3 back to basics

I've really been having such bad latte art recently that I pretty much gave up even blogging any of my attempts. I have been more addicted to origami and somehow lost touch with the preparation and technique of a good pour.

Then I read again how to properly create microfoam and how to pour. The foam is SO important. So much so that without the right consistency you might as well just not even bother. I've been frothing the milk FIRST recently and when finished have made sure to continually tap and swirl the pitcher while I'm both cleaning the steam wand and cooling the machine down to pull a shot. I also am swirling during the 25ish seconds to draw the shot.

I have been getting better crema recently but it too has a fine line. Over pack the basket and the water barely comes out producing more sludge than caramel colored crema. Slightly under pack and you've got a real mess of a thin watery shot.

The pour has to start slowly and right in the middle letting the milk (hopefully) cut through the crema and only when ready can you slowly shake the pitcher to get the rosetta started.

I feel like I'm back on track to perfecting this art but the success is in the details. Keeping the pitcher in the freezer before frothing gives me more time to create good tight foam. Also bleeding ALL water out of the steam wand until you have only the driest steam possible has been VERY beneficial to producing tight foam with no big bubbles.

I'll keep you posted if I have more good pours. (I'm not sure who "you" refers to since no one subscribes to this blog.

-Naug

Neverending...

I don't see any foreseeable conclusion to this hobby of making latte art. There are times when I think, hey... a couple more days and I'll have everything just so, but there are SO many variables that I'm surprised baristas DO master the technique. I'm sure it helps having professional equipment and doing multiple pours on a daily basis. My 3-4 pours a week does make for a steeper learning curve.

I tried frothing the milk FIRST today then pulling the shot to see if I could get better results in this order - what I used to do back in my Saeco Classico days. The milk seemed to froth really nice and even without too much steam pressure. I then purged the machine and pulled the shot.

The end result is fair, but it still seemed as though my microfoam was a little thin and didn't hold up to the much thicker crema and so my overall pour wasn't very great. Back to the drawing board I suppose. But at minimum my brother can't critique my lack of good crema. I've currently got an excess of the stuff. :-P

Until next time, pour like you mean it.

-Naug

Disclaimers a plenty on this one!

You might say to yourself "Hey... (self). This isn't all that bad of an attempt. It kinda even looks like a fern leaf." Yes, it actually sorta does look like a leaf. I'm rather impressed it looks like much of anything, actually. And so begins my morning saga...

First of all, my wife decided to stay late in bed which left me to entertain the baby. Now she's just coming up on 3 months and needs constant attention and/or body contact. Her favorite thing is to hang in the Baby Bjorn (think chest harness for infant). I start grinding my espresso... baby happy and looking around. I tamp and get the milk ready... baby's still fine. I start to froth the milk and baby starts to *SCREAM* like I've just scalded her with hot steam (which I did not). So I'm trying to comfort my baby and make good micro-foam with her cute head blocking my view of the process - very difficult indeed!

Finally I finish frothing and she settles down a bit. I don't know if it was the sound or what. So I pull the shot and get ready to pour. I viewed a YouTube video of leaf art right before I made the latte so I tried to incorporate new technique into my latest effort. Right as I start to pour, my baby decides to start thrashing about in the Bjorn - not to be confused with Björn Borg - the great tennis player of my youth, mind you.

So I finish the pour and think, hey... not great, but actually rather nice considering all the points listed above. I go to grab my camera and go figure, it doesn't turn on... dead battery. I realize also there's no memory card in it. I put the spare battery in and surprise... also not charged. I look for my wife's small digital camera and it's disappeared. Finally I grab my father's loaned video cam and snap off a picture at least 5 min after the pour took place - better "latte" than never!? Ha ha.

So that has been my lengthy dissertation of a disclaimer for an actually half-decent latte pour.

I guarantee you I won't be holding a baby trying to do the process again any time soon. Until my next attempt... happy drinking! -Naug