Every barista remembers their first heart that actually looked like a heart. Before it there were dozens of white blobs, a few lopsided apples and at least one that looked like a jellyfish. Latte art isn’t a gift. It’s a handful of movements, repeated until your wrist knows them.

This guide covers six designs, in the order most baristas learn them. Each one builds on the last, so start at the top and don’t skip ahead. And while it’s called latte art, a flat white is a lovely canvas for it. The foam is thinner, so the lines come out fine and crisp, though it gives you less room for error.

A little history

Pouring pictures into coffee was popularised in Seattle in the late 1980s and early 1990s. David Schomer of Espresso Vivace made the heart his café’s signature around 1988 or 1989, and went on to work out the rosetta in the early 1990s, reportedly after seeing one in a photo from an Italian café. Schomer himself credits Jack Kelly of Uptown Espresso with developing the silky microfoam that made it all possible. Australia took to it quickly. Australian baristas won the World Latte Art Championship three years running from 2006 to 2008, and Caleb Cha took the title again in 2015.

Before you pour: get the basics right

Every design below starts with the same three things: a good shot, well-steamed milk and the same two-phase pour. Get these right first. Most latte art problems are milk problems in disguise.

Pull the shot

  1. Pull a fresh espresso straight into the cup you’ll serve in.
  2. Check for a good layer of crema, the golden-brown foam on top. That’s the background your design will sit on.
  3. Pour soon after the shot finishes. Crema fades within a minute or two, and an old shot gives you a pale, patchy canvas.

Steam the milk

  1. Fill a cold jug with cold milk to just below the base of the spout.
  2. Purge the steam wand, then put its tip just under the surface of the milk, slightly off centre.
  3. Turn the steam on fully. For the first few seconds you’ll hear a gentle tearing sound as air goes in. This is called stretching. For a flat white you only want a little, so the milk grows by about a tenth.
  4. Lower the tip slightly so the noise stops and the milk spins in a whirlpool. This folds the bubbles into a smooth, shiny texture.
  5. Stop when the jug is too hot to hold comfortably, around 60 to 65°C. Much hotter and the milk loses its sweetness and the foam starts to break down.
  6. Wipe and purge the wand, then tap the jug once on the bench to pop any big bubbles.
  7. Swirl the jug until the milk looks like wet paint: glossy, with no visible bubbles.

Learn the two-phase pour

  1. Hold the cup tilted towards you.
  2. Pour a thin stream from a few centimetres up into the middle of the crema. From that height the milk dives under the surface and mixes with the coffee without leaving a mark.
  3. When the cup is about half full, bring the jug spout right down until it almost touches the surface, and pour a little faster.
  4. Watch the white appear. That moment, when the spout drops and the white blooms, is where every design begins.

1. The heart

The heart is the first design everyone learns, and the one you’ll pour most often.

  1. Fill the cup about halfway with the high, thin mixing pour.
  2. Drop the spout close to the surface in the centre of the cup.
  3. Hold the jug still and keep pouring. A white circle will appear and grow.
  4. Slowly level the cup as it fills, letting the circle push outwards.
  5. When the cup is nearly full, lift the jug a few centimetres so the stream thins.
  6. Draw the jug forward through the middle of the circle in one smooth line. This pull-through drags the back of the circle into the point of the heart.

If it goes wrong: no white at all means the spout was too high or the milk too thin. A lopsided blob means you moved the jug before the circle had grown. A heart with no point means you didn’t lift before pulling through.

2. The tulip

A tulip is a stack of hearts. Once your heart is reliable, it’s the natural next step.

  1. Fill the cup about halfway with the mixing pour.
  2. Drop the spout near the far side of the cup and pour a small white circle.
  3. Stop the flow cleanly by lifting the jug.
  4. Move the spout back slightly towards you, drop it again and pour a second small circle. It will push into the first and fold it into a crescent.
  5. Stop, move back, and pour a third. Add a fourth if you have room.
  6. Lift the jug and pull through in a straight line, cutting through every layer.

