Milk Steaming 101 - Basics of Creating Microfoam
Are you new to milk steaming or are struggling with milk steaming to create the perfect micro foam? Steaming milk with seem hard at the start but milk steaming is easy and simple once you master few basic tips. Here are our tips how to steam the perfect milk and create microfoam.
- Choose the milk pitcher according to the drink you will be making. Use a bigger pitcher (~600ml) to steam one caffé latte or two cappuccinos at same time. Smaller use to steam one cappuccino or flat white.
- Fill the pitcher a half way with fresh milk.
- Before steaming, purge your steam wand.
- Lift the steam wand so that it's slightly tilted.
- It might help if you lean the pitcher to the steam wand from the pitcher's pouring spout.
- Place steam wand's tip to the center of the pitcher and tilt the pitcher to either side.
- At start, push the steam wand's tip underneath milk's surface.
- Turn on the steam wand.
- In order to create foam to the milk, lower the pitcher right away in the start so that the steam wand's tip comes to the surface again.
- When you have created enough foam, lift the pitcher again so that the steam wand's tip goes underneath milk's surface.
- You control the amount of foam by checking how much the milk's level rises in the pitcher.
- Heat the milk by staying right underneath the milk's surface. Heat the milk to 55-65 °C.
- Turn off the steam wand when the pitcher is starting to "burn" your fingers (~55-65°C). Check the milk's temperature with thermometer and learn how hot 55-65°C feels in your fingers.
- Wipe and purge the steam wand right after every use.
- Knock the pitcher onto the table in order to break any small bubbles in the milk.
- Mix the milk to ensure that the foam is evenly distributed in the pitcher.
- Share the milk to another pitcher if you steamed milk for to drinks at the same time. This will ensure that both drinks will have the same amount of foam.
Once you master these milk steaming tips, you might want to read these blogs:
5 Tips How to Make Your Latte Art Flourish
