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All right, so we've had a lot of fun with free pour so far. And again, that's the drink
that takes no more time than it would normally take to actually pour the drink for a customer
in the first place.
The next kind of latte art we can get into though is etching. It's not quite as fast.
It requires you to set the drink down and then do something else to it while a customer
waits, but if you have some time it can be a nice garnish, and you have a little more
creativity involved in etching than you would with free pour. Your options are just wider
open because it's essentially just drawing on a palate.
Anything you can imagine, once you understand the basic techniques, you can make happen.
There are people who etch portraits or do 3D etching latte art. It becomes more of a
art for art's sake category than a way to garnish a beverage.
There are a couple of extra tools required to do it. If you want to etch with syrups,
you'll need a syrup to put it on. Again, we are baristas, not just latte artists, so if
a drink doesn't call for a syrup, don't do it just to make a drink look pretty.
Present the drink in the best form you possibly can. But if you have something like a mocha
or a drink that would require a garnish and require a syrup on top, why not put some swirls
in it with a tool?
Speaking of tools, you need something with a point on it. You can usually use a thermometer.
You have those lying around your shop anyway. We have one all here today. Anything that
is stick shaped, you can drag through, and push and pull foam around the cup will do
just fine.