silky smooth and shiny milk
if you want to become a great latte artist, on a level where your designs are shared and loved across instagram and pinterest, you’re going to need to up your milk foaming and micro-foaming skills — to pro levels. but how do you turn this freshly chilled liquid into that creamy, frothy milk?
use our easy-to-follow guide and your home barista skills will skyrocket, transforming your caffeinated drinks from run-of-the-mill to delicious works of art.
there is no use crying over spilled milk…
spilled coffee however, may get you stabbed!
a step-by-step guide to perfect milk foaming
step 01. to start, make sure you’re milk is fresh and chilled (straight from the fridge). the older the milk, the harder it will be to get proper foam
step 02. pour the milk up to the bottom of the spout of your frothing jug. this gives you ample room for frothing without spillage
step 03. tilt your jug at a slight angle and insert the steam wand just below the surface of the milk. “stretch” the milk by gently letting air into it by swirling the jug in a whirlpool motion. you’ll know if you’re doing it correctly if you hear a hissing sound as the milk starts to microfoam
step 04. as your jug reaches body temperature, stop introducing the air and change the position of the steam wand, moving it a fraction further into the jug. this will texture the milk by increasing the temperature without introducing more air
step 05. continue swirling the milk as you keep the jug slightly tilted. keep texturing until the jug becomes too hot to handle at about 60°c / 140°f
step 06. remove the wand from the milk and tap your jug on the countertop to pop any large bubbles. set it aside and let the milk rest while you prepare your espresso shot
step 07. ready to create? swirl the milk around one last time to make sure it’s an even consistency and tap it on the counter to remove any remaining large bubbles
step 08. now pour and create your latte art masterpiece. add it to your instagram and tag us @tampr.co to get featured in our coffeegram stories
barista pro tips
our milk foaming pro tip comes from australian world champion barista matthew perger — a man who knows a thing or two about silky smooth, micro-foamed milk!
the hotter you milk, the sweeter it becomes — up to a point.
lactose (the sweet part of milk) is perceived as five times less sweet than sugar, and heating it increases the lactose solubility and hence the sweetness in taste.
aim for a milk temperature of around the 58 to 60°c / 136 to 140°f mark. anything above this and you start to denature the milk proteins and create lower-quality foam
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