How to Make Heart Shaped Foam on Cappuccinos

The heart is one of the first latte art patterns baristas learn.

Making a great cappuccino is difficult, but serving it with heart-shaped foam can challenge even the most experienced baristas. Cappuccino's distinctive foam is a colloid composed of air bubbles suspended in milk. By manipulating the introduction of the foam to the espresso, you can create swirls that follow the motion of your hand. Serving a cappuccino with heart-shaped foam to a loved one is a great way to show you care. Does this Spark an idea?

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Espresso machine with steam wand
Espresso
Milk
Coffee mug
Spoon
Thermometer
Pitcher
Refrigerator

Instructions

- 1
  
  Chill the pitcher in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Brew espresso.
- 2
  
  Add milk to the pitcher until it is half full. Insert the thermometer into the pitcher.
- 3
  
  Insert the steam wand into the pitcher. Steam the milk to 150 degrees F by turning the wand on and holding it near the surface of the milk.
- 4
  
  Turn off the steam wand. Remove the wand and thermometer from the pitcher. Texture the milk by swirling the pitcher around rapidly and hitting its side to break large air bubbles.
- 5
  
  Pour espresso into the coffee mug. Stop when the cup is half full.
- 6
  
  Pour milk into the coffee mug. Use the spoon to hold back the foam and shake the pitcher upward as the milk flows into the cup. Stop pouring milk once the cup is three-fourths full.
- 7
  
  Pour foam slowly into the center of the cup, moving the pitcher to form a heart. Shape the heart using the spoon.

Tips & Warnings

Pour into a wide-mouthed mug. The larger surface area will give you more room to work.
Further embellish your cappuccino using stencils.
If you steam the milk past 160 degrees Fahrenheit, it will scorch and you will have to dump the milk and start over.
The heart will gradually dissolve into the cappuccino. Serve immediately or the heart will be missed.