Latte Art Foam Video Tutorial: Beginner's Guide to Perfect Milk Frothing Techniques

When a barista serves you a latte with a delicate surface and perfectly formed flower pattern, compared to one with a surface resembling an elderly grandmother's face and a more casual pattern, you'll understand just how important "first impressions" truly are.

Setting aside appearance, if both lattes are made with the same ingredients, the one with finer milk foam will taste better than the other.

FrontStreet Coffee has written many tutorials on "frothing milk foam" in the past (search for "milk foam" within our official account for better reading experience alongside this article).

Many people overlook the issue of milk quality. First, any milk can be frothed into fine foam—there's no question about that. But why do many coffee shops choose whole fresh milk instead of UHT milk or skim milk?

The first reason is that whole fresh milk tastes better and has a richer milk flavor. The second reason is that whole milk contains more fat (about 3%), and higher fat content helps stabilize the foam structure, making it less likely to break down.

Next comes the issue of frothing milk foam. The simplest tool for frothing milk is the steam wand that comes with the espresso machine. FrontStreet Coffee reminds everyone to check and confirm the steam wand before frothing.

First, check if the steam wand is clean. If there are any milk or coffee residues, please clean them thoroughly before use.

Second, confirm the power of the steam before frothing. This is especially important when using a new machine, as not all espresso machines have the same steam power. If you're unsure about the steam power, it's recommended to test it with cold water in the milk pitcher first.

Third, turn on the steam briefly before frothing to expel any condensation water from inside the tube.

Then we come to the frothing process. The first question is the amount of milk to froth. FrontStreet Coffee suggests filling the milk pitcher to 5-6 parts full—too little or too much is not beginner-friendly.

The second question is finding the frothing position. Frothing milk is essentially creating a vortex. Whether clockwise or counterclockwise is fine—as long as the milk moves in one direction, it won't create turbulence, thus reducing the appearance of large, coarse bubbles. Therefore, using the clock face as reference, the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions are most suitable for frothing.

The third question is mastering the degree of aeration versus texturing. Aeration introduces air to create foam, so the steam holes should be partially exposed (half in liquid, half at surface). Typically, the sharp "hissing" sound indicates that aeration is happening.

Aeration shouldn't last too long—after about 3 seconds, submerge the steam holes completely in the milk for texturing. Texturing uses the steam from the wand to create a vortex that refines large bubbles, ultimately producing fine milk foam.

Video link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/M5HUWxsulUROT3gjXbe-PQ

When should texturing end? Continue until the milk reaches 55-65°C, or until it feels too hot to touch with your hand, then turn off the steam wand.

Therefore, the key to creating fine milk foam lies in creating a "vortex" and controlling the depth of the steam wand. Many people submerge the steam wand too deep after aeration, causing the surface foam to remain untextured, resulting in thick, coarse foam. The ideal position during texturing is to submerge the steam tip just enough that it no longer makes the "hissing" sound.

As for whether milk foam affects the taste of coffee—the impact is quite significant. Fine foam provides a full-bodied, smooth mouthfeel. Coarse foam, however, makes even mixing difficult, resulting in not only a rough texture but also uneven flavor—alternating between weak and strong tastes with each sip.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473