What kind of materials do you need for coffee flowers? What is the coffee pull contest?

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What is the most impressive thing about a cup of coffee?

In his spare time, take a book to a cafe and order a hot latte. The most pleasant thing is the moment the hot coffee is served. The rich coffee fragrance is accompanied by dense milk bubbles. Besides this, the coffee is amazing.

When it comes to coffee, it's hard not to think of coffee. We often see exquisite and complex coffee pull flowers, but behind the beauty, it actually takes a lot of practice and complex principles to make a beautiful cup of coffee pull flowers.

Coffee flower

The principle of drawing flowers

Latte Art is the art of drawing flowers in English. As its name implies, latte art uses milk bubbles to paint on coffee. The base of the coffee is Espresso (espresso), which is because there is a thick layer of oil (Crema) on the Espresso, which can generate enough surface tension to lift the milk bubbles composed of tiny bubbles. Through the arrangement of milk foam and fat, you can make a variety of patterns, so the key to the success of the flower, in addition to the barista's technology, milk foam and coffee fat are also very important factors.

Crema, the fat in the top layer of coffee

The prerequisite for the success of coffee pulling is that the substrate has sufficient surface tension, so in fact, not only coffee can be made to pull flowers, but also general water is likely to succeed. But the difference is whether it tastes good (or whether it can be drunk) and whether it can make beautiful patterns.

Coffee steps.

1. extracted coffee

Prepare the espresso base first, then start frothing, because the foam structure will disappear over time.

espresso extraction

2. Pour the appropriate amount of milk into a steel cup

What seems like a simple step is actually the first step to successfully foam milk. Milk expands when it becomes foam, so there should not be too much milk, so there is enough room to heat the milk and form foam. Milk is usually poured to the bottom of the V-shaped spout.

Pour the milk into the bottom of the V-shaped cup

3. release vapor

Before putting the steam stick into the flower pot, turn on the steam first to release the water at the front of the steam stick, otherwise too much water will run into the milk, which will affect the fineness of the milk foam.

steam stick

4. foaming

The main purpose of this step is to pump air into the milk, so that part of the milk forms milk foam. Place the steam stick on the surface of the milk and turn the steam up to maximum. It should squeak. Control the amount of foam according to the type of coffee until the foam is sufficient to stop foaming.

5. mixed

When the foam is sufficient, insert the steam wand into the bottom of the milk and allow the milk to begin to spin so that the upper foam mixes with the lower milk. When the temperature reaches 60~70 degrees, the steam can be turned off, and the milk bubbles used to pull flowers are completed.

The ideal drinking temperature of milk is 60~70 degrees. Too low a temperature will make the whole cup of coffee not hot enough, affecting the taste. If the temperature exceeds 70 degrees, it will destroy the structure of milk and make the milk lose its sweetness.

mixed

6. pull flowers

While the milk foam has not been separated from the milk, pour the milk into the Espresso, so that the coffee and milk are fully combined, pour to the cup 6, 7 minutes full, through the shaking of the cup and steel cup, directly draw the picture.

pull flowers

WCE World Cup Coffee Flower Contest

At present, the most representative coffee flower competition in the world is The WCE World Latte Art Championship.

The visual rating criteria for coffee pulling are not only the complexity of the pattern, but also the color contrast between coffee and milk, the size and position of the flower. Interestingly, the coffee flower contest is not only compared to the final flower presentation, but also includes the whole competition process, such as environmental cleanliness, coffee flavor, but also the confidence and typhoon of the contestants, etc. A flower contest is like a stage performance of the flower contestants.

Coffee pull flower training, is difficult and arduous, a strong pull flower division, usually need to go through several years of hard work and study, can be on the table. To make a beautiful flower, in addition to skill proficiency and stability, you must be proficient in the production of coffee, because a change in the production process will affect whether the coffee itself is suitable for flower pulling.

Coffee pull flower is almost one of the essential skills of barista. It may not take three minutes to make a cup of latte with careful pull flower, but what you can't see is the sweat and effort paid by barista practice. If you have the opportunity, you may as well try it yourself and experience the fun of pulling flower!