Getting Your Milk Right!

Paul Bassett on Espresso – Masterclass Series

Considering about 90% of espresso coffee in Australia is taken with milk, it’s no wonder that milk texturing [or ‘steaming'] is such an important part of the coffee-making process.  According to Paul, it’s all about how we’re releasing the steam onto the surface of the milk.

There are effectively two phases in steaming – firstly the texturing the milk, and secondly, heating the milk to the correct temperature.

Start with fresh, cold milk (never re-heat your milk); clean jug always helps. Pour the milk to a level approximately half-way in the jug – gives you greater control – stops the milk bubbling out of the jug, and gives you the ability to ‘roll’ the milk.

Rest the spout of the milk jug up against the steam arm, tilt the jug on a slight angle, which helps to promote the vortex  (getting the milk to spiral), then place your hand on the side of the jug and lower gradually to the point where the tip of the steam wand is just under the surface.

Once you’ve created what you need, bring the milk up to temperature (between 60 – 65 degrees) and turn the steam off. Note that it’s important to keep the steam head underneath the surface during the whole process. Also note the degree to which you lower the jug depends upon the type of drink you’re trying to create…if you’re making a cappuccino you continue to lower the jug further than if you’re making a flat white (see note 3 below)

Wipe the steam arm, then bang the jug on the bench (to collapse any surface air bubbles). Roll the milk right up to the point at which you pour your drink – otherwise the milk and foam separate…so, rolling the milk – to fold the milk and foam together as one – creating an acrylic-like velvet texture.

Rotate the jug in a circular motion, then rest the spout of the milk jug up against the rim of the cup and pour evenly and consistently into the centre.

Note that timing is important in this process – you need to be creating espresso while you’re texturing milk, so that both processes should finish around the same time, and remember you’ll ideally be rolling the milk right up until the moment you’re about to pour.

Further Notes

Always purge the steam wand beforehand, releasing any condensation that’s built up also important to position the nozzle of the steam arm about a centimetre away from the edge of the jug – i.e. it shouldn’t be resting right up against the side of the jug.

The trick to getting a rich dense texture is to get a smaller quality of air bubble, which is why we lower the jug slowly. If you lower it too quickly, you get a larger air bubble, creating a fluffier, Mt Everest-style foam.

Part of the skill lies in creating the right amount of milk that you need for the particular type of drink; and creating the specific amount of foam that you need for that particular drink – i.e. you need more foam for a cappuccino than a flat white…and remember it’s important to ‘roll’ the milk right up until the moment you’re about to pour, and then pour in one steady, even motion.

Lastly, note that the quality of the steam is really important – you need a steady flow of steam and for the best results a dryer steam is preferred. Also, the diameter of the outlet (steaming holes) is important – if you’ve got too many, or if they’re too wide you get a poorer quality of steam. Lastly, with respect to the jug, it’s preferable to have one with a nice, open curved-lip spout.

Tags: coffee australia, coffee masterclass, espresso coffee, Expert coffee, milk texturing for coffee, Paul Bassett coffee

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Online Magazine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.