But with the right tools and techniques, anyone can create beautiful designs on top of their espresso drinks. One essential tool for latte art is to buy a high-quality coffee milk jug.
Starting With The Basics
Latte art involves creating patterns and designs on top of the crema layer of a latte or cappuccino. This is done by frothing the milk to a specific texture and temperature and then pouring it into the espresso in a specific way. The result is a beautiful design that adds extra visual appeal to your coffee.
The Right Equipment For The Job
To create coffee art, you need to buy a milk jug designed for the purpose. These milk jugs are made of high-quality, food-grade stainless steel. They have a spout design that makes it easy to pour milk precisely and an ergonomic handle design for optimum comfort. The incremental measurement guide inside the jug will assist in pouring exact volumes.
The Milk
It is essential to start with cold milk. The colder the milk, the easier it is to steam and the better the texture. Whole milk is the most forgiving and easiest to work with, but you can also use skim milk or non-dairy milks like almond or oat milk.
Let’s Get Steamy
Once you have chosen your milk, it is time to start steaming. For latte art, the key to steaming milk is to create a smooth, velvety texture with tiny, uniform bubbles. This is achieved by holding the steam wand just below the surface of the milk. Allow the milk to create a whirlpool as you gradually stretch it by letting small amounts of air into the liquid. As the milk approaches 40°C (around body temperature), lift the jug slightly to stop adding air continuing to make that whirlpool with the milk. When the milk reaches the desired temperature (65-70°C), it is time to stop steaming and start pouring.
Pour Your Heart Out
When you are ready to pour, hold the milk jug at a slight angle and position the spout close to the surface of the espresso. Start pouring slowly and steadily, as you tip the jug more you can control the amount of white milk foam that will mark the surface of your crema and create your desired design. Your decision to buy a high-quality coffee milk jug will start to pay off now. By controlling the flow of the milk and keeping the spout close to the surface of the espresso, along with some practice and patience, you will be able to create intricate designs like hearts, rosettas, feathers, and even more complex patterns.
Contact Laroma Coffee Company to buy a high-quality milk jug today and elevate your latte art to new levels. With the right techniques and a little practice, you will impress your friends and family with your latte art skills in no time.
]]>In this blog post, we will take a closer look at our commitment to ethical trade and share why it's an integral part of our business.
We believe in paying fair prices for the coffee beans we source from around the world for your espresso from our coffee company. This means that supply chain transparency is a must. We pay a fair price for our green beans, and know that the hard working producers will receive their fair share. Our commitment to fair prices ensures that farmers can earn a sustainable income and invest in their farms and communities, which in turn helps to support the local economy and promote long-term sustainability.
In addition to fair prices, we also prioritize sustainable coffee farming practices. Composting and “Sugarcane Decaffeination” are examples of simple, environmentally sustainable practices that can also help make coffee farms more profitable by using locally abundant resources and byproducts of coffee processing to increase yields and lower production costs. Shade-grown coffee reduces deforestation, creates habitats for native animal and plant species, and also greatly increases the quality of the coffee.
We also work with farmers who prioritize social sustainability by investing in their communities, building municipal coffee processing facilities, providing fair wages and benefits to their workers, and supporting education and healthcare initiatives in their local areas.
Sustainable and ethical practices in the coffee industry are essential for the long-term health and prosperity of the industry. Investing in fair prices, sustainable farming practices, and transparent supply chains can help promote a more equitable and sustainable future for coffee farmers and their communities.
We are committed to using our business as a force for good and making a positive impact in the world through our ethical trade practices so that you can enjoy the espresso from our coffee company with a clear conscience.
Contact Laroma Coffee Company today to join us on our ethical coffee journey and discover the fascinating and delicious world of specialty espresso coffee beans from our company. We want to share the knowledge we have collected over decades in the coffee industry and be your trusted partner in sourcing amazing beans from amazing coffee farmers.
]]>Today, we explain and guide you to the perfect grind setting.
The grind of a coffee has a direct and significant impact on the taste of your brew. Always remember that every coffee is a bit different. Factors such as roast level will affect how your coffee brews at any given grind setting.
These general guidelines will get you started on your journey of tasty experimentation.
Coarse Grind |
French Press/Plunger Vac-Pot/Siphon Coffee Maker |
Medium Grind |
Auto Drip Makers (flat bottom filter) |
Medium To Fine Grind |
Pour Over/Filter Coffee (Cone Filter) Stovetop/Moka Pot |
Fine Grind |
Espresso |
Super-fine Grind |
Turkish Coffee (Ibrik/Cezve) |
When grinding coffee for espresso, your main concern should be ensuring that it takes 25-35 seconds to pull a 40-60ml double shot. There are many factors that will influence how long your shot takes. These can be anything from the temperature and pressure of the water, the age of your beans and even the weather! However, the main ones you need to worry about are the amount of coffee in the basket, how evenly you have tamped the coffee, and how coarse or fine it is ground.
