Compilation of latte art: The process and the master behind it.

Since I moved to Buenos Aires, I've been so involved in the world of coffee, that I never stop learning new things about it. It goes from the extraction method to the bean roasting, it's such a complicated thing! More than I imaginated! Well, something in particular caught my attention since day one: Latte art. We know as latte art the designs (drawings and shapes) that baristas make on the surface of a drink, mainly coffee, since we currently find it in variations such as mocha, cappuccino, etc.

The meaning of latte art has an interesting origin because it's an etymological game, it'sunderstood that this concept comes from the Italian "latte" meaning milk and "art" that refers to art in English. Why would that be? Surely because the origin of this wonderful technique in coffee is given thanks to two barista pioneers: one Italian, Luigi Lupi and the other American, David Schomer. It's never a bad thing learning a little bit of history of the things that you are interested on.

Lupi says that by the year of 1998, when he had improved the technique of latte art, he dedicated himself to producing a series of videos for baristas, which he called "Decorated Capuchins"; It was then when he found David Schomer on the network, owner of Espresso Vivace coffee shop, who also published video competitions with the name "Latte art", but more focused on espresso. In fact, Schomer published his book "Espresso coffee: Professional techniques" in the year of 1996 (two years before he met Lupi), where he reveals the methods to master latte art.

However, far from causing a discussion about who was the true precursor of latte art, Lupi and Schomer contacted each other and exchanged audiovisual material to improve each one's technique. It can be said that both baristas are the fathers of latte art. Although the origin of latte art began with the technique of "free pouring", nowadays we can even find world championships where you can see works on coffee that 20 years ago would never have been thought of, this is thanks to the "Etching method" where they make drawings on the surface of the café, with the help of special instruments for baristas, mainly the barista pencil.

Why am I so interested in this coffee/café experience? Well, since I moved here I've been living with an incredible barista. She's the person who I must blame for the curiosity and thirst of knowledge, also.. I enjoy a good cup of coffee. You might remember her for one of my previous posts, where I got my first paid job as a photographer in a little coffee shop and that one I made introducing the new people in my life, in case you missed them I'm gonna leave the link right here, so you can read those post and get to know María Clara better:

Latte art is one of the most striking facets of the barista profession, asking my friend about what does she consider to be the most important steps in this technique, wel.. She gave me quite a speech about it:

So in order to make a decent latte art design and not a complete disaster they have to get an emulsion of milk (cream). First they have to fill the jug half full with cold milk by placing it completely straight, then theyintroduce the mouthpiece vaporizer of the machine touching the surface of the milk, they must texture or cream the milk without burning it. It's very important!

According to María Clara, the coffee you use is very important. "It doesn't matter if your technique is perfect, if the coffee you use is not of good quality", she says. When they finish creaming the milk, they should immediately prepare the espresso.

Each pattern or drawing is different but there are a few common patterns. Baristas should not let more than 10 seconds pass since they prepare the espresso and until they start adding the milk. The jug of milk will be your brush, start from a considerable height and keep the cup slightly inclined. Wrist movements will help you achieve a more accurate result.

With all that being said, I think it's time to keep showing you the works she has made specially for me, you'll see why I say they were special. This woman has my heart, she definitely knows how to make me happy.

I hope you want a good cup of coffee after reading this post. Personally, I admire baristas so much, they get to make art in a cup of coffee in the middle of the rush of serving people. It doesn't matter how bad is your day, as soon as you see a little piece of art in your coffee, you smile.