How Do You Steam Milk Froth for Latte Art?

To make froth in coffee, start with cold whole milk, since its fat and protein improve flavor and keep foam stable. Fill the pitcher so the liquid sits between one-third and two-thirds below the spout, purge the steam wand, then place the tip just under the surface, slightly off center, and open the valve.

Steaming has two stages: texturing, where air is drawn in to build fine foam, and steaming, where the pitcher is lowered to heat and spin the milk without adding more air. Keep the milk below body temperature, and refrigerate it promptly after use, because repeated warming speeds up protein breakdown.

 
When entering a coffee shop, many people will choose a espresso-based fancy coffee, such as latte, cappuccino, Americano, etc. Each coffee has its own unique flavor, such as the perfect blend of coffee and milk in latte, the thick milk foam of cappuccino, and the light and soft flavor of flat white, all of which are very popular. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee shares knowledge about making espresso coffee with everyone.
 

 
To make a cup of rich and delicious fancy coffee, two materials need to be prepared: espresso and steamed milk, and then these two materials are mixed in different proportions and orders to obtain fancy coffees with different flavors. For example, the latte and cappuccino that everyone loves to order are made this way, but latte has less milk foam on the surface.
 
Milk plays a very important role in a cup of coffee. Good milk texture can enhance the flavor characteristics of coffee, and with well-steamed milk foam, it can create silky and sweet milk. FrontStreet Coffee generally uses whole milk, because the fat and protein it contains can not only improve the flavor but also make the foam more stable.
 

Another issue is about milk preservation. If milk has been left for a few days and is not so fresh, the protein will break down into amino acids. Refrigerating milk can slow down this process, but if it is taken out and not returned to the refrigerator in time, it will instead accelerate milk deterioration, even if it still tastes or smells fresh. Therefore, FrontStreet suggests that milk must be put back into the refrigerator after use.
 
After everyone has chosen a milk, the next thing is aboutsteaming milksteps. Steaming milk has two steps: steaming and texturing. Next, FrontStreet Coffee introduces the following process aboutsteaming milk.

1. Pour the milk into the milk pitcher. The liquid level should be between 1/3 and 2/3 below the spout of the pitcher.

2. Clean the steam wand and remove residual substances.

3. Bring the milk pitcher close to the steam wand until the steam wand is just submerged below the surface of the liquid, with the insertion point slightly off the center of the liquid surface. Open the steam valve and pay attention to the hissing sound of the steam.

4. After obtaining enough fine milk foam, slowly lower the milk pitcher. This step is steaming. At this time, the temperature of the milk must not exceed body temperature! Heat the milk to about 60 degrees, but it must not exceed 70 degrees, otherwise the protein structure in the milk will be destroyed.

5. Prepare for texturing. Using the spout of the milk pitcher as a pivot, lift the pitcher upward so that the steam wand goes deeper into the milk. The milk should form a vortex under the action of the steam.

6. Wait until the milk pitcher starts to feel hot to the touch. The temperature should have reached 60–65°C (the way to check is to touch the bottom of the pitcher with your hand; at this temperature, you should not be able to hold it for 3 seconds). Texturing is complete.

7. Do not close the steam valve first; use the steam to clean the steam wand.

8. Tap the side of the milk pitcher to break up large bubbles on the surface of the liquid, then swirl the pitcher to mix the liquid and milk foam. A good portion of milk foam is now successfully steamed.
 
After talking about milk, the next issue is aboutespresso. First is bean selection. Choosing a coffee bean suitable for your own flavor preference is very important. For example, theespresso blend beanscurrently used by FrontStreet Coffee are Sunflower Warm Sun coffee beans. This blend uses Honduras Sherry and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Red Cherry coffee. Through continuous blending by FrontStreet Coffee baristas, a relatively perfect blending ratio of 6:4 was obtained. The espresso made has obvious fruit acidity, along with berry flavor aroma and wine aroma, and a comfortable sweet aftertaste.
 

 
This espresso blend bean is roasted in-house by FrontStreet Coffee. In addition to this coffee bean, there are also three other espresso blend coffee beans with different flavors. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's FrontStreet Black Cocoa blend coffee beans use Yunnan coffee beans paired with Brazilian beans, blended at a ratio of 3:7. The espresso made has soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nut and dark chocolate flavors, is smooth and viscous, but the taste is relatively light.
 

 
And FrontStreet Coffee's specialty coffee blend uses Colombia: Brazil, blended by FrontStreet Coffee baristas at a ratio of 3:7. The espresso made is soft with slight acidity, lightly sweet, with nutty sweetness in the aftertaste. The overall feeling is not too stimulating, is mild, and the crema is medium.
 

 
Once everyone has chosen the beans, you can proceed to extract the coffee beans. Below are FrontStreet Coffee's parameters for extracting Sunflower Warm Sun coffee beans:
   

Grinder: Galileo Q18
Grind size: 1.6
Pressure: 9 bar
Temperature: 90.5–96°C
Time: 20–30 seconds
Dose: 20g (double espresso)
Yield: 40ml
 
Under ideal conditions, the coffee liquid flowing from the spout is very uniform in both color and thickness. If it fluctuates between fast and slow, the beans may be ground too fine or the coffee may be tamped too firmly, which will prolong the time for water to pass through the coffee puck and cause over-extraction (strong bitterness); if the beans are ground too coarse or the tamping force is insufficient, it will shorten the time for water to pass through the coffee puck and cause under-extraction (watery taste, thin mouthfeel).
 

 
If extraction is successful, FrontStreet Coffee's extracted espresso flavor is: smooth mouthfeel, medium body, obvious fruit acidity on the palate accompanied by light berry aroma, whiskey aroma, rich chocolate flavor, and a clear sweet aftertaste.
 

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925 
 

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.