This clip shows you how easy it is to achieve perfect microfoam with no big bubbles
In addition to my comments in the video it may be helpful if i add some step by step comments
1. Remember that great microfoam/sweet textrured velvety milk and latte art are two completely different things. This video clip shows you how to make sweet, velvety textured milk consistently, and with ease. It does not touch on the skill of latte art at all
2. I am using fresh 4.0% fat organic milk. If your milk does not taste creamy, but papery and synthetic then change it! Earlier in the day i purchased a fresh bottle of Sainsbury’s (a UK supermarket chain) standard semi-skim (1.7%) milk (they did not have any organic milk available on the day) and whilst i was achieving nice fine microfoam the taste of the milk was thin, synthetic, and papery. A trip to another supermarket allowed me to purchase some organic full fat milk. I bought it home and whilst it was no more or less difficult to achieve nice microfoam the taste was fantastic
I am not a fan of overly filtered, heat treated milk that kills off bacteria to yeild a longer life. As a rule foodstuffs with a long life are nasty and best left to astronauts, round the world yachtsmen and campers who do not have access to refrigeration. Go for the original full fat version. The evidence is slowly piling up to show that foods that interfered generally turn out to be more harmful than the natural version. A lot of the types of bacteria in milk and similar products is beneficial to us. Get the original, shun the overly refined sythentic versions, and rediscover how much better the original tastes
3. Blow the condensate out of the wand every time before you start – this condensate reforms very quickly you will have to blow it clear not just for the first jug of milk you texture, but also any subsequent jug
4. As you probably already know, texturing the milk comprises two distinct stages. 1/ tip just below the surface of the milk (5-10mm) to introduce air into the milk – often referred to as the stretching phase. have your hand on the side of the jug and when the jug feels as though it is warm – i.e. about blood temperature then proceed to stage two. 2/ the mixing phase – having completed stage 1 proceed to stage two by taking the steam wand much deeper into the jug – about 10mm off the bottom of the jug, but not so deep that you produce a screeching sound on the bottom of the jug. when the jug becomes too hot to hold your hand against the side of the jug the milk is ready. immediately shut off the steam to prevent over-heating of the milk which will rob you of the natural sweetness in the milk
5. As you commence stage one (above) enjoy the benefit of the toggle control on the steam wand to slowly let the steam out of the wand – this prevents milk being blown around your kitchen and ensures you dont create big bubbles like you would find in a bubble bath. after a couple of seconds you can fully open the steam wand
6. As you complete stage two enjoy the ability of the toggle wand to instantly close off the steam with a flick, which prevents you from over heating the milk – unlike a spigot tap on the steam wand which takes half a day for you to turn off, by which time your milk is too hot and is no longer sweet as a result
7. The key message is that when you hear people talking about the need to get the milk spinning they mean in the vertical plane, not the horizontal plane. In the horizontal plane it acts like a centrifuge and works against you separating the milk with the heavier components being throw to the outside wall of the jug and the lighter components trapped in the centre. Spinning in the vertical plane ensures the milk is nicely mixed together as the straight sides, and ‘square’ corners where the sides and the bottom meet prevent the milk from ‘spinning’ as the distance from the centre is not a constant. this turbulent, disruptive tumbling of the milk is what ensures you get the micro foam evenly distributed throughout the milk, rather than a separation which is difficult to manage when you coem to pour the milk
8. I assure you that if you follow these very basics steps/rules you will be able to prepare sweet milk with evenly distributed microfoam time after time. If any of you have been struggling i really hope this helps as it is not difficult if you get the correct pointers to help you on your way
9. The jug you have is not important so dont rush out and buy a new jug – within reason anything will do. If you want to do latte art, then yes, i agree, the shape of the jug is much more important and it you will find that a Rattleware jug or similar will greatly assist your endeavours
r.