# 42 pints in 7 days...



## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Not the name of a new Badly Drawn Boy album or some sort of weird drinking challenge but last Tuesday I decided to start teaching myself how to do latte art (I had entered a latte art smackdown in Glasgow 6 weeks prior having never steamed milk in my life and the outcome was very predictable.

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Surprisingly I was kicked out in the first round despite my very fine attempt at drawing an elephant in this delicious looking foam









So by the end of my first night ( Tuesday last week) , what did my pour look like?

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I guess it's kind of a heart? Okay - Wednesday I switched to smaller cups for a bit of practise and this helped a little

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Thursday I actually started getting the hang of hearts so for some reason I tried to end with a rosetta, I'll not try one of those again until I've got hearts and tulips properly nailed

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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

So on Friday it was free pour thread time and I went back to do hearts as I was halfway towards nailing them - one I layered and the one I didn't (this was because I wanted to try a tulip soon and apparently you needed some sort of layering action for them)

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Over the weekend I decided to get in on that tulip action, managing a couple of standard three leafed things

My first tulip!

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My sunday tulip!

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And tonight I've been practising more layers, as my favourite latte art chap in Glasgow seems to excel at adding all these lovely white lines to his tulips and he makes it look so easy. I've found that aiming for this has improved my milk more in the last hour than probably all weekend (less air, less temperature, less everything!!!)

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WHEW!!


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

So that's the end of my 7 day obsession and I hope this encourages others to give it a go if you're like me and haven't bothered yet because all those folk make it look so easy.

All it takes is a little time, a cow and a steam boiler that keeps on giving!

I'm not going to jump into anything else just yet, it's time to practise those hearts and tulips until they're pouring consistently and then I'll get back on that rosetta. I need to practise my "wiggle" and I think I need to get a thermometer and check what temperature I'm getting that milk to (I suspect I'm probably about right by now having been both too cold and too hot over these 7 days).

Pouring into those duralex glasses is quite hard too compared to a proper 6oz rounded cup but I've been checking the depth of the foam every time I pour (and sticking my finger in to make sure that the temperature is "about right" and that the foam on top is indeed micro and smooth and delicious). They've been really handy during this process for sure.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

TempTags or Frothometer might be worth considering rather than faffing around sticking a temperature probe or similar in your milk to check the temperature.

With one hand underneath the milk jug, palm facing up, touch the bottom with all of your fingers whilst steaming then lower them so they are no longer touching the base. Do this every few seconds. When it feels too hot to touch, count three more seconds then stop steaming. This 'should' be around 65c. A quick glance at a TempTag of similar in the early stages will confirm if you're in the ballpark.

Hope that's of some help?


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

DoubleShot said:


> TempTags or Frothometer might be worth considering rather than faffing around sticking a temperature probe or similar in your milk to check the temperature.
> 
> With one hand underneath the milk jug, palm facing up, touch the bottom with all of your fingers whilst steaming then lower them so they are no longer touching the base. Do this every few seconds. When it feels too hot to touch, count three more seconds then stop steaming. This 'should' be around 65c. A quick glance at a TempTag of similar in the early stages will confirm if you're in the ballpark.
> 
> Hope that's of some help?


I already do it all with my hands and touch temp, but that's highly subjective! If I wait for it to be too hot to hold then the milk is too hot to use (it takes on that horrible smell that milk does). Context: I'm a climber and hands are calloused to hell!

I reckon I've got it cracked - I don't want to go down temp tag route because you don't get that sort of thing at smack-downs - I only want the thermometer to validate my gut feeling that "I've got this cracked! I'm not going to be using it more than a few times =)


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

(I say that knowing full well that at the latte art smackdown you don't get to use your own jug or cup and the steam wand will be crazy different as well but every little thing you can do without tooling helps!


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## krabster (May 29, 2013)

Great progress made there! Wish I could dedicate as much time to it as you did! Almost want to quite my current job and go back to being a barista to practice as before


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## frustin (Feb 10, 2013)

that's also a lot of beans, where are you buying them from? are the cheap as hell?


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## coffeefanatic (Jun 3, 2015)

I love the progression here, so i don't mind saying that your first one was pretty bad, but the others were great.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

frustin said:


> that's also a lot of beans, where are you buying them from? are the cheap as hell?


A combination of Tesco No 3 until I couldn't deal with the smell any more and then I made an arrangement to get beans wholesale locally, so yes - cheap


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Great post. I bet you'll sleep well tonight. Unless you drank them all. ..


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