A Beginner's Guide To Creating The Perfect Latte (At Home)
Lockdown got you missing your fancy latte that comes complete with intricately crafted art specially created by the talented barista at your treasured local coffee shop? Don’t fear - we feel you. There’s something rather special about those wonderful creations that goes far beyond the foam; breaking through it with that first sip is something that we could all do with, especially right now. So we have enlisted help from the incredible brains behind Balance Coffee who teach you how to make your very own cafe style coffee at home, so you can get your fix of latte art and that all important snap for the gram all in one. Don’t say we don’t ever give you anything.
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There’s nothing more luxurious than a silky latte. But have you ever tried to make one at home? It can be pretty tricky to perfect, but with our three top coffee hacks, you can make latte-style foam at home, without spending any money on expensive equipment. Whilst it might not produce the same results as you can achieve using a home espresso machine, it’ll make a damn good equivalent!
The Science Behind Great Foam
Before we talk about the frothing methods, let’s have a quick science lesson about milk foam. Milk is made up of carbohydrates, proteins and fatty acids, which all play a part in creating the foam. When you froth milk (which is essentially just shaking it up), you add air which disrupts the protein. But because the protein wants to stay together, it forms a sort of shield around the air bubbles, which helps them hold their shape longer and protects them from bursting. This is the froth! Therefore, if you want super-foamy froth, look for milk with a higher protein content.
Interestingly, different milks and milk alternatives have different protein content:
Skim Milk: 3.4%
2% Milk: 3.3%
Whole Milk: 3.2%
Soy Milk: 2.7%
Almond Milk: 0.4%
Even though milk alternatives have lower protein counts, they can still make good froth. It just might not be quite as creamy. So don’t be afraid to swap out for your favourite alt-milk.
Today we’re sharing with you two methods to make that foamy latte style milk from home. Two Methods, the beginner method (using warm milk and a French press/tea strainer) and the more advanced home barista method.
The Beginner Method:
Before you start frothing, you’ll need to heat your milk. To do this, you’ll need the milk of your choice, a small saucepan and a thermometer.
Pour your milk into a saucepan and heat it on the stove. Place a thermometer in the milk to monitor the temperature and heat the milk on medium to medium-low, stirring it often to make sure it doesn’t burn. Depending on the type of milk you use, you want to hit a certain temperature to steam it which is anywhere between 55-68 degrees (depending on what temperature you like it at). For slightly cooler milk (55-65ºC) retains more sweetness which will complement your flat white or latte more when you produce the final drink. For soy milk aim for 60ºC and with almond milk 54ºC.
Hack #1:
Then you can start frothing using your method of choice. Our first hack includes giving the milk a shake, this is the easiest way to froth milk. You’ll need a glass jar with a lid (such as a mason jar) and your warmed milk. Pour your milk into the jar, making sure that it’s no more than halfway full, so the milk has room to bubble before putting the lid on and shaking between 30-60 seconds.
You’ll then have warm milk at the bottom of the jar, and a layer of foam on top! We suggest then decanting the milk into a milk pitcher or coffee jug, and pouring from there. This will give you a lot more control, and you’ll be able to tap the large bubbles out. By doing this your milk texture becomes perfect for pouring latte art and it’ll also produce a creamier mouthfeel in the drink.
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Hack #2
Our second hack to foam it up is with a French Press, which is the perfect way to create foam for a latte. Transfer your warmed milk to the clean French press – (it’s very important that your French Press is clean, because otherwise you’ll have coffee grounds in your milk, which isn’t ideal!)
To foam your milk, repeatedly pump the plunger of your French Press into your milk until air bubbles form. Make sure to hold the lid of the French Press while you do this, so it doesn’t pop off. Continue to pump your milk until over half of the milk has a foamy texture. Let the milk rest for 1 minute before pouring, then use the same method as our first hack and pour into a milk jug before transferring into the coffee.
Hack #3
Our third and final hack is to ‘tea it up’, and we feel this is an ingenious one. All you’ll need is a round tea infuser and your warmed milk.
You might have a round tea infuser at home – this little contraption can do more than just infuse loose leaf tea! The holes work perfectly to break up milk and introduce air. Just make sure that it is completely clean as you don’t want any tea debris in your foam!
Similar to the French press, there are many fine holes throughout the loose tea infuser, which breaks up the milk and allows air to infiltrate much more of it than with other methods. To infuse the milk with air, simply whisk the tea infuser around until it is frothy. This requires more work than the other methods, but the results are excellent.
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The Pro Method:
If you’re feeling a little more confident then give our home barista method a go. To note: this method assumes you're a coffee fanatic and have a coffee machine at home to make espresso and steam milk using a wand and milk jug.
Our first tip includes always starting with cold milk as it’ll foam better than room temperature milk. Insert your steam wand just below the surface of the milk before you turn on the steamer - the trick here is to get the milk swirling in a circular vortex motion as this will help heat and texture the milk particles throughout the steaming process.
‘Tap & Swirl’ comes next. As soon as you’ve finished steaming, tap the jug on a flat surface to remove any unwanted bubbles that are preventing you from getting that desired glossy milk. Then swirl the jug in a circular motion to re-combine the milk particles. Milk separates really quickly after being heated so this is an important step. Pour from around four inches above the cup and slowly lower the jug to the surface of your espresso. As the milk begins to pour out, allow the milk to do the work and wiggle from side to side to create a heart, tulip or simply a blob depending on your expertise level.
For more information visit: balancecoffee.co.uk and follow them on Instagram @balancecoffee