You can tell if you’re using the correct amount by looking at your coffee grounds after pulling a shot: If there is a puddle of water sitting on top, your dose is too low; if the used coffee is packed in really tightly and has dry patches on the surface, you’ve used a bit too much. Make sure you use the same amount of coffee every time you make a coffee, as this will make it easier to troubleshoot problems with your grind.
Your tamping technique is another variable that you should practice and learn to be as consistent as possible with the weight and evenness. If your tamp is not level, the water will extract the goodies from your coffee unevenly and give you a bitter brew that lacks sweetness.
If you get these two techniques nailed, you can simply adjust your grind to lengthen or shorten the time it takes to pull your shot. This is timed from the moment you activate the brew valve, NOT from when you see the coffee start to pour from the spout. To slow down your shot: make the grind finer. To speed it up, make the grind coarser.
Pull your shot too fast and it will be bitter; too slow and your coffee will taste tart and sour. Hitting that 25-35 second window will give you the most sweetness and balanced flavour.
Your grind setting for pour over or filter coffee will be roughly the particle size of table salt.
Just like with espresso, keep your dose consistent! Weigh your beans before grinding and weigh your water before brewing. The correct ratio is somewhat subjective, but most people prefer a ratio between 15:1 and 18:1 (i.e. 15 - 18 grams of water for every gram of coffee used).
The time it takes to pour all of your brewing water through your grinds will tell you if your grind setting is correct. Again, how long it should take is down to personal preference and will differ from bean to bean, but you should aim for between 3 - 5 minutes from when the water hits the coffee to when the last drip drains through.
As with both espresso and pour over, consistency is key. Weigh your beans and your water, aiming for a ratio of between 15:1 and 18:1 (water to coffee). Keep your brew time the same each time ‒ again, 3 - 5 minutes is a good place to start. It’s a little harder to gauge if you’ve nailed it, but generally speaking, a grind that is too coarse will be weak and lack sweetness, whereas too fine a grind will be more bitter.
It’s important to take great care when selecting your home coffee grinder. Some (most) would say that this piece of equipment is just as, if not more, important than the machine.
The first thing to note is whether the grinder has burrs or blades. Blade grinders will do terrible things to your coffee, pulverizing it into uneven-sized chunks instead of slicing it delicately into beautiful ribbons of an even consistency, like a good sharp set of burrs does!
There are many different options when it comes to burr shape and size, and much of the difference comes down to personal preference. But know that any burr grinder will be significantly better than one with blender-type blades.
For quality home coffee grinders with a difference, check out our Mahlkönig X54 Home Grinder made with special steel burr material, or the Hario Coffee Mill ceramic, conical burr hand grinder.
]]>To help with your choice decisions, we share insights into the Vibiemme Domobar machine today.
Domo is Italian for home. Bar is Italian for café.
Domobar = café at home!
The Domobar range is a great choice for coffee fans who appreciate, and long for, perfect espresso at home. There are two options for the Domobar: “Junior” and “Super”. As you would expect, these offer different functions for a casual home user (Domobar Junior) to a near-professional home barista (Domobar Super).
With the Super, you will have an exceptionally high performance machine, with a Commercial Pressurestat and rotary vane pump, 1800W element heating a 2.7L boiler and the ability to switch between the on-board water reservoir and a mains water connection.
Each of these fantastic machines guarantee you an impeccable coffee extraction, allowing you to enjoy cafe quality coffee at home.
The Domobar Junior, like the Super, uses an E-61 grouphead: the undisputed champion of home espresso technology. The Thermosyphon system uses natural convection in the heat exchanger, which moves the fluid around the grouphead without the intervention of a mechanical pump, ensuring incredible thermal stability shot after shot.
With a 1.4L boiler, heated by a 1600W element and a simple vibratory pump, this little machine really punches above it’s weight.
Sized to perform just about anywhere, a 2.8L water reservoir supplies the boiler and grouphead no matter where in the world you are: Bach, Boat or at Home
Which Domobar you choose depends on a number of factors, The Super is able to pump out shot after shot and jug after jug of perfectly steamed milk, giving you an authentic cafe experience at home. If you are after seamless performance when you put your machine through it’s paces, or love to entertain and expect friends to be queuing at your front door for their morning brew: then the Domobar Super is right for you
The Domobar Junior is the little brother to the Domobar Super in size but still delivers mighty performance in a smaller package giving you a flat white as good as you'll get anywhere in the world. If you want a reasonably priced machine that will provide spectacular quality espresso coffee, you need not look any further than the Domobar Junior.
