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The pursuit of art

 
 
 
 
  • Posted by Son Ton
  • Tue, 09/27/2011 - 01:27

As I'm sitting here sipping on a cappuccino with milk perfectly steamed into microfoam and poured into a decent rosetta, it got me thinking is this art nescessary for my enjoying of an espresso based drink?  Come to think of it, I spend a lot of time learning to steam milk. I started out using an inadequate Gaggia Evolution with its Panarello steam wand. I ended up having to take out the black plastic thing and use the bare wand to steam milk. By the end of my time with the Gaggia, I was able to produce very respectable milk that I can pour into something resembling a rosetta. I ended up selling the Gaggia on Ebay due to its limitation in espresso potential.

My next machine aquisition was a La Pavoni manual lever which present a whole new set of challege. Espresso pulling was a difficulty in its own but milk steaming was difficulty at a whole new level. The steam wand design of the Pavoni is inadequate at best and was harder to steam even on the entry level Gaggia. Then I follow an advise online and put a modified stteam tip on the Pavoni and after intense practicing for about 2-3 weeks,  I got the best steam milk that I ever had.

The ability to pour nice arts into espresso shots correlated with milk quality; once I got the best out of milk, pouring it into something decent was not the hardest part.  Additionally, every time I'm making a cappuccino, I look forward to having a great looking as well as aromatic and tasty drink. 

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REVIEWS & COMMENTS

  • ART NORMALLY MEANS THE MILK

    intrepid510 | Thu, 12/01/2011 - 08:50

    Art normally means the milk was steamed.well.but.it.is.not.needed.

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  • ASIDE

    jbviau | Tue, 09/27/2011 - 15:20

    Eric, I think you can. Used to be called a "steamer," now possibly a "creme" (both usually with flavored syrup added).

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  • I WONDER

    EricBNC | Tue, 09/27/2011 - 08:58


    I wonder if you could go to Starbucks and order a cup of steamed milk?

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  • MILK IS THE HARDEST PART

    Wakeknot | Tue, 09/27/2011 - 07:05

    you are right that pouring the art is not nearly as hard as steaming milk well enough that one could pour art, so the pursuit of latte art is good because it trains you to steam well.

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  • TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION...

    dpablo19 | Tue, 09/27/2011 - 03:09

    I hope so. I find that even if you don't bother with latte art, there is a great chance that you will end up with a design in the cup anyway. At least that happens when everything has gone right, specifically the shot blending perfectly with the microfoamed milk. I'd think that, at the very least, you'd end up with a shiny marbled look in the cup. It's still kind of art.

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