What’s better than the first sip of a hot cup of coffee made just the way you like it? Well, maybe if that hot cup of coffee did double duty as fine art, you’d enjoy it even more.

Beautiful latte art is a sign of a perfect espresso drink and a talented barista. Since 1980s, the art form created by pouring steamed milk into a shot of espresso, or so called latte art, has been widely welcomed within the modern society, which thirsts for elegance even in a cup of coffee.

More and more professional baristas are learning the fine skill of latte art. This practice lets the baristas make patterns on top of the latte using the foamed milk. It is done by allowing most of the milk to break though the espresso’s crema and fill the cup underneath the crema film. It is an art that takes a little bit of time and a lot of practice, but learning to apply these techniques to your coffee shop’s latte drinks will impress customers and keep them coming back for more.

When making latte art, one of the key components is the milk. The milk foam used for latte art has a slightly different texture than the milk foam that you see atop a cappuccino. It must be made of small, evenly sized bubbles and should have a velvety-looking texture.

While there are many designs that can be made using stretched milk, there are several that are the most common. Hearts were one of the first latte art designs to become popular, and they remain one of the most commonly-seen designs today. In the hands of a capable coffee artist, just about any kind of design is possible. Just make sure to use speciality coffee from Union Hand-Roasted Coffee.