Latte art

I learnt how to stretch last weekend. I haven't got a personal trainer, I've just learnt how to make a coffee. I can't drink a lot of it myself, as I get the shakes, but I still love it and wanted to get over my fear of coffee machines. I got a half-price deal on a one-day course at the Sydney Coffee School and on a sunny Saturday, headed to school. The Sydney Coffee School provides training for baristas wanting to work professionally, and for people like me who just want to make their own. Everyone gets their own coffee machine and an endless supply of milk and coffee. I got the hang of making espressos pretty quickly, but I admit to trouble with 'stretching' the milk.

Stretching milk is the process of adding foam and texture to your milk while heating it. The secret is to keep the steam wand at the right depth for the type of coffee you're making. For a cappuccino you want your milk to have some froth, whereas for a latte, the milk should stay more substantial. If you're doing latte art, the milk has to be perfect, especially for a layered drink or to do etching. It took me a while to get the hang of stretching the milk. I was okay at latte milk, but my cappacino milk was either too thin or became meringue. The photo is of my mocha. I started with the milk pour, then added the chocolate sauce, which sank to the bottom. We then poured the espresso over the back of a teaspoon, and then decorated the top. If your milk isn't right, the chocolate sauce decoration sinks straight away. I also had a pretty good go at etching, basically drawing designs on the top of the coffee with a skewer and chocolate sauce (which I personally think would ruin the taste, and they couldn't give me any real alternative - I suspect you can do it with crema). I was really bad at pouring art. It must take so much practice to get it right. By that stage of the day I had the milk worked out, but then my hands just wouldn't cooperate and I ended up with something that looked roughly like clouds! I wouldn't hire me yet, but if you have a coffee machine and you're willing to be a guinea pig, I'm willing to practice :)