"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

Last month Ben Bicknell, from the Western Australian Barista Academy, looked at the initial steps to take when setting up your home espresso machine and extracting your espresso shots for the very first time. This month, we move onto the area that people have the most trouble with — steaming your first jug of milk. Following is a step by step description of the dos and do-not’s of the milk texturing department.

**Note: Once again, the following is general advice and you should always follow the setup instructions provided with your machine.

Ok … so we’ve gone through setting up your machine, and some pointers on what to look for when preparing your espresso shots. Now, everyone at some point is going to need to texture great milk, whether it be everyday for your morning flat white, occasionally for a group of friends who come round to ‘let you practice’ or the moment you snap and decide to prove to the world that you can pour latte art as good as the next barista.

To start with, always prepare your espresso shots first — the steamed milk holds the majority of the heat of your drink and if you steam first, you’ll lose temp while your foam and milk will also separate.

One question often asked is — “Which milk is best for steaming?” And the answer is: All of them! I’d generally recommend full cream milk because the additional creaminess complements the natural coffee flavours. However, this is all personal preference. One of the main benefits of having a café in your own home is being able to make coffee exactly the way you like it! The same great texture can also be achieved with Skim, Hi-Lo and other low fat milks.

We keep referring to the ‘texture of the milk’ and this is basically the integration of the milk and foam together with the density of the bubbles. You’re aiming for what is generally called ‘micro-foam’ — a foam with almost imperceptible air bubbles, a glossy sheen on top and a creamy, dense texture. We’ll go through how to achieve this milk below.

Although you’re not using the same quantity of milk as your local café, it’s still useful to work down the amount you have left over after pouring your various drinks so you don’t waste too much milk. You can often use the inside of the spout on your 1lt milk jug to measure how much milk is needed. For two traditional cappuccino sized cups (around 220–250ml), fill cold milk to 1cm below this spout — we’re aiming for 1cm or less of milk leftover.

Milk steaming can be summarised in two steps — the Stretching Phase and the Rolling Phase. In the stretching phase (pictured right), the steam wand tip is positioned right on the surface of the milk and you hear the distinctive “tch, tch, tch” or hissing sound. This is because you’re injecting air into the milk to create foam. During this process you’ll see the volume rise, hence the ‘Stretching’ title. Continue to very slowly lower the milk jug to continue hearing the stretching sound and create more foam. The slower you lower the jug and more gently introduce air to the milk, the denser your foam will be This will avoid those nasty, sea-foam like air bubbles the majority of cafes still produce.

Once you’ve created enough foam for your drinks, or if the jug is feeling too hot to hold comfortably, you should move into the second, Rolling Phase of the milk texturing process. Raise the jug till you no longer hear the stretching sound and the steam wand tip is submerged approximately 1cm below the surface. Angle the jug slightly so the steam pushes the milk around in a whirlpool. This phase is combining the milk and foam, and heating the milk to a good serving temperature.

To create foamy drinks like a cappuccino, stretch the milk for a longer amount of time. For a thinner milk drink like a flat white, you should only hear the stretching sound for a couple of seconds before submerging the steam wand tip in the milk.

In relation to temperature, for those using a milk steaming thermometer, cease the Stretching Phase at around 45C and turn off your steam wand at around 60C. Your temperature will continue to rise to around 65C. If you’re not using a thermometer, stop your Stretching Phase when the milk jug becomes too hot to comfortably keep your hand underneath, and then count to 15 before turning off your steam wand. Obviously, different home espresso machines will heat your milk at different speeds depending on their internal components. For example, we’ve found the Isomac range of espresso machines require a count to eight to bring the milk to a good serving temperature.

Once your steaming is finished, lower the jug and immediately wipe the steam wand with a damp cloth to remove all milk. Push the steam wand in towards the drip tray and turn the steam back on for a quick pulse to remove any milk on the inside of the wand.

To burst any larger bubbles on the surface of your milk, tap the jug a couple of times on the bench. Finally, one of the most important steps, swirl the milk within your jug to fold in the foam you just created. Initially, the surface of the milk in your jug is likely to look quite matt. Roll the milk up the sides of your jug until the contents turn shiny and glossy on top.

Once the milk and foam are well mixed together, keep the jug low to the cup and pour the foamy milk in one even pour on top of your espresso shot (pictured above right). If pouring more than one coffee from a jug, always pour the drink you want to be foamiest first and give the jug a quick swirl before pouring subsequent coffees.

After pouring your coffees, aim to have a minimal amount of wastage left over, allowing you to quickly rinse out the inside of your milk jug so that next time you can start with fresh, cold milk.

So — a couple of tips to get you on your way to producing velvety, smooth milk like pictured right every time. Invite the friends and family over and use them as your guinea pigs to hone your skills … but be careful, no doubt they’ll be inviting themselves around shortly to ask for another couple of ‘test coffees’!

Keep an eye out for next month’s Home Barista tip where we approach the mother of all challenges — pouring your first Rosetta!

Visit the Domestic Equipment for our range of home espresso machines and Associated Products for our espresso workstation gear.

If you’d like to hone your milk steaming skills with a hands-on workshop, sign up for a class at the WA Barista Academy. Contact Jennifer at jennifer@baristaacademy.com.au or phone (08) 9328 7675.