Over the past decade, specialty coffeehouses have become exceedingly popular; however, many patrons of these shops have discovered that the "latte-a-day" habit can be quite pricey. In an attempt to reduce some of the costs associated with their morning coffee rituals, many people have turned to the art of home espresso brewing. Somehow, though, the drinks that come from a home espresso machine just don't seem to taste quite as good as the ones that come from a shop; and while this is attributed to many different factors including the quality of your espresso shot, one thing that can really make or break your homemade espresso beverage is the quality of your steamed milk.
What you'll need:
In order to create the perfect coffeehouse style foam, the first thing you'll need is a steam wand. Many home espresso machines come with these built right in, but some don't. If your machine doesn't have one, don't worry. Steam wands can be easily obtained over the internet from places like Amazon.com.
You'll also need a metal steaming pitcher, a frothing thermometer (again, these can be purchased online), and your favorite type of milk.
Please note: the quality of your foam depends heavily on the type of milk you're using. Whole milk tends to have much creamier, denser foam, whereas skim milk can have much drier foam. And, soy milk and rice milk tend to be difficult to foam at all.
The frothing:
Pour milk into your steaming pitcher. Keep in mind that milk expands 2-3 times in volume during frothing, so be sure to leave enough room at the top. Insert your thermometer making sure that it does not touch the bottom of the pitcher. Put the tip of your steam wand into the milk, just barely submerging it beneath the milk's surface. Hold the pitcher at a slight angle, and turn the steam wand on. You should hear a gurgling, hissing sound as the milk froths. Let the frothing continue until the thermometer reads approximately 100 degrees F, and then submerge the steam wand further into the milk, again making sure that it is not touching the bottoms or the sides of the pitcher. Continue steaming the milk until the thermometer reaches 160 degrees F. Turn the steam wand off and wipe it down with a wet cloth. It's usually a good idea at this point to point the steam wand away from you and turn it on and off quickly, just to make sure any excess milk will not dry up inside the wand. Be careful; the steam coming out of the wand and the pitcher will both be hot!
The pouring:
After you have poured the espresso into the desired cup, use a spoon to hold back the layer of foam on the top as you pour the milk into the cup. Then, use the spoon to scoop a few dollops of foam into the top of your cup and voila! You have a beautiful, coffeehouse-grade beverage.
Please note: the standard cappuccino will have approximately 1 part milk to 2 parts foam. The standard latte will have approximately 2 parts milk to 1 part foam. Feel free to adjust these quantities to your preferences.
Jonna Vercellini - Jonna received her Associates degree in literature from Portland Community College and is currently pursuing her Bachelors of Science in ...
