Pouring Pointers Pt. 1

Hi Everyone, for this post we will be talking about how to set up your cup for a pattern and give yourself the best chance of making beautiful latte art.

Setting The Canvas

Setting the canvas is the fancy term for preparing your freshly poured shot for a pattern. When getting ready to make a pattern it’s easiest if your shot is as fresh as possible and your milk has no bubbles and has good texture (looks like wet paint). If your shot and your milk aren’t great it will make pouring a pattern much trickier.

Swirl Your Shot

Give the coffee shot a quick swirl in the cup, this helps break up the crema. Otherwise the crema can form a skin like cold soup which can be hard to pour through correctly.

Start Close

You want to have the tip of the jug as close to the coffee as possible, tilt your glass and aim to have the spout almost in the coffee

Pull Up Quickly

Once you start actually pouring milk it’s important to bring the milk jug up straight away. This stops too much foam coming out straight away and causing a “white out”

Swirl Over White Patches

If there are any patches of foam swirling the milk jug over the foam patches can push them under the surface.

If you follow these steps your goal should be to end up with a half full cup where the colour is an even brown across the entire surface. In the following weeks we will talk about where to go from there to pour a rosetta or a tulip. Watch this short Gif below and focus on the first part where the canvas is set.