The three steps of perfect coffee flower drawing-- extraction coffee / foam / flower drawing

The flower-pulling works of coffee masters are always amazing. Making a good Espresso is an art in itself, and making ever-changing patterns on coffee is the icing on the cake. It may take several years to develop the perfect skill of coffee flower drawing.

Two common methods of coffee flower drawing are "free dumping" (the pattern is formed when the milk foam is dumped) and "carving" (using a coffee pull needle to paint on the milk foam after pouring milk). Free dumping is widely used in American cafes, which requires more preparation time when making coffee. Want to know how the perfect flower was born? Here are some experiences from coffee masters.

Step 1: make espresso

1. Use 7-8 grams of special espresso powder per cup of espresso. Press the handle at a pressure of 30-40 pounds (13.6-18 kg). You can first try to press it on the scale to find the feeling. For most adults, this is probably the maximum pressure you can achieve by pressing hard with one hand. Extra freshness can be obtained by using a disc grinder. Plate grinder you control the thickness of the coffee powder. Alpha

two。 Extract espresso. A perfect espresso with a little coffee oil in it can show the best taste of coffee. The perfect espresso takes 21-24 seconds to make. The closer you get to 24 seconds, the sweeter the coffee will be. The time length of extraction can be controlled by pressing the strength of coffee powder. Press hard enough and the machine will slowly and evenly extract espresso. If the intensity is not enough, then the extraction time will be shorter. Alpha

Step 2: prepare the perfect foam

Pour enough ice milk (about 10 degrees Celsius) into the flower cup. If you have plenty of time, put the flower cup in the refrigerator before using it to cool down. A cold flower cup will give you more time to prepare the milk and reduce the chance of the milk being boiled. In order to make the best foam, you should prepare a portable liquid thermometer, which can help you take the milk out of the steamer at the most appropriate time.

2 insert the steamed milk stick into the bottom of the flower cup. Turn on the steamer and slowly pull the steamed milk stick close to the surface of the milk. When the milk is foamed, the milk rises and lowers the steaming stick, always keeping it at a position of 1 cm below the liquid surface. Avoid stirring the milk too much to avoid excessive foam. In this way, you can make smooth milk foam.

Raise the temperature of the milk to 37 degrees Celsius. Lean the steaming stick against the side of the cup, insert the milk deeply, and gently stir the milk counterclockwise.

Stir the milk until the temperature rises to 65-68 degrees Celsius. Make sure the milk temperature never exceeds 71 degrees Celsius. Some brands of steamers heat too fast and may need to take the milk out of the steamer in advance to avoid boiling the milk. This is because the temperature continues to rise after the milk is stopped heating. Break up the big bubbles, leaving only the tiny ones.

Turn off the steamer and remove the steaming stick and thermometer from the milk. Clean the steamed milk stick with a wet cloth.

Let the milk cool for a few seconds, which will make the foam more dense.

7 shake the milk hard. Gently shake the cup on the table until the bubble is broken, then continue to shake the milk for 20-30 seconds.

Step 3: pour in the art of milk foam and flower drawing

1. Try to make flower patterns. This kind of flower pattern is simple, elegant and easy to make. Of course, all the art of flower drawing takes time to master. The height of the foam is about 2-3 cm from the bottom. When the cup is about half full, gently shake the cup back and forth and move it back slowly. The flower pattern stretches forward until the cup is filled with noodles. Shake with your wrist and shake it gently instead of shaking it back with your hands. Alpha

2. Try to make a heart-shaped pattern. This kind of pattern is also relatively easy, but it also takes practice to master.

At first, put the cup close to the mouth of the coffee cup and pour a little milk foam in the same fixed place. Then raise the cup about an inch (2.54 cm) and pour it into a circle. Notice that the milk cup is moving, not the coffee cup. Keep the injected foam flow in the same position and shake the cup back and forth to form a circle pattern. When the foam is almost finished, pull the cup over the heart-shaped pattern and draw the heart-shaped tail. Alpha

3. Decorate with templates, powder and foam. This step is optional or optional, because many people like to limit the art of flower drawing to a "free form" method. If you are willing to explore the various patterns that can be made by similar "etching" methods, you might as well try the following techniques. Alpha

To write on a bubble, such as "love", melt the milk chocolate and use a needle as a paintbrush to drag the liquid chocolate onto the foam to write. A more common practice is to poke the needle into the cream layer on the coffee and then drag the cream to draw a pattern on the pure white foam.

Chocolate can also be used to paint in other ways. Pour the chocolate syrup on the foam layer and use a needle to create the pattern. Draw the outline of the pattern on the foam with chocolate. Draw many connected circles along the chocolate with a needle. In this way, you can draw wavy chocolate patterns. (picture and text from: Sina Shangpin, shared with relatives who like coffee culture)

More good pictures of flower drawing: