What kind of milk is best for latte art? What are the factors that affect coffee milk foam?

Click to follow | Daily boutique coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

Many baristas or coffee lovers spend a lot of time and energy practicing coffee latte art, but coffee latte art not only tests your skills in drawing patterns, but also tests your skills in making espresso and frothing milk. Recently, someone asked me why some milks can't be frothed? The froth is thin and watery, and becomes rough after a while!

OK, today I am here to share with you, if you want to draw beautiful flowers, what kind of milk should you use?

The most important things about milk used for latte art are three highs: high lactose, high protein, and high fat!

Lactose is what makes milk sweet. Lactose is a disaccharide molecule composed of galactose and glucose that coexists in milk. Lactose does not decompose in water, so it does not taste sweet when it is cold, but when it is heated it becomes soluble, releasing sugars and increasing sweetness. Lactose does not affect the formation and maintenance of milk foam, but it will significantly affect the taste of latte art. When making latte art, two-thirds of a cup of coffee may be milk, so whether the sweetness of milk and coffee are "compatible" is also very important.

Pour whole milk and skim milk into two cups and try them. You will find that the taste and texture of skim milk are lighter and waterier, and there is nothing special after drinking it; while whole milk is thicker and feels heavier when you drink it. Why? This is because of the different milk fat content. Whole milk contains 4% or more milk fat. The cream we often talk about is a thin layer of cream formed on the surface of milk. This layer of cream has a higher milk fat content and is more delicious than the milk itself.

Through machine extraction, manufacturers can adjust the fat content of milk to 2% (equivalent to 50% concentration), ½% (equivalent to almost all the fat concentration), and skim (removing all the fat, leaving only water, protein and sugar). In theory, whole milk can give coffee a rich taste, but some people still prefer skim milk because they think the fat in whole milk brings more burden to the body.

Generally speaking, the higher the milk fat content, the denser the milk foam will be, but the proportion of milk foam will be relatively small. Therefore, if you use only high-fat whole milk, the milk foam texture may not be in the best state. If you add some foamed ice milk, the milk foam texture and amount will be more and denser.

Protein is the third element we should pay attention to after lactose and milk fat. When you heat milk, the protein in it will change from a sol state to a gel state, forming a thin film that surrounds the air molecules and then forms a floating substance, which is what we commonly call milk foam. Therefore, even if we use high-protein plant milks such as soy milk and oat milk, we can still make milk foam, but traditional plant milk lacks milk fat, so the stability of the milk foam is relatively poor and it is particularly easy to defoam.

In addition to the interactions between milk fat content, protein, and temperature, there are several other factors that can affect coffee foam.

Milk temperature

The temperature of milk is very important when whipping milk. The shelf life of milk will be reduced by half for every 2 degrees Celsius increase in the storage temperature. The higher the temperature, the more milk fat will decompose and the lower the foaming degree will be. At the same storage temperature, the longer the storage time, the more milk fat will decompose and the lower the foaming degree will be. When the milk is foaming, the lower the starting temperature, the more complete and uniform the protein denaturation will be, and the higher the foaming degree will be. In addition, it should be noted that the best storage temperature for milk is about 4 degrees Celsius.

Steam volume

The larger the steam volume, the faster the milk will be frothed, but it is relatively easy to produce coarse milk foam. The larger the steam volume, the more suitable it is for a larger steel cup. A steel cup that is too small is prone to turbulence. The steam pipe with a small steam volume has a poor milk foaming effect, but the advantage is that it is not easy to produce coarse bubbles, and the frothing time is longer, which is generally easier to control.

Steam dryness

The higher the degree of dryness of the steam, the lower the water content will be, and the milk foam produced will be denser, so the higher the degree of dryness of the steam, the better.

The size and shape of the flower pot

The size of the latte art pitcher depends on the type of coffee drink you want to make. The larger the cup, the larger the pitcher you need. Generally speaking, a 600cc pitcher is used for cappuccino, and a 1000cc pitcher is used for latte. Only by using the correct pitcher capacity can you make well-organized milk foam. Since it is a way to make coffee latte art, the shape of the latte art pitcher is mainly pointed. How to make patterns with different pointed pitcher pitchers requires a lot of practice.

Regardless of whether our coffee art looks good or not, since we are going to make a cup of coffee to drink, we naturally need to know more about the impact of milk on coffee. The shape is important, but the taste and flavor cannot be ignored. Only by trying different milks can you know which one is the best for your coffee.

【Recommended reading】：

Newbie Answers | What kind of milk should be used for latte art and coffee? What is the most suitable milk temperature?

The secret of drawing milk in coffee - the most easily overlooked knowledge point for latte art beginners

Disclaimer: Some of the pictures in this article are from the Internet. For some of the content on the website, such as pictures, we will respect the copyright of the original work and indicate the source, but due to the large number of pictures, some pictures and texts may not be indicated in time, please forgive me. If the original author has any disputes, please contact the website to deal with it. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. It is edited by "Coffee Workshop". Please indicate the source when reprinting. This article is intended to spread coffee culture. If there is any infringement, please inform us to delete it. Thank you~!