How to Create Heart-Shaped Latte Art? A Beginner's Guide with Step-by-Step Visual Instructions

The Art of Coffee Latte: A Beginner's Guide to Mastering Latte Art

Watching a barista hold a coffee cup in one hand and a latte art pitcher in the other, wrist shaking evenly, creating beautiful patterns in the cup—it's such a therapeutic process! However, when you try it yourself, you can't even produce a simple dot, let alone a small heart... Is this magic that only experienced baristas can perform?

Master these key points, and coffee latte art will no longer be just a dream!

I don't know how much latte coffee energizes a person, but latte coffee with art certainly brings joy! Whether it's a simple small heart or complex combination patterns, these seemingly magical latte art techniques all depend on these elements: rich and smooth espresso, fresh milk frothed to produce microfoam that's neither too thick nor too thin but smooth and delicate, even integration of the coffee surface, small art techniques, and a calm heart.

Rich and Smooth Espresso

FrontStreet Coffee believes that regardless of the extraction method, coffee bean freshness is extremely important. Coffee beans produce carbon dioxide during the roasting process. After roasting is complete, as the beans are stored and the days pass, carbon dioxide continuously releases until it's depleted, and the carbon dioxide in coffee beans directly affects the formation of crema.

The crema from stale coffee beans is naturally thin, but overly fresh coffee beans containing too much carbon dioxide will result in crema that's overly rich and coarse. This situation affects the flowability of milk foam in the coffee liquid, ultimately affecting the uniformity of integration and the fluidity of pattern creation.

To achieve espresso with恰到好处的 crema, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using espresso beans and letting them rest (sealed in packaging with a one-way valve) for 7-10 days before beginning extraction. Another point to note: you must adjust the espresso extraction parameters based on the daily state of the espresso beans!

Fresh Milk Frothed to Produce Microfoam That's Neither Too Thick Nor Too Thin but Smooth and Delicate

To ensure stable milk foam, the milk used for frothing must contain sufficient protein and milk fat. The pasteurization process of fresh milk better preserves the protein and milk fat in milk, while the abundant lactose in fresh milk gives milk better sweetness when heated. Whey protein in milk protein forms a film wrapping around air to create bubbles when steam contacts the milk surface through stirring, while casein creates surface tension when bubbles contact the liquid surface, making bubbles more stable and less likely to break. Milk fat further stabilizes the milk foam and increases the milk's viscosity (body).

To create microfoam that's neither too thick nor too thin but smooth and delicate, you need to control the time the steam wand contacts and stirs the milk surface. This step is called the aeration phase. The aeration time for latte coffee foam only needs 2-3 seconds. During the aeration phase, place the steam wand 1cm into the milk surface, turn on the steam and hear four "squeaks," then adjust the steam wand to 2-3cm below the milk surface and adjust the pitcher angle to create a vortex. This step is called the heating phase, which heats the milk while making the foam more delicate and smooth. The final latte coffee foam thickness should be around 1cm.

Even Integration of Espresso and Milk

Even integration of coffee and milk isn't just for creating latte patterns; more importantly, it can further enhance the coffee's texture and flavor. So don't find it troublesome—uniform integration is truly very, very important! Before integration, you need to shake the foam and milk in the pitcher evenly to avoid layering. When integrating, pay attention to the flow rate of the foam. The injection flow thickness should be similar to that of a regular beverage straw.

Keep the injection pitcher height at 5-8cm, holding the coffee cup steadily at a 45-degree angle. When starting integration, whether it's the coffee cup or the pitcher making circular motions, you need to maintain a continuous and stable foam flow without intermittent interruptions.

During integration, let the coffee surface rotate in the cup to make it more fluid. Remember to try not to hit the edge of the cup; if white foam appears on the surface, continue injecting milk foam into that area to integrate, which can make the white foam submerge under the coffee surface. After integration is complete, the coffee surface should be clean with consistent color, otherwise it will affect the subsequent latte pattern.

Latte Art Pattern Creation Tips

Take the most basic heart pattern as an example—when the milk and coffee have integrated to 7/10 full, you can lower the pitcher to begin creating the pattern. Pattern formation technique: as foam flows into the coffee surface, adjust the cup's angle simultaneously to let the foam flow into the cup along the adjusted angle. That is to say, regardless of the pattern, if you want foam to appear on the coffee surface, you must inject while straightening the cup (⚠️: not straightening the cup all at once).

When integrated to 7/10 full, lower the pitcher close to the cup and start injecting from the center of the surface. As the left hand straightens the coffee cup, the right hand's pitcher simultaneously increases flow rate and swings evenly left and right (not vibrating). At this time, you'll see the foam floating on top gradually forming a circle and slowly expanding. When the cup approaches 180°, the foam circle has already formed (note not to raise and push forward at the same time). Use the downward impact force of the water flow to press the upper coffee liquid downward, and you'll see the original circular shape develop a heart-shaped indentation, with water flow from both sides converging toward the center.

When you feel your heart shape is full enough and the coffee surface is almost full, you can raise the pitcher, reduce the milk flow to the thinnest and sweep across the entire pattern forward, and the heart pattern will appear! (⚠️: Immediately stop the flow after sweeping across the pattern. Don't continue injecting foam after sweeping, otherwise the pattern will deform due to gravity formed by the injection flow.)

A Calm Heart

Haste makes waste—only with a calm mindset can you do something well. Making latte art cannot be rushed; this process requires constant practice. Whether it's espresso extraction, milk foam frothing, or the way you hold the pitcher (gateway), all will ultimately affect the pattern formation. When you start to feel frustrated during practice, you should stop and rest. Numb practice will only lead to more instability and develop aversion to coffee latte art.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473