How to create latte art in Americano? Can Americano have latte art? What is the principle of latte art? How to froth milk for coffee latte art?

Customer: "Boss, I'd like a coffee with beautiful latte art!"

FrontStreet Coffee: Sure, would you like a latte, flat white, or cappuccino? Customer: "An Americano!" FrontStreet Coffee: ...

Understanding Coffee Latte Art

Coffee latte art, more accurately known as "Latte Art," translates to "milk art" - the creation of various exquisite and beautiful patterns on coffee using milk. The specific method is quite simple: you just need to whip air into milk, and the proteins in the milk will trap the air, forming low-density bubbles that can float on the liquid surface. When combined with espresso, due to its low density, the milk foam, like the crema, floats on the surface. Then, relying on the sharp contrast between the white of the milk and the brown of the crema, we only need to make slight movements during the combination process, and the milk foam will form beautiful patterns on the crema. This is the principle behind making coffee latte art and how patterns are formed. Therefore, theoretically speaking, milk is an important material for making coffee latte art.

Coffee as an Alternative to Milk

But quite obviously, milk is not irreplaceable. If there's a certain liquid that can create lasting and stable foam like milk, then it can replace milk for making coffee latte art. And such a liquid happens to be right in front of us - yes, it's coffee itself!

Friends who have been following FrontStreet Coffee for years know that FrontStreet Coffee has shared the topic of Americano latte art many times. Americano is a black coffee made only from espresso and water, yet it can be used for latte art just like a latte. The specific method is quite simple - you just need to use coffee to create foam, and then follow the normal latte art steps to create it~

How to Create Latte Art with Americano

How do you create latte art with Americano? FrontStreet Coffee previously shared the principle of milk latte art, which uses foaming techniques to create low-density bubbles, then forms patterns through the color contrast between the milk foam and the crema. Well, espresso can actually achieve the same thing because espresso also has the foundation for foaming. As we all know, there's a layer of golden crema floating on the surface of espresso, and this layer of crema is actually bubbles formed by the lipids and proteins in coffee beans trapping carbon dioxide. Therefore, theoretically speaking, espresso can also be whipped into dense foam using steam.

And this is indeed true. However, unlike milk foaming, the liquid volume of coffee is not as much as milk. If we want to make coffee reach a state where it can be whipped, we need to increase its liquid volume and lower its temperature through some special techniques. How do we do this specifically?

It's simple - just add ice water to whip it~ Since Americano coffee ultimately requires adding water to espresso to dilute the concentration, we can naturally add this portion of water to the coffee in advance, so that the coffee has enough liquid volume to be whipped. The reason for using ice water is that it can effectively extend the whipping time, making the foam denser. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share how to make an Americano with latte art, and also share what the differences are in taste between an Americano with latte art and a regular Americano coffee~

Step-by-Step Guide

For this production, FrontStreet Coffee used the Frontsteet Classic Blend from FrontStreet Coffee's bean list. The espresso extracted from it is not only fragrant and rich but also has very abundant crema, making it very suitable for making coffee latte art. The extraction parameters were: 20g of coffee grounds, 1:2 brew ratio, and 30 seconds extraction time. Because the espresso needs to be split into two portions - one as the base and one for whipping the "milk foam" - we can choose to divide it equally after extraction, or use a split portafilter to split the espresso during the extraction process. FrontStreet Coffee chose the latter. After tamping the coffee grounds, we directly attach the portafilter to the brew head, place an espresso cup under each of the two spouts, and then begin extraction.

After extracting the target liquid weight, FrontStreet Coffee poured one portion into a latte art pitcher with 80g of ice cubes and 80ml of room temperature water, then began whipping the "milk foam"!

The whipping process is almost identical to whipping milk, except that the foam created from coffee is not as much as from milk, so we need to incorporate more air when foaming, then heat to about 65°C. The reason for whipping to 65°C is not because it can enhance the sweetness of the coffee! It's just because this temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, making it perfect for drinking.

After we finish whipping, we just need to follow the normal latte art process to create our desired pattern, and an Americano with latte art is complete!

Taste Comparison

Then FrontStreet Coffee made a regular hot Americano using the normal method, with parameters: 40ml coffee liquid mixed with 160ml of 65°C hot water, to compare the differences in taste between the two!

Through tasting, FrontStreet Coffee found that there wasn't much difference in flavor between the two. Because the beans used were the Frontsteet Classic Blend from FrontStreet Coffee's bean list, the flavor profile of both was the rich notes of chocolate, butter cookies, and nuts. The main differences between the two were in concentration and texture! The latte art Americano, having a layer of foam, provides a dense texture and rich mouthfeel when drinking, while the regular Americano is very smooth without the textural experience from foam; secondly, in terms of concentration, because the foam of the latte art Americano takes up a certain amount of space in the cup, its actual water volume is somewhat less than that of a regular Americano, making the coffee concentration higher and the taste relatively more concentrated. Other than that, there aren't many other differences.

Conclusion

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's sharing for this time. Interested friends can still give it a try, as it will bring you a completely different Americano experience, but remember to use slightly more water to avoid the concentration being too strong and difficult to drink~

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473