Latte Art Designs to Try at Home

If not for a coffee shop owner in Seattle, US, would latte art have become this popular? It first came to be in the late 1980s and has today become a symbol of coffee quality and expertise.

Perhaps you want to enjoy a beautiful-looking cup of coffee at home, or you are preparing to become a barista, either way, it’s time to perfect these latte art designs. 

Heart Latte Art

The first latte art pattern to be invented by David Schomer, the heart design is a classic. Get this right, and you are well on your way to perfecting other designs. 

You can achieve the heart latte art by holding the milk jug at a considerable height (away from the cup of espresso) and pouring the milk in the centre of the cup till the foam rises to the top. You’ll know the time is right when the cup is 3/4th full. Begin moving your wrist side to side ever so slightly, and the basic shape will start to form. 

Towards the end, move the jug forward to create a line at the centre through the heart and give it the final definition. 

Some mistakes you want to avoid are pouring the milk too quickly and pouring it from a great height.

This design should help you practise controlling your hand movement and pouring the milk correctly.

Rosetta/ Leaf Latte Art

The rosetta design resembles a leaf pattern and is hence also called leaf latte art. You need to practise having a steady hand to achieve the rosetta design.

Start off exactly as you would to make the heart shape.

But instead of cutting a line through the heart, continue moving the jug in a back-and-forth motion as you pull your hand back towards you. This will create leaf-like shapes. Once you reach near the edge of the cup, then move your hand forward to cut a line through the leaves and the swirls. That’s all there is to it! 

Try to keep the milk pouring as consistent as you can so all the lines and shapes can be even. Secondly, avoid pouring the milk too quickly and making the lines too thick.

Tulip Latte Art

Granted that the tulip design is slightly more complex than the heart and leaf, it will help you develop expertise in creating latte art. 

In the beginning, you pour milk into the centre of the cup exactly as you would for the other designs. But the trick here is to stop in between each layer and then create a new layer by repeating the forward movement of your hand till you’ve got multiple layers of the tulip. 

You’ll notice that each layer of the tulip is smaller in width than the previous one. Once you get to the last layer, without stopping your hand movement, cut a line through the entire design to finish the tulip pattern.

You’ll need precision and quite a bit of practice to master this. Time your wrist movement currently so that the stopping motion is quick and doesn’t mess up the previous layers of the tulip.

Swan Latte Art

The swan latte art is the final one on this list and with good reason. It is challenging and will take you a while to get right simply because it’s more intricate to create.

After getting the basic shape of the heart, start pouring milk to one side with a slight side-to-side movement of your wrist. This will create the feathers on the swan’s wings. 

Switch to the other side of the swan’s body and add an “S” which ends with a small heart. This will be the neck and head of the swan.

Don’t go in for too many details at first. Your aim is to get the basic shape of the swan right. 

There are a few more designs you could learn, but it’s always better to master your basics before moving to the next level. So we hope you get to practise and ace these latte art designs. 

For those who wonder whether latte art serves any other functional purpose, the answer is it doesn’t. It takes the act of brewing coffee one step further by making it a commodity that has been crafted with passion.