What Temperature Should Milk Foam Be for Latte Art: Illustrated Guide to Coffee Milk Frothing Techniques and How to Make Milk Foam for Latte

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The variety of espresso coffee on the market today is increasing, with the most classic lattes and cappuccinos having very high purchase rates. The process of making espresso coffee is very different from pour-over coffee. Espresso coffee requires an espresso machine, while pour-over craftsmanship mainly relies on the barista's control over the brewing process. Regardless of which technique, practical execution is not simple at all.

For example, the baristas at FrontStreet Coffee need to systematically learn coffee knowledge from scratch before serving coffee. Only with sufficient professional coffee literacy can they brew a delicious cup of pour-over coffee for every guest who visits FrontStreet Coffee. However, what FrontStreet Coffee wants to share with everyone is not about pour-over, but rather some knowledge about making espresso coffee.

Just like when FrontStreet Coffee makes a delicious espresso coffee such as a latte or cappuccino, it needs to go through a process - steaming milk foam. Steaming milk foam is a delicate task that cannot be careless, otherwise, if the steamed foam is too coarse or too fine, it won't successfully create a delicious espresso coffee. FrontStreet Coffee will use the process of making latte coffee to explain the relevant details to everyone.

How to Steam Milk Foam?

Generally, the temperature of the milk used for steaming foam also matters. It's best to use cold, refrigerated whole fresh milk just taken from the refrigerator, as such milk can create fine and dense foam. Additionally, the temperature during milk steaming shouldn't be too high. The ideal temperature for milk steaming is between 55-65°C. If the temperature is too high, it will destroy the milk's proteins; if the temperature is too low, the steamed milk will have lower sweetness, and the resulting latte coffee won't have good flavor.

Step 1: Optimal Milk Volume

Steaming milk requires a reasonable steaming volume. FrontStreet Coffee suggests using 40-60% of the pitcher's total capacity. Too little or too much milk will test your steaming technique. Of course, besides this factor, you should also consider the actual amount of milk needed for one cup of coffee to avoid excessive waste. For the 550ML pitcher used by FrontStreet Coffee, we inject 250ML of milk (just reaching the bottom of the pitcher spout).

Step 2: Steaming Position

Before preparing to steam, first open the steam wand switch to release condensed water vapor (close the switch after releasing). Then extend the steam wand at a 45-degree angle, using the pitcher spout to stabilize the steam wand's position. This time, the steam vortex will be counterclockwise, with the steam wand positioned on the right side of the liquid surface center cross, in a semi-buried state.

Step 3: Foaming Stage

Open the steam switch, and you'll hear a "hissing" sound. This is the foaming stage. Depending on the desired foam thickness, the coffee foam steaming time will vary (longer steaming time results in thicker foam). Generally, to increase milk volume by 50% to 60% (latte foam thickness), the steaming time is about 3 seconds. The milk rotates uniformly to form a vortex.

Step 4: Texturing Stage

At this point, you need to fully bury the steam holes, only performing heating without further foaming. Don't bury the steam holes at the very bottom; it's recommended to keep them in the foam layer, which helps with texturing (making coarse foam finer). When should you stop? This depends on your milk temperature, generally controlled between 55-65°C. Excessive temperature will cause protein denaturation (generally, protein denaturation in food occurs around 60°C).

When you first start steaming foam, the temperature might be difficult to control. FrontStreet Coffee suggests you can use one hand to hold the pitcher while steaming, and use the other hand to touch the pitcher surface to judge the steaming temperature. When the pitcher surface feels slightly hot, you can stop steaming. When the steamed foam surface has no coarse bubbles and has certain fluidity, and the foam thickness matches the corresponding coffee thickness - generally, latte foam should be moderately thick with a glossy surface - only then can the foam be considered qualified.

If the surface of your steamed foam is all coarse bubbles, it means your foam hasn't been steamed successfully. The reason for failure might be that you didn't form a good vortex during the steaming process to eliminate coarse bubbles, or the steam wand was too shallow at the beginning, causing too much coarse foam to be generated. After steaming the foam, you can gently tap it to break any remaining coarse bubbles on the surface, making it look smoother and finer.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends inserting about 0.5-1cm from the steam hole as a benchmark. If the espresso machine's steam is too strong, forming too large a vortex or turbulent flow, you can place the steam wand slightly deeper; if the espresso machine's steam isn't strong enough, you can place the steam wand in a shallower position to allow the milk to quickly form a small vortex without rotating too violently or creating turbulent flow.

Once you understand the basic milk steaming methods, FrontStreet Coffee suggests you can practice frequently to achieve the ability to make a delicious espresso coffee. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will continue to explain the process of making latte coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's current espresso beverages use the Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend. This blend uses Honduras Sherry and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Red Cherry coffee. Through continuous experimentation by FrontStreet Coffee's baristas, we achieved a relatively perfect blending ratio of 7:3. The resulting espresso has distinct fruit acidity, with berry flavor notes and wine aroma, and a comfortable sweet aftertaste. This espresso blend is currently sold at FrontStreet Coffee. Initially, FrontStreet Coffee didn't use this coffee bean, but rather a Colombia-Brazil blend, but the extracted espresso didn't have high recognizability. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee conducted multiple experiments and adjustments, finally settling on this Sunflower Warm Sunshine blend.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Latte Ratio

FrontStreet Coffee suggests a coffee-to-milk ratio of 1:6.5 for making latte coffee, using 40ml espresso to 260ml hot milk. By pouring in a circular motion to fully blend the milk and espresso, you'll get a hot latte coffee. Heating fresh milk better releases lactose sweet molecules, and when mixed evenly with espresso, the entire latte has a natural milk sweetness that doesn't overpower the espresso's character. Instead, the milk backdrop better highlights the espresso's flavors. FrontStreet Coffee's hot latte flavor profile shows: whiskey-like aroma, lactose and coffee acidity colliding to create milkshake-like sweetness, with a nutty aftertaste reminiscent of hazelnuts.

The above is the tutorial about milk foam steaming. If you want to learn more about espresso latte art or milk foam making, you can follow FrontStreet Coffee's official account or visit FrontStreet Coffee store to exchange related knowledge.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473