my latte art

Latte art has been and will continue to be a sought after art form for me. I love the way a macchiato, latte, or cappuccino can be taken to the next level of coffee making by this precise art form. In my mind, latte art is an indication a high quality espresso drink. In order to achieve latte art you have to have not only a well pulled shot of espresso, but also perfectly steamed milk (micro foam) and the technique to pull it off. I have been struggling for the past year making espresso at every chance I get in an effort to advance my coffee making skills. My shots are seemingly increasing in quality as I get my dose, tamp and timing more consistent. My micro foam is pretty decent as I have begun to better understand the two step process of stretching the milk and then rolling the milk. However, my art making technique up until this past weekend has been consistently bad. I don't know what it was this weekend, but something seemed to click; maybe it is all the videos I have watched over the past year on youtube (thanks kingseven) that have finally pushed me beyond the suck. Don't let me mislead you though, my latte art is still pretty bad and needs tons of improvement, but it finally at least looks like something. Having said that, I thought I would post some images of a few of my first (fairly) successful latte art coffees. I am sure they will not mean nearly as much to you as they do to me.