Java 101

Inspiration can come from the funniest places. Mine came from my daily ritual of a morning latte. When I made this card I thought it would be fun to share my coffee process with you. You know that I found a lot of similarities between my paper crafting and my latte making. It was pretty funny. Anyway, about the card. The stamps are Crafty Secrets, colored with my copics. The dp is by Cosmo Cricket and the lush velvet ribbon is fancy pants. Love the hardware by SU. I did a little paper piercing too. Hope you enjoy my coffee post. For those of you who don't like coffee, hopefully you can just enjoy the card and disregard the rest of the post.

See any similarities? I was inspired this morning by my coffee. I love the dark rich ring of the coffee with the silky white center of my milk foam. I tried to achieve this on my card using liquid pearls. I colored my liquid pearls with a drop of burnt umber reinker then added a dollop of white to the center. I topped it off with some glitter (sprinkles) ...who doesn't love some sprinkles!








Like paper crafting, it is all about the tools! I have over the years invested in this area in order to have a wonderful latte. It has turned out WAY less expensive than running to starbucks daily (and it is a much better coffee). I have a Rancillio machine, LOVE IT! It has commercial grade parts so when things break down (and they do over time), I can replace parts instead of a whole machine. I learned this one the hard way the first time around. Now the beans....this will determine how good your latte is. I have found ordering straight from a roasting house is the best way to get fresh beans roasted correctly. These beans are sold at Artigiano (a coffee house in Vancouver).
Tamping is an important part of the process. You need to grind your grounds as fine as your machine will allow, this will create a rich deep flavor. My brother bought me a heavy tamper to tamp my grinds down with. It is important that you have no grounds on the rim to cause spaces in the seal you create with your machine. Be picky!
The brewing should be a rich caramel color and have "creme" on the surface, this is a sign of a good shot. You should be brewing anywhere between 25-30 seconds. I had to act fast with my camera! LOL!
One little last tip about the foam. The goal is silky, dense foam. In order to achieve this I start foaming my milk with the tip of the nozzle just above the milk level, till the milk reaches about 100 degrees, then I bury the nozzle for the remainder of time until the milk is about 170degrees. I then scrape off the really light and fluffy foam off the top and discard. Swish the milk around a little so that it looks smooth. Last step is to pour and then sit back and enjoy. This is the "my time" part of the day for me. I look forward to it every morning!