How to Master the Double-Winged Swan Coffee Latte Art - A Complete Latte Art Tutorial

Introduction

Have you all mastered the tulip etching technique? In this issue, we'll continue our latte art secrets with the double-winged swan. Without further ado, let's begin.

Preparation Stage

Use espresso with rich crema combined with lightly steamed milk. For the espresso, FrontStreet Coffee uses the Sunflower Warm Blend (Sherry + Red Cherry), with the sherry coffee beans providing rich coffee crema. The milk foam should be steamed from 50% to 60% full, requiring strong flowability and fine texture. Good flowability allows for creating beautiful lines for etching patterns, while fine texture extends the duration of the foam, preventing premature separation.

Latte Art Stage

First, let's look at the finished product. This is a very simple double-winged swan pattern, which we can break down into four parts: 1) etched waves, 2) right wing of the swan, 3) left wing of the swan, and 4) swan neck and head.

1. Etched Waves

This is very similar to the first etch in the tulip pattern from the previous issue. Use the uniform tapping of the latte art pitcher to create convection with the liquid surface, forming wave-like etched patterns.

When the cup is 40% full, begin uniform swaying from the center point while slowly moving the pitcher spout inward, pushing to the center and then lifting the pitcher.

2-3. The Swan's Double Wings

The swan's double wings can actually be seen as a variation of the wheat pattern. Without creating convection, find the starting point and begin with small, uniform swaying movements while pulling the pitcher backward. Then, lift the pitcher spout and return to one side of the wheat pattern back to the starting point to finish. The order of steps 2 and 3 can be interchanged based on personal preference.

4. Swan Neck and Head

This is the final crucial stroke, which can be understood by breaking it down. First, the swan neck is truly drawn on the coffee surface using milk foam as a "pen" - in other words, this final stroke is primarily milk foam with minimal milk content (which is why you sometimes see baristas easily create a swan head even when the cup appears full). The swan head resembles a small heart - lower the pitcher spout at the end, release some foam to form a slightly larger white foam dot, then lift high to finish.

Important Notes

1. Don't leave too much milk in the pitcher, as one common reason for failing to create the swan neck is having too much milk in the pitcher, causing you to pour mostly milk rather than foam when drawing the neck, resulting in an unnaturally thin swan neck.

2. The milk foam shouldn't be too thick, as three out of the four steps in creating the double-winged swan require highly flowable foam for etching. If the foam is too thick, the result will appear bloated at best, or fail to form the pattern at worst.

3. If the liquid surface becomes dirty or you're unable to create the wings during the wing stage, it's likely that the milk foam isn't fine enough, requiring improvement in your milk steaming technique.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473