What Kind of Milk Should You Use for Frothing? Does Milk Make Lattes Taste Better? The Correct Method and Techniques for Making Latte Coffee

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Understanding Espresso Coffee

When it comes to espresso coffee, everyone knows it's a mixed beverage of espresso and milk. For example, the mocha, latte, and cappuccino served at FrontStreet Coffee are all made this way. However, milk isn't simply added directly—it needs to be frothed. This process is what we commonly call making milk foam. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will explain what milk to use for frothing and share the recipe and steps for making latte coffee.

How to Make Latte Coffee?

Now we know that latte coffee consists of two parts: espresso and milk. Hot latte requires frothed milk, which greatly tests the barista's milk frothing skills. Therefore, making hot latte coffee is divided into three parts: first, extracting espresso; second, frothing milk; third, pouring the frothed milk into the espresso and creating latte art.

The bean used at FrontStreet Coffee is the Warm Sun Blend, consisting of 60% sherry wine barrel coffee beans blended with 40% natural Yirgacheffe. Through multiple adjustments, we determined 20 grams of coffee grounds to extract 40 grams of coffee liquid, with an extraction time of 28 seconds.

Milk frothing mainly relies on the coffee machine's steam wand. Pour the appropriate amount of milk into a milk pitcher. For example, FrontStreet Coffee uses 300ml cups for lattes, so we pour 280ml of milk because the milk expands after frothing due to gas infusion. Before starting to froth milk, slightly open the steam switch to briefly purge steam, removing excess moisture from the steam wand. Then immerse the steam wand tip below the milk surface and turn on the switch. Finally, pour the frothed milk into the extracted espresso and create latte art to complete a latte coffee.

How to Froth Milk?

FrontStreet Coffee primarily uses the coffee machine's steam wand to froth milk. Pour the appropriate amount of milk into a milk pitcher. For example, FrontStreet Coffee uses 300ml cups for lattes, so we pour 280ml of milk because the milk expands after frothing due to gas infusion. Before starting to froth milk, slightly open the steam switch to briefly purge steam, removing excess moisture from the steam wand. Then immerse the steam wand tip below the milk surface and turn on the switch. Finally, pour the frothed milk into the extracted espresso and create latte art.

What's the Ideal Milk Foam Consistency for Latte Art?

According to FrontStreet Coffee's experience, milk foam is arguably the most important factor—the fineness of the foam directly determines its stability. The finer the foam, the slower it breaks down. Milk frothing can be divided into two stages: frothing and refining. Refining means breaking down the coarse foam created during frothing into finer bubbles. The specific technique involves inserting the steam wand deep into the foam layer, about 1cm below the surface, ensuring all steam holes are submerged in the milk, and using a unidirectional vortex to refine the foam until it becomes fine and smooth. Generally, qualified foam should have no large bubbles on the surface, present a reflective sheen, and have good fluidity.

Of course, milk temperature also affects foam breakdown (layering) speed. The ideal temperature for milk frothing is between 55-65°C. If below this temperature, the milk's sweetness won't be fully activated; if above this temperature, it will cause excessive protein denaturation, which accelerates foam breakdown.

What Milk to Use for Frothing?

Another common question that FrontStreet Coffee frequently hears from customers is what milk to use for frothing. Generally, FrontStreet Coffee recommends whole milk. But does this mean other types of milk can't make milk coffee, or do they require more advanced techniques?

First, everyone should know that milk consists of three main components: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Protein accounts for 3.3% of milk. Protein can be broken down into two elements: casein and serum protein.

Serum protein, also known as whey protein, contains nine essential aminooids. They coagulate or denature when heated to high temperatures. Casein forms "micelles" (micelles refer to surfactants dissolved in water that, when at low concentrations, exist as single molecules or are adsorbed on the solution surface to reduce surface tension). When milk is frothed with steam, the formation of micelles is interrupted, and casein molecules wrap around air bubbles, protecting them from bursting and thus creating foam.

The protein content in different types of milk affects the longevity of latte art on the surface. Whole milk produces a richer texture and thicker foam, while low-fat milk more easily creates large bubbles during frothing.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee chooses whole milk with good foaming properties when making milk coffee. So whether it's whole, low-fat, or skim milk, all can be used to make milk coffee. However, the different fat and protein contents in these milks make them vary in difficulty to work with, and of course, there are significant differences in taste. Because whole milk has high fat and protein content, it produces dense, long-lasting foam with good texture, making it the first choice. However, other milks have their own advantages—it just depends on what you choose when facing different situations.

Milk to Coffee Ratios in Espresso Coffee

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, espresso coffee is mainly made from milk and espresso. So what are the ratios between them? This depends on which espresso coffee you're making. Different espresso coffees like lattes and cappuccinos have different milk-to-coffee ratios. For example, lattes have more milk, mochas have more coffee, and cappuccinos have more foam. All three have different tastes and preparation methods, but use the same ingredients. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will teach everyone how to make hot latte coffee.

Recipe and Ratios for Hot Latte Coffee

First, you need to extract a shot of espresso. FrontStreet Coffee uses Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Blend beans.

How FrontStreet Coffee Extracts Espresso:

Frontsteet uses a Faema E98 espresso machine with the following extraction parameters:

Pressure: 9 bar ±2
Temperature: 90.5~96°C
Time: 20~30 sec
Brew ratio: 1:1.7~1:2
Dose: 12g (single espresso) 20g (double espresso)
Extraction yield: 20ml (single) 40ml (double)

Frontsteet uses double espresso for hot latte coffee. The flavor profile after extraction shows: distinct fruit acidity, subtle berry aroma, rich wine and chocolate flavors, with a comfortable sweet aftertaste.

Milk: Whole fresh milk (Frontsteet uses Kowloon Dairy fresh milk)
Milk frothing temperature: 50-60°C (too low and the lactose in milk won't be activated; too high and the milk proteins will be destroyed, creating a grainy texture)
Foam thickness: 1 cm (thinner than 1 cm is for flat white, thicker than 1 cm is for cappuccino)

FrontStreet Coffee recommends a coffee-to-milk ratio of 1:6.5 for lattes, meaning 40ml espresso to 260ml hot milk. By pouring the milk into the espresso in a circular motion to fully integrate them, you'll get a hot latte coffee. Heating fresh milk releases lactose sweet molecules for better expression. When evenly mixed with espresso, the entire latte naturally carries milk's sweetness without overpowering the espresso's character. Instead, the milk backdrop better highlights the espresso's flavors. Frontsteet's hot latte flavor profile shows: whiskey aroma, lactose and coffee acidity collide to create milkshake-like sweetness, with a nutty hazelnut aftertaste.

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's compilation of knowledge about how to froth milk and make latte coffee. We hope this helps coffee enthusiasts who want to understand related topics, providing them with theoretical knowledge for making espresso coffee themselves in the future.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473