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Many people get into coffee because of beautiful latte art. After all, whenever you successfully recreate a delicate design, the sense of accomplishment is unmatched. So do you know who was the first to create latte art? In this article, Front Street Coffee will walk you through the history and origins of latte art.

Latte art is also called "Latte Art"

The word latte comes from the Italian "Caffè Latte," where "Latte" means milk. Steamed milk is incorporated into espresso while pouring out "artistic" patterns, which is why it is called Latte Art.

Early latte art consisted of simple patterns like hearts and leaves. With the development of specialty coffee, baristas around the world have placed increasing importance on this skill. They began designing more refined visual effects, and there is also a technique called etching, which uses milk foam and auxiliary ingredients to create bolder designs.

At first, baristas focused more on the presentation of patterns, but through industry development and high consumer demand, latte art is no longer just about visual appeal. The creamy texture of the milk and the methods and techniques of integrating it with espresso have been continuously improved, thereby enhancing the overall taste of the coffee and achieving the so-called realm of complete color, aroma, and flavor.

The phenomenon of milk coffees like lattes and flat whites going viral on social media and friend circles is largely due to the addition of Latte Art. Who wouldn't love a coffee that not only has a rich, smooth taste but also features a visually stunning, high-aesthetic latte art design?

The Origin of Latte Art

To make latte art on a cup of coffee, you certainly need a pressurized espresso machine and a steam wand. In the early 20th century, Luigi Bezzera, a manufacturer in Milan, Italy, invented the first semi-automatic steam-pressure coffee machine to extract coffee more efficiently and filed a patent in 1901. Later, the Italian company La Pavoni acquired Bezzera's patent, added a steam wand to the machine, and brought it to market in 1906.

Although steamed milk was already being used in Italy by the late 19th century, latte art did not appear until decades later, and its recognition by the public is thanks to an American. In the 1980s, David Schomer set up a small coffee stand in Seattle, USA. One day, while making an espresso milk drink, he happened to pour the last of the white milk foam into a "heart shape" on the surface.

Later, after gaining a deeper understanding of the style and techniques of Italian espresso at the time, David opened Espresso Vivace and delved into this "pattern-pouring" technique, improving and training more baristas in the ability to create high-quality latte art. By the late 1980s, this decorated coffee began to spread in the United States and quickly spread around the world.

Recommended Coffee Beans with Rich Crema

In addition to equipment requirements, another essential factor for making beautiful latte art is rich crema.

Front Street Coffee has created a Front Street espresso blend for customers who love crema and mouthfeel, named "Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans." It is a blend of Arabica beans from Brazil and Colombia with 10% Robusta beans.

This blend tastes rich with a creamy mouthfeel and caramel sweetness, along with nutty, cocoa-like, and dark chocolate roasted aromas. It is rich and balanced, with a slight bittersweet note and a lasting finish. The addition of a small amount of Robusta beans enhances the richness and golden color of the crema, and because the amount is small, it does not alter the flavor too much.
 
The reason Front Street Coffee named this blend "Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans" is that it performs excellently whether used for Americanos or milk coffees, and with its price advantage, it is very suitable for use when opening a café.
 

For those who prefer a richer, smoother taste, we recommend Front Street Classic Espresso Blend. This is a recipe combining beans from three origins: Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It uses a dark roast, which maximizes the rich aroma of the coffee and allows everyone to easily extract a rich and creamy crema. It is perfect for both Americanos diluted with water and lattes paired with milk. It can be purchased at the Front Street Taobao store or the Front Street Tmall flagship store.

Espresso is still the base for making lattes, and when making a hot latte, a beautiful latte art design is often "added along the way." Fine and rich crema makes latte art easier. Espresso with good crema can blend better with milk foam and maintain a stable state, which has a huge impact on the detail and definition of the latte art. Although espresso without crema can also be used for latte art, the resulting patterns appear somewhat stiff and rough in appearance.

Additionally, because crema is produced by the oils in coffee wrapping around the carbon dioxide in the coffee, the amount of crema can also be used to judge whether the coffee beans are fresh—the more crema, the fresher the beans. It is precisely because of this knowledge that freshly roasted coffee beans are the primary requirement for latte art. Therefore, all coffee beans shipped by Front Street Coffee are guaranteed to be freshly roasted within 5 days. When you receive the coffee from the logistics provider, it is just within the optimal tasting period. This is in the hope that every customer can enjoy a good cup of coffee with the most complete flavor.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.