Why Do Latte Art Patterns Lean to One Side? How is Coffee Latte Art Made? Why Are Latte Art Patterns Not Centered?

When it comes to the art of coffee latte art, whether a latte pattern looks appealing depends not only on the "form" beauty created by milk foam but also on composition. A good composition can draw people's focus to the pattern, better highlighting its beauty. For this reason, when creating latte art, we not only need to outline the pattern well but also need to pay attention to placing it in an appropriate position.

Among the various latte art "compositions," the most commonly used is centered composition, which simply means placing the pattern in the center of the cup. Because most patterns are symmetrical, centering can emphasize symmetry, giving people a sense of stability and balance. Therefore, for those simple and symmetrical patterns, we should pay attention to placing them in the exact center of the cup.

However, FrontStreet Coffee has found that many novice friends often encounter such problems when making latte art - the final pattern position always deviates from the center. So why does this happen? There are mainly three situations that cause this!

1. Milk Foam Too Thin

Before learning latte art, everyone needs to first learn how to prepare good milk foam, because for latte art, the quality and thickness of the milk foam will directly affect the difficulty of creating patterns, which is a point that FrontStreet Coffee often mentions. Quality goes without saying, but the focus is mainly on the thickness of the milk foam. It determines the fluidity when making coffee latte art! When the milk foam is thicker, its fluidity is lower; when the milk foam is thinner, its fluidity is higher.

When the milk foam is too thin, its high fluidity will make the pattern more likely to deviate from the target position during creation. Because the fluidity is too high, a slightly larger flow rate can easily push the pattern beyond the target area. This is why many coffee shops don't make latte art for flat whites - the milk foam for flat whites is too thin, and making latte art would greatly test the barista's artistic skills. This situation is also easy to identify - if you see the pattern being washed away during latte art creation, or "sawtooth patterns" appear, it's most likely a result of milk foam that's too thin. The solution is simple - appropriately extend the foaming time next time you prepare milk foam~

2. Cup Leveling Too Fast

If you ask beginners what the most difficult part of learning latte art is, FrontStreet Coffee believes it must be mastering the cup leveling movement. The so-called cup leveling movement refers to continuously adjusting the angle of the cup according to the latte art stages during creation. Because the cup angle goes from tilted to upright, it's called "leveling the cup."

The difficulty lies in doing it simultaneously with creating latte art, and we can hardly "use one brain for two tasks," so this requires us to form muscle memory through constant practice. Many friends in the beginner stage may cup level too quickly because they haven't gotten used to it yet. Too-fast cup leveling will increase the impact force when pouring milk foam, pushing the already-created pattern directly out of the target position with this force. If we find that the pattern continuously deviates from the center as we level the cup, then FrontStreet Coffee suggests everyone needs to focus on practicing the cup leveling movement.

3. Incorrect Pour Point Position

The last reason for off-center patterns is an incorrect pour point position! Different patterns have different pour point positions because their creation steps have certain differences, so their pour point positions are not the same. For example, the pour point position for heart-shaped latte art is slightly above the center of the cup, while the pour point position for rosetta is below the center of the cup.

If you make a mistake with the pour point position during latte art creation, it will cause the final pattern position to deviate from the center, either below or above the center, thus affecting the aesthetic appeal. Therefore, the pour point position for latte art is also a key point that everyone needs to pay attention to.

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