If you want to make a delicious latte, what is the golden ratio of milk, milk foam and coffee?

A good latte depends not only on the quality of coffee beans and the particle size of the powder, but also on the ratio of milk to milk foam.

Taking a 250cc coffee cup as an example, after adding about 45-50cc of espresso, the best ratio of milk to milk foam is about 3:1, that is, adding about 150cc of milk and 50cc of milk foam, which tastes smoother.

The strength of the coffee depends on personal taste and the origin of the coffee beans. If you are used to a strong taste, you can choose Mandheling or Sumatra; if you like a slightly sour taste, you can choose Brazil. The proportion of milk can also be fine-tuned according to the strength of the coffee beans and personal preference.

Steps to a delicious latte

[Grind coffee beans] Put the coffee beans into a bean grinder and grind them into coffee powder. If you make a 250c.c. latte, you need to prepare 16 to 18 grams of coffee beans.

Tips: The particle size of coffee powder will affect the taste. For example, for an Italian coffee machine, the particles need to be fine. If you use filter paper or a siphon coffee machine, the particles of the middle grade are fine. If you use a filter press, the particles need to be coarse. In addition, if you don't have a grinder at home, you can go to a chain coffee shop or a coffee specialty store for help, and you can also get a more accurate particle size, but most of them only grind the raw beans for you.

[Steamed Milk] Pour in about 200cc of fresh milk and steam it to 60-70 degrees Celsius using a milk steamer. At the same time, place the milk steamer stick in contact with the surface of the milk at an angle of 45-90 degrees to steam out dense milk foam. Leave it for one to two minutes to allow the foam to separate from the milk.

Tips: To make the milk foam dense, there should not be too much space between the milk steamer and the milk surface, so that bubbles are not easily generated. If you don't have a professional milk steamer at home, you can buy an affordable electric milk frother, or use a filter press to make milk foam manually. After putting the milk in, press up and down about 40 times.

[Making espresso or American coffee] This demonstration uses an Italian coffee machine. The coffee powder needs to be flattened with a tamper and then put into the coffee stove to make espresso.

Tips: If you don’t have an Italian coffee machine, you can also grind the coffee into powder and use a moka pot or filter press to make American coffee. For every 10 grams of coffee powder, add 180cc of water.

[Combine with milk and add milk foam] Pour 45-50cc of espresso into the cup, then pour in 150cc of hot milk and add two tablespoons of about 50cc of milk foam. The ratio of milk to milk foam is 3:1.

Tips: Espresso needs to be combined with milk as soon as possible. If it is left in the air for too long, it will become sour and difficult to drink. If you want the latte to look more beautiful, you can also add latte art. When making latte art, you need to use a milk steel with a thinner tip, shake the milk and milk foam evenly and mix them thoroughly, first pull up your hand, then slowly press down to draw the pattern.