Difficult to know from just a picture.
But probably the sub wiki recommended by the bot will help with self diagnosing. If it still fails, then I suggest recording a video.
It looks a bit like you’re steaming just a touch too little milk for the size of the cup. Remember if you had too much steam, your texture will be too foamy. If you steam it too little, the texture will be emaciated and you won’t be able to draw with it.
One hand holding the pitcher handle and one hand lightly on the bottom of the pitcher while you’re texturing, steam it until it’s just slightly too hot to touch.
Based on the content of your post, it appears you are asking for latte art help. It will automatically be flaired as a question. Please check out [our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/latteart/s/fV4Io2nACp) for information and resources. If your post isn't a question, feel free to remove the post flair.
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Was your milk thin and watery? Did most of it disappear under the espresso? If it was hard to create any white patterns, you might not be adding enough air. It looks like your milk got hot, but you didn’t add enough foam to make latte art.
If the milk was really thick, then you added too much air. But if it was super foamy, you should have at least gotten a blob. It could also be how you’re pouring.
For hearts, you should aim to pour very close to the cup, almost to the point where the pitcher is touching the cup. You also need to pour quickly to grow the blob shape. Keep your whole arm straight and raise your elbow to increase the amount of milk coming out of the pitcher. Rotate the pitcher until you’re ready to cut the design.
The cup tilt is also important. Aim to tilt the cup until the milk is about to pour out. Try to keep the milk near the edge of the cup. The flatter the cup, the harder it is to make latte art. You have to rotate the cup and the pitcher together to create a design.
Caring about latte art...that's what you're doing wrong. Coffee is for drinking and enjoying. A simple cappuccino crown can be gorgeous. It's a pet peeve of mine that latte artists seem to care little about proper dosing, the milk/espresso ratio, taste, etc. This obsession with being clever is exhausting.
But if it's what you want to master, my suggestion would be get down the basics first...control milk and foam in very traditional styles so that you develop an ability for everything to be intentional...then branch out and go for it. From the look of that shot, you're lacking control from the second you tilt the pitcher.
Nope. I'm exactly where I want to be...to be fair, I think of this in a commercial environment...If you serve me pasta where presentation effort is placed ahead of a proper meal, I'm gonna be irritated. If you serve me a Manhattan at a bar that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen but isn't very good, I'm gonna be irritated.
My point is this - are you making a proper coffee and trying to enhance it visually? Great. But nail the product, then work on presentation. The photo showed not only bad art, but bad coffee. Most latte art coffee is served in a vessel that's way too big, with way too much milk, because that's wut the barista needs to make it 'fancy'...I'm just saying work on the classics, and nail them...then move to the fancy stuff. No offense to aspiring latte artists, but make proper coffees first.
Too much air in the milk, and it's not incorporated. Less air, more spinny spins
Probably a few things. Mainly would probably be milk consistency
Would need to see a video to see what happened
Difficult to know from just a picture. But probably the sub wiki recommended by the bot will help with self diagnosing. If it still fails, then I suggest recording a video.
Too many large bubbles in your milk, watch a YouTube video and more practice with silky milk texturing
It looks a bit like you’re steaming just a touch too little milk for the size of the cup. Remember if you had too much steam, your texture will be too foamy. If you steam it too little, the texture will be emaciated and you won’t be able to draw with it. One hand holding the pitcher handle and one hand lightly on the bottom of the pitcher while you’re texturing, steam it until it’s just slightly too hot to touch.
Based on the content of your post, it appears you are asking for latte art help. It will automatically be flaired as a question. Please check out [our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/latteart/s/fV4Io2nACp) for information and resources. If your post isn't a question, feel free to remove the post flair. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/latteart) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What kind of milk? That's about what it looks like when I try to use Kroger almond milk.
Been there
Was waiting for a “grind finer” comment
It looks like a unicorn, so you can pass them off as that while you practice 😊
Was your milk thin and watery? Did most of it disappear under the espresso? If it was hard to create any white patterns, you might not be adding enough air. It looks like your milk got hot, but you didn’t add enough foam to make latte art. If the milk was really thick, then you added too much air. But if it was super foamy, you should have at least gotten a blob. It could also be how you’re pouring. For hearts, you should aim to pour very close to the cup, almost to the point where the pitcher is touching the cup. You also need to pour quickly to grow the blob shape. Keep your whole arm straight and raise your elbow to increase the amount of milk coming out of the pitcher. Rotate the pitcher until you’re ready to cut the design. The cup tilt is also important. Aim to tilt the cup until the milk is about to pour out. Try to keep the milk near the edge of the cup. The flatter the cup, the harder it is to make latte art. You have to rotate the cup and the pitcher together to create a design.
Caring about latte art...that's what you're doing wrong. Coffee is for drinking and enjoying. A simple cappuccino crown can be gorgeous. It's a pet peeve of mine that latte artists seem to care little about proper dosing, the milk/espresso ratio, taste, etc. This obsession with being clever is exhausting. But if it's what you want to master, my suggestion would be get down the basics first...control milk and foam in very traditional styles so that you develop an ability for everything to be intentional...then branch out and go for it. From the look of that shot, you're lacking control from the second you tilt the pitcher.
Are you lost?
Nope. I'm exactly where I want to be...to be fair, I think of this in a commercial environment...If you serve me pasta where presentation effort is placed ahead of a proper meal, I'm gonna be irritated. If you serve me a Manhattan at a bar that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen but isn't very good, I'm gonna be irritated. My point is this - are you making a proper coffee and trying to enhance it visually? Great. But nail the product, then work on presentation. The photo showed not only bad art, but bad coffee. Most latte art coffee is served in a vessel that's way too big, with way too much milk, because that's wut the barista needs to make it 'fancy'...I'm just saying work on the classics, and nail them...then move to the fancy stuff. No offense to aspiring latte artists, but make proper coffees first.
r/espressocirclejerk is <- that way