Latte Art - 100+ Attempts, 1 Class, Still no Luck, frustrated!

[Kenyon1976]

In the class I was told that my frothing technique was excellent, no problem there. They drew the espresso. What seems to happen every time when I pour is about the same:

Start higher and fill cup to about halfway (cup is tilted).
Begin faster pour from as close to the espresso as I can.
Instead of forming a heart or even a reasonably sized white area, I get a fairly small spot at most an inch across no matter how much I pour. So I continue pouring in vain and it usually spills out of the cup by that point.

My impression is that the milk isn't spreading as easily as it should but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, it spreads initially but then almost stops after that and pouring any more doesn't help.
Someone in the class did the same thing and the milk spread beautifully into a wide heart shape, I know the shape requires a little work but I can't even get a spread that large.

Will post a video tomorrow.

 

[PinkRose]

Let an expert use the froth you made do it. If he/she can't, that means your froth is too heavy/not fully frothed.

That's a great idea. Froth the milk and hand it over to someone else to do the pour. After 100+ attempts and a lot of frustration, I say "go for it."

 

[Kenyon1976]

Let an expert use the froth you made do it. If he/she can't, that means your froth is too heavy/not fully frothed.

I did let an expert make the froth in my class, still the same result.

 

[PinkRose]

I did let an expert make the froth in my class, still the same result.

I would still make the froth and hand it over to someone else to pour - just to see how it goes.

Pay attention to how the person pours it, and if it's a successful pour, immediately do it again with you pouring it this time. That exercise will give your brain a quick jump start - after 100+ attempts, you may be thinking about it too much, which will mess you up every time.

Another exercise is to force yourself to pour with your opposite hand. Obviously you won't do a good job with it. Immediately do the exercise again and go back to pouring with your dominant hand. You should do much better.

 

[Musicphan]

Slow down your pour... most likely you are pouring too fast and its 'punching' through the layer of creme... make sure you're close to the top of the crema as well.