All you need to do now is stock up on your favourite beans and perhaps some new options to experiment with at home. And then get used to making loads of coffees for the your appreciative friends!
Get your favourite Vibiemme Domobar, Junior or Super here today!
]]>It tastes fantastic, still doesn’t use any nasty chemicals, and is far more sustainable both in terms of the environment and ensuring we have a consistent supply
]]>It tastes fantastic, still doesn’t use any nasty chemicals, and is far more sustainable both in terms of the environment and ensuring we have a consistent supply.
The beans look a little different and will oil up in a shorter time, but this won’t affect how they taste if used within a month and kept sealed in their bag.
We have always been rather proud of our decaf. The most common comment about our Swiss Water Decaf is that: when ground fresh, it tastes just like a normal coffee.
In 2018 we received a sample of Colombian decaf coffee which used a new decaffeination method called the “sugarcane process”. We did a bit of research, discovering that it is decaffeinated in the same region in which it was grown (called Popayan), and the process uses a naturally occurring compound made from sugarcane, which is also grown in the same place (unlike the Swiss Water coffee, which had to take a rather large detour to Vancouver to have the caffeine removed!), We thought that was a big positive, so we roasted and cupped it with great interest. We were not disappointed with what we tasted! The depth of flavour was incredible and, just like the Swiss Water, tasted just like a caffeinated coffee.
One thing we noticed is that the roasted beans did look a bit odd and took on an oily sheen sooner than other coffees would at that roast level. We talked to a few people who had been using this process for a while and none had found this affected how the coffee aged if it was stored correctly.
After a bit of pondering, we decided to stick with the Swiss Water even though we preferred the Sugarcane, as it wasn’t broke; so didn’t need fixing!
Then the global shipping problems of 2021/22 came along, and we had to scramble to ensure we would have an uninterrupted supply of decaf coffee. Initially we changed from a green bean blend from 4 different countries to a single Colombian bean with the same flavour profile. But it still had to make the journey to Canada to have the caffeine removed before making it’s way here (all that shipping was getting awfully expensive, and the wait times were getting longer).
So, remembering the spectacular coffee from Popayan we’d tasted a few years earlier (the normal, caffeinated version of which had by now replaced our Colombian blend component) we decided that now was the time to make changes, and we’re glad we have because it tastes great!
]]>Region: Tablon de Gomez, Near Buesaco, Nariño
Altitude: 1800m-2100m
Varietal: Caturra, Castillo
Process: Washed
Tasting Notes: A delicate, well balanced aroma with notes of hazelnut, orange, cacao, prune and blackberry. The acidity is pronounced and pleasant and the body is silky. Clean as a whistle in the aftertaste
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]]>Town Patzicia, Chimaltenango
Region: Horqueta, Boquete
Farm: Berlina Estate
Micro Lot: 2016/17 Bourbon
Process: Natural
Tasting Notes: Refined blackcurrant, soft spices and cloves up front. A boozy plum and apricot acidity with a heavy body makes way for a sweet sticky finish of dark chocolate, leather, malt and toffee.
This specialty coffee has been produced by Casa Ruiz, S.A. Harvested and processed at the prized Berlina Estate, the coffee has been grown at elevations of 1500-1600 MASL. Coffee from this estate has been frequently awarded within the specialty coffee sector, and is considered an ambassador of the genuine seed that was originally planted in Boquete. Berlina Estate is located in the region of Horqueta in Boquete, Panama. The estate was founded by Mr. Segundo Diaz, a Colombian soldier who was sent to Panama to fight the
separatist uprise at the beginning of 1900s. After a peaceful separation was achieved between Panama and Colombia, Colombians were given the choice to return to Colombia or settle in Panama. Mr. Diaz feel in love with Boquete and married a Panamanian girl.
In the 1920s he decided to start a coffee plantation high in the mountains of Boquete. They built a small sugar cane mill that was run by a
water wheel. They grew corn, and farmed chickens and pigs. After the coffee had been harvested it was processed using energy from the water wheel. The family built an attic to store the parchment coffee, taking advantage of the dry conditions created by the sunheated roof. Coffee became the main source of income for the Diaz family. By the 1930s the Berlina Estate name had become
synonymous with quality coffee, however during this time the price of coffee fell sharply and subsequently forced the Diaz family to sell the farm and move on. The Estate was purchased by Casa Ruiz S.A. in 1997, and since then has been under the management and stewardship of the organisation.
