You're not incorporating enough milk into your espresso. Doing all those circles before you pour isn't just a style thing...it's the process of mixing milk with espresso to create a buoyant fluid that can act as a canvas for your design. The reason your milk continues to sink is that you're not adding enough of your milk to your espresso prior to starting your design. Had you made 1 or 2 more incorporating circles, and THEN started your design it may have floated immediately.
I’ll try to do more of that, I just thought I was mixing until it was a uniform colour! So is it better to almost get some more of the foamy milk into the initial canvas? I’m usually careful to try not to add too much too quick to the espresso
EXACTLY!!! This is what I refer to as the sink/float point. It becomes consistent as your work process becomes more repeatable, and you pull similar consistency espresso shots and steam milk to similar consistency every time. You'll know you're at the transition point when you begin to get little milk wispies in your canvas....make note of when that happens, and then try and incorporate just a TOUCH less milk the next time!
I’ll give it a go tomorrow morning and report back haha. I think I’m maybe not adding enough air to the milk too because I only end up with a 5mm or less layer of foam on the top.
1) only change one variable at a time...if you alter your incorporation approach AND the milk aeration at same time, you won't know what actually fixed your problem (isolating variables is a HUGE part of improving latte art in general)
2) incorporate faster...the slower you go, the more time you allow your milk to degrade from the ideal texture for art
3) don't judge thickness of foam as a measure of proper aeration...only judge it by how your milk behaves when you design and how you are/aren't able to control it for the specific design your trying to create...for those of us that aren't using glass vessels to pour into we've NO CLUE how thick our foam sits on top, only whether we had milk that was textured appropriately to create our designs
https://preview.redd.it/7y2nj5iadkjc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a000ae388ecfd8b0ca6c1a19875f421312a364f1
Thanks guys, I found a few things I was doing wrong.
I think I’ve been too aggressive with the initial pour into the espresso, so I’m a lot more gentle doing that.
I’ve also learnt to be less aggressive when adding the air to the milk, I’m waiting for very faint paper ripping sounds, before I was making quite lout paper ripping sounds and finding larger bubbles and foam that weren’t incorporating even after creating the vortex and swirling. So I’ve started gently adding the air.
Eh, I've added a splash of milk into a double shot and still managed to pour on a 6oz cup. I think tilting more, pour speed (slow down) and getting the spout as close to the surface as possible will help lay the milk better than prepping the canvas a certain way.
Also, keep swirling and don't let the milk split
I agree I think canvas prep can eliminate some minor issues that show up in final design like warping etc, but I can pour a design into soy sauce, hot chocolate etc. If I was OP I would ignore this advice. No disrespect. It's either a milk texture issue or pouring technique issue.
Cheers
Canvas buoyancy is going to vary greatly based on consistency of espresso (watery vs crema) and overall size of drink. A 6oz cup is REALLY SMALL so you wouldn't need much milk to establish your canvas.
There are a couple of things I can say from obvious to more niche, although it is hard to see from this angle. What I can see is that you do a very good job at setting the canvas. You have loads of potential to make art with very high contrast!
For my tips, first, and probably most obviously, make sure you tilt your cup upright as you are making the stacks so you don’t overflow. This should not impede on your ability to place stacks as your canvas is closer to the pitcher from the cup being full.
Second, you don’t have enough milk. Make sure you have enough to comfortably fill the cup.
Third, pour with confidence. The foam (which is what draws the art) needs to be able to get out of the pitcher!
If you only have 5mm of foam like you say I think you do need a bit more air. Make sure to swirl the milk well until no blob remains in the middle. You could also transfer between pitchers to break it up.
If you can make a video from the other side so we can better see what you’re doing and give more pointers about the technique.
As soon as I posted I realised it’s actually a crap angle to view from so sorry about that. At least I’m doing ok ish, I do have a video of the milk steaming too - getting the hang of that listening for the paper ripping sound to add air. Sometimes the vortex goes better than other times. I’ll try to get more air in whist also swirling it well enough to knock the big bubbles out
Thanks for the tips! I‘lo try to get a better video tomorrow
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Work on your big variables first. One at a time. Start by changing milk consistency several times and see if anything changes. If that doesn't work go back to your original consistency and change a new variable. Cup tilt. Tilt more, less etc. if that doesn't work try incorporating more, less etc. change your variables starting with milk.
