Kens Espresso Fueled Ramblings

Frothing milk is one of the first obstacles most people will bump into, but if you know how it’s actually quite easy.

The milk needs to be cold.

When frothing milk, you have a short window where you can build micro-foam. When the milk reaches around 100F/39C then it’s over. The colder your milk is from the start, the bigger the window for frothing the milk. It’s a good idea to chuck your frothing pitcher in the freezer right when you start your session so it’s nice and cold when you need it, every little bit helps when you are still trying to learn how to create micro-foam.

The Milk needs to be fat.

Skim milk and other types of milk with little fat will result in larger bubbles that are harder to break down into micro-foam, so use whole fat milk for frothing. Whole milk also tastes better and a cup of whole fat milk or two is not going to make you fat, eating to much is what makes you fat

You need adequate steam pressure.

If your machine can’t make the milk spin fast around inside the pitcher, then it will be hard to get proper micro-foam. This is why good espresso machines have violent steam pressure.

You need to get the temperature right.

Below 100F/39C the bubbles you incorporate into the milk will be a lot smaller and this is the window you have to create perfect micro foam. Above 100F/39C the bubbles will be larger and they will also be a lot stiffer and impossible to break down into smaller bubbles. The best way is to feel the side of the pitcher, once it feels slightly lukewarm the foaming windows is gone and you need to lower the steam nozzle into the milk and create a whirlpool, beaking the bubbles down into much smaller bubbles and blend everything perfectly together.

Steaming and frothing the milk if you have a one hole steaming nozzle:

First bleed of a bit of steam to get the water that accumulates in the steam wand (due to condensation) out. Close the steam valve again, and lower the wand a bit under the surface of the milk, and open the steam valve on full. Many people when they are new are nervous so they try to open the steam just a little bit and this does not work, let er’ rip. Now you need to surf the milk surface. Put the wand to the side of the pitcher so the milk starts to spin fast, this is one of the most important things to get right in order to get fine micro-foam. When you are blowing air into the milk, the foam you are creating will float on the top of the milk, creating a layer of foam on top that you have to shoot air through, and that’s no good. This is why you want the milk to spin. As the milk is spinning, you are mixing the foam into the milk and breaking up the bubbles into fine micro-foam bubbles, so you need that spinning action, that’s what creates micro-foam.

Steaming and frothing the milk if you have a 3 or more hole steaming nozzle:

While one hole steaming nozzles are easier to use, multi hole nozzles are much faster and useually only seen on machines that has lots of steaming force. The create micro foam with the multi hole versions you don’t spin the milk at the side of the pitcher. Start by surfing the surface of the milk in the middle of the pitcher so you get a ch ch chhh sound. Once the milk reaches 100F/37C just dunk it almost to the bottom of the pitcher. When you do this you create a wortex in the middle of the pitcher, you may need to adjust the depth to get the most powerfull wortex.

If you hear a jet like screaming the wand is to low, raise the wand until you hear a chhhh-chhh sound, that’s where you want to be. If you hear more of a low pitched roar you are to high and you will be blowing soap like bubbles, lower the wand a bit until you get it right.

Now you are frothing correctly.

When the milk starts to feel a little bit more than lukewarm, you should have increased the milk mass by about a quarter, now lower the wand below the surface so there’s no more chh-chhh sound and let the milk spin, and you will see your micro-foam starting to build. Keep this up until the pitcher is to hot to hold and turn of the steam.

If you did all the above correctly you will have micro-foam, and there will be no need to bang the pitcher on the kitchen counter (If you see people doing this you know they messed up), spin the milk in the pitcher on the table to create that glossy creamy look, and you’r ready to poor the milk for your latte or make some latte art.

Many people recommend using a thermometer to gauge the milk temperature. I don’t think this is a good idea because most domestic use thermometers have multiple seconds of lag time, so when you see 100F on it, it’s most likely much higher and you end up creating stiff foam that’s impossible to blend into micro foam.

A very good tip when you are learning how to foam and don’t want to OD on caffeine due to drinking all your lattes or throw out lots of milk, is steaming milk with cocoa instead, everyone one will love it, and you don’t need to throw out the milk you steam as you learn.

Some milk pitchers are also better than others because of the design. Look for a milk pitcher that is dome shaped and has a pronounced pouring spout. Or just get a Motta brand milk pitcher, it’s the one that is used in the World Barista Championship. Motta pitchers are a bit more expensive, but they are thick so they stay cold longer, the shape is perfect and the pouring spout is excelent. They come in the correct size, if you use standard size latte and cappichino cups and fill them with milk to the start of the spout indentation and stretch 25% you will have almost no milk left to throw out.

UPDATE: Another way to learn how to steam properly is to use water and a drop of soap. It works amazingly well. Here’a video showing you how to do that.

Troubleshooting section.

• My milk is heating to fast and I got no time to spin.

Some steam wands have 3 or more holes, coupled with a violent steam pressure this poses a problem for novices, as the milk heats up so fast that they got no time to think about spinning or controlling other variables. For most machines you can get a 1 hole steam tip that will help you out a lot and give you more time to think about what’s happening. Check your local espresso store, they probably have one for your machine. In a pinch, you can unscrew the steam tip and plug one or more holes with the tip of a toothpick. Once you got the whole frothing and steaming milk for lattes down to an art, you can switch to the faster multi hole steam wand.

• When I pour the milk for latte art, I get a blob of milk and I can’t draw on the surface.

Most people are stretching the milk way to far. If you have trouble when free pouring to make latte art and get a big blob no matter what you do, it’s because the micro foam is to thick, so stretch less and it should help. It is much better to start out stretching the milk to little and work your way up from there. In general you are looking at stretching the milk about 25-30% so notice how much milk you start with and make a mental note of how much the milk should expand.