How to pour a swan design in your latte – adding character to your latte

The sphere of latte art is perfected over time, paying careful attention to minute details that go into making that perfect cuppa coffee or espresso even more rewarding and pleasing on the eye. Pouring a swan over your espresso combines techniques from other latte art patterns but above, demands patience, practice and precision. For newbie baristas wanting to learn a thing or two about the swan design, provided below is a take on how you ought to go about it.

image via https://pixabay.com/

Getting your espresso on point

Ensure that the espresso you make is smooth and velvety on appearance as the milk that you will be using to create the swan design will need to mix well. Such a requirement is important in all matters dealing with latte art and thus, there is no reason to deviate from same.

Making your cup ‘brown’

Don’t be left with raised eyebrows as a ‘brown cup’ means that the colour of the espresso must at all times be seen during such a course. The process of making a brown cup commences by pouring the milk from a higher position down towards the middle of the cup. The trick is to have the milk be depicted in stark contrast to your espresso and this manner of pouring will achieve this so that the milk will be found underneath the espresso.

Pouring all over the surface

As a continuation of the brown cup stage, you will be called upon to pour out the milk in view of guaranteeing that the beverage keeps moving and does not stagnate. Against such a backdrop, whatever surface tension there might have been would begin to give way to allow the patterns to spread evenly across the surface. This process must be followed up until the cup is half full.

Creating the rosetta latte pattern

In other words, the base of your swan design is largely influenced by how best you perform at making the rosetta pattern. Further, although a second might seem of little or no significance, in case of the rosetta it can mean the difference between a strikingly beautiful swan or a disfigured one. Therefore, upon a second lapsing from the brown cup stage where the surface will be a lot more firmer, start out on the rosetta which like its predecessor must be done so that the milk spills over towards the middle of the cup. A tad more speed and force must be the order of the day as the rosetta will need to spread out in all directions.

 Backing up

The ‘backing up’ is achieved with your pitcher which will go a long way towards shaping the wing of your swan. Look to backing up until you reach the edge of the cup and thereafter, lift up the pitcher ever so slightly and start pouring alongside the wing. Alternatively, you can also toy with the idea of creating a spine for your swan and this is done by pouring out the milk much closer to the surface of the espresso.

The swan’s neck

An integral part of your latte’s swan design is undoubtedly the neck. For this purpose, pause the pouring at the rosetta’s base and then back up leaving your pitcher hovering just over the surface. Before long, a straight line will materialize which is basically the neck of your swan.

 The heart

The final piece of the puzzle, the heart! Also referred to as the head of the swan, this arguably, is the easiest. After you’re satisfied with the straight line, move into a process of pouring that should not exceed a few seconds. Afterwards, create a ball on the surface and finish off by pouring the milk through it and there you have it; a tasty latte with a well-crafted swan design to admire and delight in. For example, if you seek expert know-how on coffee-based solutions such as the aforementioned, do get in touch with Fits Retail where during the course of your engagements, your average coffee machine price in Sri Lanka may be learnt of as well.