Milk Steaming Tips & Tricks
The delicate art of steaming milk… It can seem overwhelming, but it is a crucial skill to have when creating a specialty coffee drink. On the blog today, we’re sharing some tips and tricks to up your home milk steaming game!
In order to steam the perfect milk for latte art, you must set yourself up for success from the start. Milk steaming can seem daunting to new baristas or frustrating to self-taught home baristas because it is a sensitive process. So we’re going to share a clear step-by-step process for steaming milk below. Follow it every time, and you’ll soon see results!
How to Steam Milk:
The first (seemingly simple yet actually very important) step is to set up your milk pitcher properly. There are so many milk pitchers on the market today of different sizes and shapes. Use whichever one you prefer, just make sure it’s clean and the milk is cold. Also, make sure your portioning out the right amount of milk. Too little won’t steam well and your drink will be short. Too much will take longer to steam, might overflow out of the pitcher, and is just plain wasteful. A good rule of thumb is to pour milk to about a finger’s width below the bottom of the spout on the pitcher— but, as we said earlier, each pitcher is different, so find out what works for you.
Purge the steam wand by simply turning it on briefly to let out steam and whatever residual milk was left in it from the last steam.
Now submerge the steam wand in the milk, making sure the steam wand is fully under the surface. Anchor the steam wand against the side of the milk pitcher so you have better control. Hold the pitcher angled towards you so you can watch the milk. Rest one hand on the side of the pitcher so you can temp the milk as you steam it.
Turn the steam wand all the way on and pull the pitcher down until the steam wand is at the surface of the milk to stretch the milk a bit: this is when you’re letting a little air into the milk. This stage is crucial. Too much stretching will make the milk very fluffy, the drink too foamy, and you won’t be able to pour latte art. Too little will leave the milk too thin, your drink won’t have lovely foam on top, and you won’t be able to pour latte art. So give it a couple of stretches— this aerating of the milk will sound like a sizzle. If your milk is silent for the rest of the steaming process, you’ll know you stretched it well. If it’s loud, you didn’t stretch it enough. It’s important to note that you have to stretch before the milk reaches 100 degrees F. If you allow air in past that point it will cause the milk to be bubbly instead of smooth.
Once you’ve stretched the milk enough submerge the steam wand fully back down into the milk. Let the milk swirl in a vortex as it continues to heat up. Once it’s the right temperature turn the wand off and remove the pitcher. The most commonly used temperature for specialty coffee is 140 degrees F. Most new baristas will need to use a thermometer until they’ve memorized the feeling of the correct temperature. But try to practice temping the side of the pitcher with your hand from the start so you can learn how different temperatures feel.
It’s important to clean your steam wand after you’ve steamed the milk. Just purge it once more and wipe it off with a damp towel. Don’t let the milk dry on the wand: it will be way more difficult to clean later if you do.
You’re basically done now! Just give that milk pitcher a few swirls to incorporate the milk and swirl out any bubbles that might be there. This stage is called grooming, and it’s very important. If you don’t swirl the milk in your pitcher a bit before pouring latte art, chances are a big blob of white foam will topple out into your drink. Set yourself up for success now and groom that milk!
Although, like in many aspects of specialty coffee, you can find your own preferences or tricks that may differ from what we’ve shared above, we hope this article helps you get started! Steaming smooth milk to the right temperature is crucial for creating tasty drinks and beautiful latte art. It’s important to find a rhythm that works for you and delivers good-quality milk every time!
Our comments are open below if you have questions! Don’t forget to check back in for our upcoming “Tips and Tricks” blog post about latte art or subscribe to our newsletter here if you never want to miss a post. And if you missed our first “Tips and Tricks” blog about espresso, check it out here.
