For Beginners: What Milk Makes Coffee Foam Last Longer? Professional Frothing Techniques and Tutorial Guide

Many beginners struggle with creating perfect milk foam when learning latte art. In fact, the quality of milk affects how easily foam can be created. FrontStreet Coffee would like to introduce several types of milk that are easy to foam!

Types of Milk for Coffee

In the eyes of baristas, milk is divided into room-temperature and refrigerated milk, whole milk and skim milk. For coffee latte art, it's best to use refrigerated whole milk—this is the optimal choice for both taste and ease of latte art creation.

Room-Temperature Milk

This is milk that has undergone high-temperature sterilization, almost completely sterilized, allowing it to be stored at room temperature for extended periods, typically with a 6-month shelf life. However, its taste, flavor, and nutritional value are slightly inferior.

Refrigerated Milk

This is milk processed using pasteurization, eliminating most bacteria and requiring refrigerated storage for only about 7-12 days. While its shelf life is shorter, its nutritional content and flavor profile are superior.

Whole Milk

The fat content in milk is also a standard for how easily milk can be frothed. Whole milk makes frothing easier, allowing for the creation of fine, dense milk foam.

Skim Milk

Skim milk is primarily processed milk with the fat removed. It's suitable for people with certain allergic conditions or high blood pressure. However, FrontStreet Coffee must emphasize that skim milk's flavor is inferior to whole milk in every aspect—it tastes watery and lacks milkiness when tasted.

How to Froth Milk

FrontStreet Coffee uses Kowloon Dairy whole fresh milk. Before using steam to froth, make sure the machine is fully heated and that what comes out is steam vapor (the pressure will be greater; if you're using a professional commercial machine, this won't be an issue).

Many affordable home espresso machines on the market don't have enough pressure, so they essentially spray water and some steam. The steam wand often has a plastic tip with one end that draws in air—don't let it go below the milk surface.

There's usually a temperature limit—don't froth for too long. Generally, when the temperature reaches around 60 degrees Celsius, you should stop. You can try touching the bottom of the pitcher; when it feels hot and there's a milky aroma, it's time to finish.

The last step is very important. Once the milk foam is formed, place a thick cloth on the counter and tap the milk pitcher on it. This helps release air bubbles from the foam, making it denser. Even if you don't drink it immediately after frothing, it won't melt away quickly...

It's best to use milk straight from the refrigerator for the best frothing results.

Position the steam wand about one centimeter below the milk surface in the center of the steel pitcher... If the sound is too loud, you need to adjust the angle.

You can practice with a thermometer first. Turn off the steam as soon as it reaches the target temperature, because the temperature rises very quickly toward the end.

Well-frothed milk should have a slightly creamy consistency... a somewhat thick feeling. (Basically, don't overcook it, but maintain the proper temperature).

Turn off the steam and tap the milk pitcher on the counter. You'll see the foam on top become fine and smooth.

If the foam is too coarse with bubbles, it means the milk temperature is too high... because the temperature wasn't controlled properly and the steam was turned off too late.

Factors for Long-Lasting Milk Foam

Heating Milk Temperature

Milk foam forms in two ways: one is steam-frothed foam, and the other is foam created using a French press.

First, let's discuss steam-frothed foam. The temperature cannot be too low, otherwise the foam won't be dense and won't last long. High temperature is even worse because the milk will boil, and the foam will no longer be dense but rather large bubbles that form after boiling and break easily.

So someone might ask, what temperature is best for milk foam? Approximately 75 degrees Celsius. However, a very stylish barista taught me that he never uses a thermometer when frothing milk. He uses the thinnest part of his palm (the thick flesh next to the thumb) to feel the temperature—this area is most sensitive to heat, until it becomes hot.

A good cup of coffee requires trying many different types of whole milk to determine which is better. It's also worth mentioning that different coffee beans pair best with different milks for optimal flavor. Milk that's too rich might suppress the coffee's own richness, so even if that milk can produce excellent foam, it may not be the best choice for that particular coffee bean. As for foam made with a French press, basically any refrigerated milk can work. The quality depends on how quickly and frequently you pump—the faster and more frequent the pumping, the better the bubble quality. This type of foam is basically used for cold drinks.

Milk to Foam Ratio

Simply put, with 500 milliliters of milk, you can create 1000 milliliters of milk and foam mixture, or 600 milliliters. This completely depends on the type of coffee you're making—what kind of latte art you're doing, making a latte or a cappuccino. Relatively speaking, the higher the ratio of milk to foam, the denser the foam. Of course, this is highly related to personal technique.

Personal Technique

This gets even more complex. How to operate the steam wand (when to increase steam, when to decrease it, the depth of the steam wand in the milk, the stirring force). The lower the initial milk temperature, the more time you have for frothing, and relatively more time to adjust foam quality. The steam wand uses steam to rapidly mix air and milk, which is closely related to how you form bubbles on the milk surface and then transform them into the densest possible foam. This requires years of practice. To save resources, FrontStreet Coffee often uses water instead of milk for practice.

After frothing, you still need to handle the milk in your hands. FrontStreet Coffee usually taps the milk pitcher firmly on the countertop several times. When I say firmly, I don't mean extremely hard—this force is very particular. Too light, and the large bubbles in the milk won't be released; too heavy, and you'll create new large bubbles... Of course, this is a personal preference—some people don't use this technique.

Standing Time

Generally, frothed milk is quickly made into coffee. The longer it sits, the fewer bubbles it will have, and the foam will no longer be dense.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

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