Mother's Day rose latte art tutorial with Barista Brian
Brian Leonard, the Fredericton native famous for his foam designs and known as Barista Brian on Instagram and YouTube, created this special latte art tutorial for CBC Life in honor of Mother's Day. For non-coffee drinkers it can be done with hot chocolate or matcha. It's a simple but really special design that you can actually achieve – so you should do it! Because your mom will just adore it. Plus, it's some great art from the heart that won't cost you too much to create.
Here's what Brian had to say about why he chose this design...
"Roses connect me to the mother figures in my life (particularly my amazing 95-year-old grandmother, Ellen!) and I am so happy to share my red rose latte art with you!"
"If you have a basic understanding of how to prepare a latte, this is a design that can be easily mastered. Getting your foam right takes time and practice, and lessons for another day. Using 3.25% dairy or a milk alternatives with some fats helps get quality foam. I use 3.25% grass fed milk, as I find the quality of the milk is higher and produces better latte art!"
Here's what you will need:
- Espresso (you can use hot chocolate or matcha for non-coffee drinkers)
- Milk or a milk alternative. 3.25% will give you the best foam!
- Espresso machine with a steam wand, or a milk frother
- You will use a skewer, stir stick, or toothpick to paint the rose in the foam. A thermometer works great as well!
- For your red "paint", you will need pomegranate juice, or any red juice with lots of pigment.
- For your green "paint", I use matcha tea, or food colouring!
- A mug
- Lots and lots of LOVE
Here's what you do:
- Prepare espresso and steam milk.
- Pour espresso into mug first, then, pouring your milk slowly, in a circular motion, until your mug is full. Latte!
- Take your "paintbrush" and dip it into your "paint", leaving only a small amount on the tip of your paintbrush.
- With your red paint, gently etch petals into the surface of the foam. I like to use circular motions with the red to get the effect of petals for my rose.
- With your green, take a small amount and in a straight line, draw your stem!
- Say "I love you a latte" as you hand over your beautiful latte art creation! (Make sure to tag @baristabrian @cbclife in your pics!)
