The Snow Man

The Snow Man is a fun one for the holiday season when you have friends and family over. There is no better way to get your loved ones involved in the joy of latte art. Because this one is so easy to do, everyone will want to give it a try. It requires no special pour techniques. You just need a spoon and a small pointed stirring tool to get everything started. You can make your latte art Snow Man as fun and festive as you like by adding in holiday sprinkles and peppermint candy. So let's get everyone involved in their Christmas morning coffee. Let's make a Snow Man!

Even though the Snow Man is one of the easiest latte art creations around, you still need to pay very careful attention to how you prepare your espresso and steamed milk. Use only espresso roast coffee and a burr grinder for great espresso. Make sure you angle the steam wand to the edge of the steam pitcher when you near the end of the steaming process. This gets the milk to swirl around the inside, giving you the right kind of microfoam for creating a Snow Man or any design. Also, don't forget to tap the side of the steam pitcher when you are done. This helps the bubbles to settle a little more, so you can have a more evened out milk foam.

No special pour techniques are required for making a Snow Man. Just fill most of the coffee cup with the more dense milk and get your spoon ready. You will want to make three circular shaped dabs of foam in your cup, starting with a large dab and moving to a small one for the head. Some latte artists like to use only two, and the effect still works. Getting three correctly sized dabs of foam and a head that's still big enough to draw a face on can be a challenge at first. If you feel like two dabs of foam will work for you, try it out.

Simply place the large dab of foam on the bottom of the cup. Take your spoon and make another medium sized dab on top of that. If your dabs of foam don't turn into perfect circles as you place them with the spoon, you can always use your pointed metal stirrer to even them out. Just keep moving it around the circumference of your dabs in a circular motion. This will blend the brown crema foam and the white foam to give a more circular appearance.

As soon as you add the head, you can begin drawing with your pointed metal stirrer. Take some of the brown foam from the outside of the Snow Man and use it to paint eyes and a face. Many people also like to paint on some buttons and a scarf. This is what's so fun about the Snow Man. You and your family can spend a nice Christmas morning coming up with all kinds of new variations. When you're done, add in some green and red holiday sprinkles for an extra touch, and don't forget to take a picture of your new creation. We can't wait to see what you've made this holiday season!

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