Frothing is probably the most underappreciated part of coffeehouse culture. After all, without the foam, your cappuccino or latte is just plain espresso. It takes a little practice for even the best baristas to get the knack. Let us take a little dive into the art of frothing.
The experts have just as many opinions on frothing as they do on espresso blends, but everyone pretty much agrees that the best place to start is with stainless steel pitcher, some milk and an espresso machine with a steaming wand.
Other non-plastic containers will work fine, but stainless steel has the perfect balance of weight and agility that makes it easy to handle. Any type of milk can be used, but milk with higher fat content is heavier and takes a bit more practice. Skim milk produces and light, airy foam, while foam from half and half is thick and rich.
Frothing will cause the milk to expand to roughly twice its normal volume. To determine how much milk to use, fill the cup you plan to drink from with half the amount of milk the drink requires. For instance, a latte is two parts steamed milk to one part espresso, so fill a third of the cup with cold milk, then pour the milk into the stainless steel pitcher.
It is important that the tip of the steam wand not be held too deep in the pitcher, or the milk will get hot but not froth. If it is not deep enough, it will blow the milk out of the pitcher and make a mess. It needs to stay just below the surface. The palm of your free hand should be on the bottom of the pitcher, allowing you to observe the temperature of the milk without stopping the process.
Slide the pitcher away from the machine as to keep the tip of the wand just under the surface as the milk expands. At this point, if the milk is about the same temperature as the palm of you hand, plunge the wand deeper into the milk to warm it up. If the pitcher feels too hot, turn off the steam and tap the pitcher against the work surface. This lets large bubbles to escape and helps cool the milk. It is important to never let the milk boil.
Using a spoon to hold back the froth, add the milk to the espresso. You can use the spoon to top the drink off with foam or, in the best-case scenario; the foam can be poured straight from the pitcher. For best results, use a pitcher with a sharply-pointed spout. Garnish your creation with cinnamon, nutmeg or grated chocolate.
A regular contributor to The Coffee Site, Cory Willins enjoys writing gourmet coffee and other food related articles. The Coffee Site contains many coffee resources including coffee forums, many coffee reviews, gourmet coffee directories and more.
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