Recipe

Latte

Espresso under a generous pour of silky steamed milk.

Ingredients

Espresso

36 g

Milk

200–240 ml whole milk

Equipment

• Espresso machine with steam wand
• Milk pitcher (600 ml)
• 240–300 ml cup or glass, pre-warmed

Step-by-step method

1. 1

   Pre-warm a 240–300 ml cup with hot water.

2. 2

   Pull a 36 g double espresso into the warmed cup.

3. 3

   Pour 240 ml of cold whole milk into a cold pitcher.

4. 4

   Purge the steam wand for 2 sec.

5. 5

   Position the wand tip just under the surface and open steam fully. Stretch for only 2–3 sec — a latte wants minimal foam (about 1 cm).

6. 6

   Submerge the wand to heat. Maintain the whirlpool to keep texture silky. Stop at ~60 °C (pitcher hot to touch but holdable for 3 sec).

7. 7

   Close steam, wipe wand, purge.

8. 8

   Tap pitcher once and swirl until the milk shines like wet paint with no visible bubbles.

9. 9

   Start pouring from 6 cm above the espresso to combine the milk underneath the crema. Fill to about 50%.

10. 10

    Drop the pitcher to within 1 cm of the surface and pour faster — a white dot will appear. This is the canvas for latte art.

11. 11

    To finish a heart, pour straight through the white dot toward the far edge of the cup, then lift up and away.