The Cross Swirl

This is a fun one for those latte artists who want a nice relaxing change from using the pour alone to create their masterful works. The cross swirl is accomplished without any pouring techniques and relies solely on using a pointed metal instrument to create the pattern. If you have a spoon and one of those very small screwdrivers you would use to take apart a cell phone, you are ready to go. One might say any latte layman can be capable of creating this one. It's great if you want impress your friends with minimal labor.

Even though a novice can do it, you still need to brew your espresso and foam your milk like a pro. That means getting the right beans, grind, brew time, and making sure you use the steam wand at angle to the steam pitcher to get the milk to swirl around the pitcher for the fine foam used in your latte. We know it's hard to mess this one up, but all latte art rests on the fundamentals of good coffee and milk.

When your espresso and milk are ready, you will want to begin the pour from a relatively high height. Don't go splashing milk everywhere or anything like that. Just keep it high enough to force your milk to the bottom of the cup. You will want to fill the coffee cup all the way up, leaving a small space at the top for your latte art.

Now grab your spoon and dip it into your steam pitcher to get about a half of a spoonful of the milk foam. Use the white foam in the spoon to draw a thin target-shaped cross on the top of the brown foam. The edges of the cross should be as close to the edge of the coffee cup as they can be without touching it. After you have done this, you will want to place four white dots in each quadrant of the target shape. They should be placed exactly between the edges of the cross shape and the edge of the coffee cup. When you are done, the top of your coffee cup should look kind of like a tic-tac-toe board with only four spaces, all filled with dots.

As a latte art design, this tic-tac-toe board simply will not cut it on its own. That's why you have your pointed metal object. Begin at the edge of the cup and slowly draw a swirl toward the middle of the cup. As you do this, you will be swirling the cross shape and dots, creating something that is truly stunning and simple. If you did it correctly, it will look kind of like a swirling marble pattern with hearts mixed in. Show it to your friends, but don't show them how you did it. They'll think you're some kind of latte art genius.

Learn more about making Latte Art in our Latte Art How To!