The Taj Mahal

This is for everyone who doesn't think it's cool enough to draw animals and hearts into their coffee drinks. Have you ever given much thought to famous landmarks? The Taj Mahal is a remarkably easy design to make. It simply requires a little bit of chocolate syrup, some foam, a pointed metal stirrer, and a willingness to have a lot of fun. Okay, perhaps the last one wasn't totally necessary, but nobody wants to make an angry Taj Mahal. Here's how you make a happy one.

Architectural wonder or not, you should always prepare your espresso and milk as best as possible for all of your latté art creations. Be sure you get an espresso roast, and always grind your coffee finely. When steaming milk, angle the steam wand to the side of the pitcher to get the milk swirling around. This will make a nice dense foam perfect for difficult and easy latté art.

You will start the Taj Mahal by filling your cup almost all the way full with milk. Next, take a teaspoon and make a line of foam through the middle of the cup. This line should be about the width of the teaspoon and no more. If your coffee cup has a handle, be sure to start your line next to it. Place a dot of foam on top of the line in the middle of the coffee cup. This dot should be a little wider than the line, but not by much.

Once the dot is in place, it's time to get out the chocolate syrup. Use it to line the outside of the white foam shape. You will then want to make another horizontal line with the chocolate syrup running through the middle of the foam line. If you did everything correctly, you will have something that looks kind of like the Taj Mahal with three chocolate syrup stripes at its base.

While this design looks cool enough on its own, the pointed metal stirrer can spice it up even more. Begin in the middle of the cup on the bottom of the design. Move the metal stirrer up and through the top of the "dome" to give it a point in the middle. Remove the stirrer, wipe it off, and proceed to the outside edges of the dome shape. On both sides, move the stirrer down through the horizontal stripe.

Now for the finishing touch. Move the stirrer up through the foam line about halfway between the edges of the dome and the edge of the cup. This adds symmetry to the design, mimicking the line through the middle. Remove your stirrer from the cup, and you are finished.

Who would have though it could be this easy to recreate this famous landmark? The Taj Mahal is sleek, elegant, and highly delicious. Make your own and upload it to the site. We can't wait to see what you can do with this design!

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