Latte Art: The Etching Technique

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In our first blog post about latte art, we explored the most popular latte art style – free pouring. In this post, we will look at the other latte art technique, called etching.

What’s the Difference?

The biggest difference between the two latte art styles is the fact that the free pouring technique is applied during the pouring of the milk into the coffee, while etching is applied only after the milk has been poured. The etching technique involves ‘etching’ or drawing on the surface of the finished drink with tools and syrups.

Etching is considered to be the easier style as it doesn’t require as much skill as the free pouring technique. In order to master the free pouring technique, the espresso and milk foam need to be of a very high quality. For this reason, some do not consider etching to be true latte art as it does not confirm the quality of the coffee in the way that free pouring does. Etching, on the other hand, can be applied on the surface of a very badly made coffee, making it purely cosmetic. Latte art designs that are created through the etching technique usually fade quicker than ones that are created by the free pouring technique, as the foam dissolves into the coffee at a faster rate. Often a barista will combine the two styles to create an intricate design that cannot be achieved by applying just one technique.

Etching

As we have already established, the etching technique occurs only once the milk has been poured into the coffee. Etching is usually applied when the barista wants to create more detailed latte art. The barista manipulates the surface of the finished coffee with a skewer, toothpick or any other long, thin object, to create patterns and designs. Caramelised syrup, cinnamon or chocolate sauce is sometimes used to help create the desired pattern. For example, a simple etching pattern called ‘the web’ is created by pouring two or more circles of syrup or chocolate sauce onto the surface of the drink. Then, using a tool such as a toothpick, the sauce is dragged from the middle of the cup to the outer rim. To create a more detailed effect, the dragging is alternated from centre to the rim, and from the rim to the centre.

Another technique that is considered to be in the same category as etching is stenciling because it is also applied only once the milk has been poured. Baristas will use latte art stencils together with powders such as cinnamon or cocoa powder to create unusual pictures and words on the surface of coffees. A stencil is rested on the surface of the cup and then the powder is sprinkled over the stencil to form a consistent blanket of powder. When the stencil is gently removed, voila! A beautiful design appears! Of course, stenciling requires little skill and is therefore also not considered true latte art by some.