If you want your latte art to look good, choosing the right milk is very important! FrontStreet Coffee's daily milk coffee uses whole milk, which is rich in protein, lactose and butterfat.
The proteins in milk are factors that stabilize milk foam. When you heat milk, the presence of casein micelles in the milk protein and the whey protein casein micelles causes tension on the milk surface to form a film. When the steam hits the milk surface, the thin film surrounds the air molecules and forms a floating object, which is commonly known as milk foam.
Under normal circumstances, the appearance of whey protein is hydrophilic. After stirring or heating, it will slowly "unfold" and expose the hydrophobic part. These parts will stick to the generated bubbles, reduce the surface tension of the bubbles, reduce the bursting speed, and make the milk foam more stable.
The milk fat content, protein, and temperature in fresh milk all affect the process of milk foam formation. Only by using fresh milk can smooth and dense milk foam be produced, which also determines the shape, texture and taste of a cup of latte coffee latte art~
As the most important element of latte, espresso is particularly important, including the choice of coffee beans. If you want a hot latte with exquisite latte art, it is recommended to use the fatty Front Street classic Italian blend, the roasted nutty Front Street Queen's Estate, and the rich spice flavor of Front Street Golden Mandheling.
Things to pay attention to when whipping latte milk foam:
1. Hold the milk jug with both hands to froth the milk
FrontStreet Coffee leaves many beginners in milk frothing who do not have stable control and grasp of the angle of the steaming milk stick and the depth of the milk placed at the front of the steaming milk stick. As soon as the steam is turned on or the heat is applied, the hand behind the steamer becomes unstable, and the impact of the steam causes the milk to splash out.
This is a very dangerous thing! Therefore, during the heating and whipping process, be sure to hold it up with both hands to increase stability and reduce the chance of burns from splashing milk.
2. Before frothing milk, turn on the steam first
When the steam in the steam pipe of a semi-automatic coffee machine cools down, it will turn into water and remain in the pipe. Therefore, before foaming milk each time, please discharge the steam until no water spurts out from the pipe. The milk foamed by steam with water will produce large bubbles.
For novices, once these big bubbles are generated, the milk foam will become thicker and thicker before they learn how to eliminate the big bubbles~ So try to keep the surface of the milk smooth at the beginning~
3. Place the steaming milk wand into the milk vat at an angle of 45 degrees
The 45-degree angle is the direction of 2-3 o'clock or 9-10 o'clock of the milk tank. Using this angle to whip the milk will allow the milk to form a small vortex as quickly as possible. The appearance of the vortex can "draw" the thicker milk foam into the liquid surface.
4. Put the steam head into the milk liquid level to a depth of 0.8cm-1cm.
The deeper the steam head is, the better. After all, the main purpose of whipping milk is to pump air into the milk. If it's too deep, the steam holes won't be able to reach the air and form a vortex. If it's too shallow, the steam hits the liquid surface, forming rough bubbles and making the milk splash.
After many experiments at FrontStreet Coffee, where the steam head was put into the milk liquid level at different depths to froth milk, it was found that putting the steam head into the milk liquid level to a depth of 0.8cm-1cm and tilting the milk bar at 45 degrees makes it easier to form a vortex and sweep away relatively thick milk foam.
5. The inflation process only requires 4-5 "squeaks"
Adjust the depth of the steam head to 0.3cm and then turn on the steam switch. You will hear a "squeak" sound. This is the inflation stage. The thickness of the milk foam for making latte art is 1cm, so we don’t need to over-inflate it. After hearing the squeaking sound for 4-5 times, adjust the depth of the milk stick back to 0.8-1cm, maintain the 45-degree angle to create a vortex to eliminate rough bubbles, and heat it to the appropriate temperature.
6. It is best to heat milk to 55-65℃
It is within these temperature ranges that lactose and other sugars are most "active". When the milk is whipped to this temperature range, it fuses with the coffee. You can feel the sweetness of this cup of milk coffee in both smell and taste without adding sugar.
When blended with coffee, the sweetness in milk can neutralize the bitterness in coffee. Some espresso beans with fruity and sour flavors can taste like fruit milkshakes when added to hot milk.
For example, FrontStreet Coffee's regular store product uses a "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Italian Coffee Bean" with 30% sun-dried Yirgacheffe red cherry coffee beans and 70% wine barrel-fermented sherry coffee beans. The extracted espresso shows soft berry acidity, fermented liquor, vanilla cream and nutty caramel flavors.
When fully softened with whipped hot milk, the latte can take on the flavor and smoothness of strawberry milkshake, the vanilla creamy flavor of whiskey milk and the aftertaste of hazelnut caramel.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