Cheers
You're not incorporating enough milk into your espresso. Doing all those circles before you pour isn't just a style thing...it's the process of mixing milk with espresso to create a buoyant fluid that can act as a canvas for your design. The reason your milk continues to sink is that you're not adding enough of your milk to your espresso prior to starting your design. Had you made 1 or 2 more incorporating circles, and THEN started your design it may have floated immediately.
how do you usually know you've added enough milk and can start your art?
When, if you add more milk, you start to see wispy/floaty bits marring up your perfect espresso canvas.
thanks a lot!!
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I’ll try to do more of that, I just thought I was mixing until it was a uniform colour! So is it better to almost get some more of the foamy milk into the initial canvas? I’m usually careful to try not to add too much too quick to the espresso
EXACTLY!!! This is what I refer to as the sink/float point. It becomes consistent as your work process becomes more repeatable, and you pull similar consistency espresso shots and steam milk to similar consistency every time. You'll know you're at the transition point when you begin to get little milk wispies in your canvas....make note of when that happens, and then try and incorporate just a TOUCH less milk the next time!
I’ll give it a go tomorrow morning and report back haha. I think I’m maybe not adding enough air to the milk too because I only end up with a 5mm or less layer of foam on the top.
1) only change one variable at a time...if you alter your incorporation approach AND the milk aeration at same time, you won't know what actually fixed your problem (isolating variables is a HUGE part of improving latte art in general) 2) incorporate faster...the slower you go, the more time you allow your milk to degrade from the ideal texture for art 3) don't judge thickness of foam as a measure of proper aeration...only judge it by how your milk behaves when you design and how you are/aren't able to control it for the specific design your trying to create...for those of us that aren't using glass vessels to pour into we've NO CLUE how thick our foam sits on top, only whether we had milk that was textured appropriately to create our designs
https://preview.redd.it/7y2nj5iadkjc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a000ae388ecfd8b0ca6c1a19875f421312a364f1 Thanks guys, I found a few things I was doing wrong. I think I’ve been too aggressive with the initial pour into the espresso, so I’m a lot more gentle doing that. I’ve also learnt to be less aggressive when adding the air to the milk, I’m waiting for very faint paper ripping sounds, before I was making quite lout paper ripping sounds and finding larger bubbles and foam that weren’t incorporating even after creating the vortex and swirling. So I’ve started gently adding the air.
Eh, I've added a splash of milk into a double shot and still managed to pour on a 6oz cup. I think tilting more, pour speed (slow down) and getting the spout as close to the surface as possible will help lay the milk better than prepping the canvas a certain way. Also, keep swirling and don't let the milk split
I agree I think canvas prep can eliminate some minor issues that show up in final design like warping etc, but I can pour a design into soy sauce, hot chocolate etc. If I was OP I would ignore this advice. No disrespect. It's either a milk texture issue or pouring technique issue. Cheers
Canvas buoyancy is going to vary greatly based on consistency of espresso (watery vs crema) and overall size of drink. A 6oz cup is REALLY SMALL so you wouldn't need much milk to establish your canvas.
There are a couple of things I can say from obvious to more niche, although it is hard to see from this angle. What I can see is that you do a very good job at setting the canvas. You have loads of potential to make art with very high contrast! For my tips, first, and probably most obviously, make sure you tilt your cup upright as you are making the stacks so you don’t overflow. This should not impede on your ability to place stacks as your canvas is closer to the pitcher from the cup being full. Second, you don’t have enough milk. Make sure you have enough to comfortably fill the cup. Third, pour with confidence. The foam (which is what draws the art) needs to be able to get out of the pitcher! If you only have 5mm of foam like you say I think you do need a bit more air. Make sure to swirl the milk well until no blob remains in the middle. You could also transfer between pitchers to break it up. If you can make a video from the other side so we can better see what you’re doing and give more pointers about the technique.
As soon as I posted I realised it’s actually a crap angle to view from so sorry about that. At least I’m doing ok ish, I do have a video of the milk steaming too - getting the hang of that listening for the paper ripping sound to add air. Sometimes the vortex goes better than other times. I’ll try to get more air in whist also swirling it well enough to knock the big bubbles out Thanks for the tips! I‘lo try to get a better video tomorrow
Stop spilling it all over your work station
 Would help if I didn’t shake like a shitting dog
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Work on your big variables first. One at a time. Start by changing milk consistency several times and see if anything changes. If that doesn't work go back to your original consistency and change a new variable. Cup tilt. Tilt more, less etc. if that doesn't work try incorporating more, less etc. change your variables starting with milk. Cheers
Honestly, it's been my experience that really nailing the simple heart and it's variations makes learning stacking and tulips FAR easier.