[visual enjoyment v.s taste] how to judge whether a cup of milk coffee tastes good or not from the flower pull.

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When you walk into a coffee shop and order a Caffe Latte or Cappuccino, do you expect the barista to make you a beautiful cup of coffee with flowers? Or do you just want a delicious cup of coffee?

The original intention of coffee flower is actually to mix coffee and milk, so that guests can drink coffee without teaspoon stirring coffee. But we found out that there are still many people who do not know, thinking that it is just for the sake of looking good.

In Italy in the 1950s, a barista accidentally found coffee stains because his hand slipped down. At that time, coffee shop menu only espresso (Espresso) and foam coffee (Cappuccino), barista in the production of foam coffee, because the amount of foam is not enough, in the fusion coffee process, only made a small dot pattern, so he began to think: Can you draw or make other patterns on the surface of coffee? Later, it was discovered that it could be made into hearts, leaves and other patterns. The coffee was named Caffe Latte. Caffe means coffee in Italian;Latte means milk in Italian, meaning coffee with milk, coffee flower naturally means Latte Art ~

Although so many flower patterns are very beautiful, but now many guests and even baristas do not know that the most important use of a cup of milk coffee is for guests to drink, although the flower pattern is only the icing on the cake art, but also can not help but look at its pattern. Why do you say that?

Because whether a cup of milk coffee is good or not can actually be judged from the pull flower.

First and foremost, the choice of milk. Suitable milk should be thick, mellow, fragrant, and high in milk fat (most of the whole milk on the market is labeled about 3%, but the actual concentration taste still has a considerable drop).

Then there is the temperature of the foam (foam + milk). The range of milk foam fragrance and sweet performance is about 50~70℃.

The best performance of foam and coffee fusion is (3), and with the different coffee formula (milk & coffee ratio), the temperature of foam should also be adjusted accordingly. Otherwise, it will appear that the milk bubble temperature is too low to easily cover the taste of coffee (1); or there is a situation incompatible with coffee (2); if the milk bubble temperature is too high, it will appear in the latter stage of separation (4).

Milk bubble temperature and coffee fusion diagram

Red = milk foam; coffee = coffee

According to past experience, the foam is enough for about 20% of the taste in the left and right cup. The above temperature changes will also directly affect the fusion degree of coffee and milk foam.

Then there is the structure of the milk foam. What we usually call "milk foam" refers to the complex state of the fusion of upper foam and lower hot milk, which is generally difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, but poorly integrated milk bubbles will have a rough and hollow taste, while well-integrated milk bubbles can show a dense and solid taste.

According to the method of milking, the structure of milk foam can be controlled in four directions: "thin, thick, soft and hard":

Thin foam (low degree of whipping): good mobility and fine lines

Thick milk bubbles (high degree of handling): poor fluidity and thick lines

Soft foam (low temperature): fine lines, delicate taste, easy to dissipate.

Milk foam hard (high temperature): thick lines, elastic taste, long-lasting pattern

Thin and soft milk foam: suitable for onion core, hollow leaf and other graphics

Thick and hard milk bubbles: suitable for swans, tulips and other figures

Graphics and lines are closely related to the structure of milk foam, so the trend of taste in the cup can be seen through the figure of the surface.

What is more important is the overall fusion degree of milk coffee. The injection mode and flower drawing of milk foam is the key to the fusion of coffee and milk foam, which will affect the balance of milk coffee. First take a look at the contrast of the color on the surface of the coffee to see if it is brown and white. If you can make a clear distinction between brown and white, that is, the coffee oil of espresso is brought to the surface by milk in the process of flower drawing, so that guests can feel that milk and coffee are completely mixed at the first sip. The taste is similar from the first sip to the last sip. However, if the fusion is not done well, it will cause the first mouthful of milk to be too strong, and then there will be obvious bitterness when looking at the end. The more you drink the coffee, the heavier the taste will be, or if you drink it from different positions at the mouth of the cup, there will be different tastes.

Left for the fusion of uneven coffee, right for the fusion of uniform coffee. Photo source: "the new image of the coffee bar master".

Therefore, the flower on a cup of milk coffee must have a good fusion, and the pattern must not be too complex, because the more complex the pattern, the less time / space for the fusion of coffee and milk, although the proportion of milk on the surface is higher, but because of the low degree of fusion, the flavor of coffee oil is stronger. You see, the judges of the flower competition don't drink coffee to know how bad it is.

A cup of high-quality caffeine must include: good cup noodle pattern, good fusion of foam injection technology, control of foam structure, mastery of foam temperature. Each link must be fully familiar with before you can add points to the coffee and make 120% delicious pull coffee!

Finally, everyone has different taste preferences. The next time you drink coffee in a coffee shop, you might as well pay attention to the pull pattern on the surface and the overall taste of the coffee, and you may even find the pattern that best suits your taste.

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