If it goes wrong: smudged layers usually mean the flow never fully stopped between pushes. Lift higher and pause for a beat.

3. The rosetta

The rosetta is the fern-like leaf, and it’s the design that tells people you know what you’re doing. It also takes the longest to learn.

  1. Fill the cup about halfway with the mixing pour.
  2. Drop the spout close to the surface near the far side of the cup.
  3. Start wiggling the jug gently from side to side with a relaxed wrist. Keep the movement small and steady. Zigzags of white will fan out.
  4. Keep wiggling as you slowly draw the jug backwards towards the near edge of the cup. The slower you move back, the more leaves you get.
  5. When you reach the near edge, stop wiggling and lift the jug slightly.
  6. Pull a thin line forward through the centre to form the stem.

If it goes wrong: a smudge usually means the wiggle was too big or you moved backwards too quickly. Practise the wrist movement with an empty jug while you wait for a shot.

4. The winged tulip

The winged tulip combines the last two designs. It looks complicated, but if you can pour a rosetta and a tulip, you already have every move it needs.

  1. Fill the cup a little under halfway with the mixing pour.
  2. Drop the spout in the middle of the cup and wiggle for just a few zigzags, pushing gently forward as you go. This layer becomes the wings.
  3. Stop the flow.
  4. Pour a small tulip layer just behind the wings, then stop again.
  5. Add one or two more tulip layers, stopping cleanly between each. Each one pushes the layers in front of it forward, and the wings wrap around them.
  6. Lift and pull through the centre to finish.

If it goes wrong: if the wings don’t wrap, the wiggled layer was too small or the tulip layers too weak to push it. Pour the first tulip layer with a little more flow.

5. The swan

The swan is a crowd favourite and looks harder than it is. It’s a rosetta with a neck and a head.

  1. Fill the cup about halfway with the mixing pour.
  2. Pour a rosetta, but angle it so it runs along one side of the cup rather than down the middle. Don’t pull through at the end. This is the body and the wings.
  3. Lift the jug slightly so the stream thins.
  4. Starting at the base of the rosetta, draw a thin line of white up and around in a gentle curve. This is the neck.
  5. At the top of the curve, drop the spout and pour a small blob for the head.
  6. Pull through the head very slightly to give it a beak.

If it goes wrong: if there’s no room for the neck, the rosetta was too big. A flat white cup is small, so keep the body tight.

6. An etched spider web

Etching is different from free pouring. You pour first, then draw into the foam with a pick (a toothpick or a fine skewer works at home). It’s a fun cup you can make without years of pouring practice.

  1. Pour a white circle as if starting a heart, but don’t pull through.
  2. Dip the tip of your pick in a little chocolate sauce.
  3. Starting at the centre of the circle, draw a spiral outwards to the edge of the white.
  4. Wipe the pick clean.
  5. Drag the pick lightly from the centre to the edge in a straight line.
  6. Repeat all the way round, like the spokes of a wheel. Eight spokes is plenty. The spiral turns into a web.

Once you’re comfortable, try a bear face: a white circle for the head, two small blobs for ears, and the pick to draw in eyes and a nose. Etching holds best on slightly thicker foam, so it’s easier on a cappuccino than a flat white. Keep the lines light, and serve it quickly before the foam settles.

How to practise without wasting milk

Pouring dozens of practice cups gets expensive. Many baristas train with water and a small drop of dishwashing liquid, steamed in the jug the same way as milk. It foams in a similar way, so you can practise the wrist movements as often as you like. Switch back to milk once the shapes start to come, because nothing behaves quite like the real thing. And practise in the same cup you’ll serve in. A design sized for a wide latte cup won’t fit a flat white.

Above all, practise little and often. Ten cups a day for a week will teach you more than fifty in one afternoon.

The art is only half of it

A well-poured rosetta is a small kindness. Somebody made it for you, and it only lasts as long as it takes to drink. At Flat White we match two people for one hour over coffee at a local café, and a good barista is part of why that hour works. Next time a heart arrives at your table, say thanks. It took longer to learn than it looks.

Meet one person. Over coffee. On purpose.
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