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]]>Region: Apaneca, Ilamatapec
Farm: Finca Los Nolages (1600-1700m)
Micro Lot: 2016/17 El Capulin (Red Catui)
Process: Black Honey
Tasting Notes: Sweet sticky lot with a bight stone fruit acidity. Coating buttery mouthfeel with a rum and raisin finish.
Los Nogales is family-owned business with three generations of history. Originally owned by Jose Antonio Sr grandfather, it was passed to Jose, and more recently to Jose's son has taken on the business. As a child, Jose always dreamed of having a farm in order to learn the detail the and costs associated with taking care of a coffee estate not only financially but also emotionally.
Los Nogales is located in Apaneca and part of the Apaneca-ilamatepec mountain range being one of the most prestige locations in El Salvador for growing coffee. It was one of the first farms in the region to introduce specialty coffee into the plantation and since its early development has been very
committed to the quality process.Year to year they invest significantly in social and environmental activities/programs, encouraging the communities surrounding the Los Nogales farms to act as strong pillars for the organisation.
The communities make up the majority of the farm's yearly workforce and by maintaining happy employees and providing them with good living conditions, health care benefits and education the benefits are returned by hard work on the farms, dedication and passion.
JASAL - another family owned coffee business - owns a farm close to Los Nogales called La Gloria which has a natural water spring that provides clean water to 50% of the town of Apaneca.
]]>Nearest town: Gatundu
Process: Fully washed and sun dried
Altitude: 1880 meters above sea level
Tasting Notes: Red grape and currant Aromas with Medium to full, silky body, high, sweet acidity and currant, honey, green apple, a crisp flavour.
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Established in 1965 the Karatu coffee factory has a strong history of producing excellent coffee. Found just north of Nairobi in Kiambu Coutny, the factory serves the villages of Karatu, Gitwe, Kibiru and Kigaa.
As a member of the Gitwe Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS), the factory is also home to the head office of the FCS. Factory manager David Kanya runs the operations with a staff of six permanent employees. Coffee varieties grown by members are SL 28, SL 34 (99%) and a very small amount (about 1%) of Ruiru 11, but with great ambitions of replacing some of the old varieties with the new back-cross of Ruiru 11, Batian, that was released by the Coffee Research Foundation back in 2010/11 season.
Growers benefit from the nutrient rich, red soils typical for the area. With the assistance from Coffee Management Services (CMS), production has been slowly increasing for farmers here. The production has been slowed due to regional preference toward growing tea instead of coffee – with their high altitudes, it is not uncommon to see both tea and coffee on the same plot.
After picking, ripe cherry is brought to the factory by smallholder farmers, before it undergoes processing to remove the skin and pulp – known as the wet processing method. Wastewater is managed through the use of soaking pits. The water used for processing the cherry will spend time in the pits to insure that the nutrient rich water created during depulping will not be returned to the nearby water source without proper treatment. This additional step will cut down the risk of contamination, After adequate time for reabsorption the water will be recirculated. Currently Karatu Factory is employing five soaking pits for this process.
The factory has two disc pulpers installed to remove the skin and fruit from the inner parchment layer that is protecting the green coffee bean. Then, the coffee is fermented overnight to break down the sugars. After pulping, the coffee is fermented overnight to break down the sugars, traveling through channels to the soaking tank the coffee is carefully cleaned, soaked and spread out on the raised drying tables. Time on the drying tables depends on climate, ambient temperature and total production volume undergoing processing. Drying can take from 7 to 15 days in total.
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]]>Town Timana
Region Huila
Producer 11 smallholder Farms
Process 36-48 hour Fermentation, sun dried on beds and patios
Altitude 1650-1850m
Cupping Notes tangerine and passionfruit aromas precede the sweet, fresh acidity. The body is soft and round and the aftertaste is lingering with notes of sugar cane
ASPROTIMANA (Asociación de Productores Agricolas de Timaná), is an Association of 150 high quality producers located in Timana-Huila created by Robinson Figueroa Hernandez more than a decade ago. The association has picked some of their best coffees to create their "insignia" blend. This coffee is cautiously over fermented in between 36 and 48 hours, depending of the altitude where the coffee is grown as well as the variety of the lot picked.
The result is an extremely sweet coffee, which has hints of citric notes as well as a velvety sugar cane end. Asprotimana is also known for being creative in the way of producing different variaties like Geisha, pink bourbon and Typical.
Timaná is located in south Huila, the biggest coffee producer department in Colombia. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, colonized Spanish conquerors in 1538 after facing one of the cruelest fights with the brave tribe Timanae that lived in the town. The tenacity of the people from this area makes Timaná a municipality that delivers of the best coffees in the world.
]]>Town East of Mbale, on the slopes of Mt Elgon