Making coffee at home is a recommended money-saving hack, and once you invest in some kitchen staples and learn a few tips, you can easily become a star home-barista. But even when you’re using the freshest beans from local roasters and making any number of java upgrades, something is missing from the cafe experience until you master one skill: latte art. Is it crucial for the taste and quality of your at-home morning joe? Not really. But is it a fun tradition that will make your breakfast nook feel like your favorite coffee shop? Absolutely.
There’s one design that instantly conveys classic cafe charm: the rosetta. There are many Instagram and YouTube tutorials to show you how to make this pretty pattern on your espresso with milk. You don’t need tools or years of experience to master it, just a few practice sessions. Start by swirling your cup of espresso and your small pitcher of milk. Then, tilt the espresso toward you and pour the milk from the centre in thin circles. Move the pitcher close to the espresso, and when the milk surfaces in the coffee, start wiggling the pitcher from side to side a little. The pattern will form in front of the pour. Shift your cup forward, speed up your wiggles, and when you have leaves blooming across the espresso’s surface, whip the pitcher from the end nearest you to the opposite end to make that central stem. Voila — a beautiful latte rosetta right at home.
Tips to remember when practicing your rosetta
In general, there are plenty of simple ways to improve your latte art game, especially without wasting coffee, like using quality milk. Ensure that the milk is heated well, and also make sure you’re using espresso that has a nice frothy crema when it’s poured. If it’s all getting a bit much, don’t forget that you can simply up your latte art game with stencils as an alternative to the fancy pour. But if you specifically want to perfect your rosetta, get good espresso, good milk, and keep practicing that tilt, pour, wiggle, swipe technique.
Especially when you’re first starting out, it’s helpful to use a coffee cup that’s nice and wide, giving you plenty of room to wiggle the milk from one side to the other and get that rosetta going. Remember when you’re doing that wiggle, too, it should be very subtle, with the movement all in your wrist. Also, work on getting your pour to be at a medium speed — too fast and the milk will just flow out before you can shape it, too slow and the milk might not appear over the espresso crema. If you’re struggling with the rosetta, a heart can be an easier place to start. It’s a similar process to the rosetta, with less intricate wiggling. Master that, move on to your rosetta, try the tulip, and keep experimenting from there. You can even get a spoon and toothpick involved to make season-specific latte designs.
