Why Does Milk Foam Collapse Quickly? Why Does Latte Foam Disappear Within Minutes? How to Reduce Milk Foam Breakdown in Milk Coffee?

Why Does Your Latte's Foam Disappear So Quickly?

Have you ever noticed how the foam on a hot latte changes when left sitting for a long time? Does it remain持久不消，"青春永驻" (eternally preserved, forever young)? Or does it分崩瓦解，不堪入目 (disintegrate into an unappealing mess)?

Actually, both scenarios can occur because milk foam is essentially composed of bubbles. The liquid film that traps the gas gradually thins as liquid is lost, and when it becomes thin enough, the bubbles burst. Therefore, the dissipation of milk foam is inevitable. However, under normal circumstances, the overall duration of milk foam is quite long. If the hot latte we make experiences extremely rapid foam dissipation, losing its shape within minutes as shown in the picture below, it indicates that these bubbles have poor stability, leading to an increased rate of foam dissipation.

The main reasons for this situation fall into three categories: substandard milk foam quality, "dry" espresso crema, and improper handling techniques that accelerate foam dissipation.

1. Milk Foam Quality

In the article "What Kind of Milk Foam is Best for Latte Art?", FrontStreet Coffee shared that to create beautiful latte art, producing high-quality milk foam is essential. Proper milk temperature and foam density are both crucial factors. These two elements are equally closely related to the stability of milk foam.

When milk temperature is too high, the foam will break down quickly because it cannot withstand the heat. When the foam isn't dense or fine enough, it indicates that we didn't perform sufficient texturing during the frothing process, leaving most bubbles relatively large and less stable, which also accelerates foam dissipation. Therefore, high-quality milk foam not only facilitates latte art creation but also keeps milk coffee drinks "forever young." So how do we create high-quality milk foam? Actually, the article in the link above has already provided detailed answers, so FrontStreet Coffee won't elaborate further here.

2. Espresso Crema

In addition to milk foam, espresso crema is also an important component of milk coffee's surface. Therefore, the quality of espresso crema will also affect the stability of milk foam.

However, unlike milk foam frothing, crema quality tends to depend more on the material itself—that is, the freshness of the coffee beans. When coffee beans are fresher, they contain more carbon dioxide. Although excessive carbon dioxide can produce more crema, it reduces the liquid content held by each bubble. With thinner liquid films on each bubble, they naturally dissipate more quickly. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee typically "lets rest" coffee beans for about a week. When most of the carbon dioxide has dissipated and stabilized, extraction is then performed. The resulting integrated milk foam will naturally be much more stable.

3. Improper Handling Techniques

If large bubbles appear on the surface after milk foam is created due to handling errors, we generally eliminate them through a tapping motion known as "震缸" (pitcher tapping).

But many friends think tapping twice isn't enough and will tap three, four, five, or six times. In this case, the stability of this milk foam becomes somewhat concerning. Because tapping accelerates the separation between foam and milk, the foam dissipation rate will also increase accordingly. Therefore, if large bubbles appear due to handling mistakes, pitcher tapping is certainly acceptable. However, it's best not to do it too many times.

In addition to the factors mentioned above, uneven integration, under-roasted coffee beans, and low-fat milk content can all accelerate foam dissipation to some extent. However, their impact is relatively minor, so FrontStreet Coffee won't elaborate further on these!

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473