Once your hands have developed sufficient muscle memory, you can switch back to milk for "real combat," testing your practice results starting with basic patterns like hearts and tulips.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473