top of page
Latte Art

To skim milk

How to use!

How to skim milk for your favorite coffee

The perfect latte or cappuccino requires a kind of micro-foam, which is a finer foam with smaller bubbles that you can handle more easily. This microfoam has a rich and sweet taste and is what you should strive for when frothing milk. A common mistake is skim milk that almost looks like meringue with a taste that almost resembles cardboard. To be able to make good flour for an espresso drink, you need a good espresso machine . There are different varieties and varieties, but in general the rule is: the more expensive the machine, the better the milk frothing.

Microfoam does not look like foam but looks almost like regular milk, except that the microfoam is more glossy. So if the milk you have skimmed has a foam that you can easily see, then you have failed. Learning how to make the perfect microfoam is not that difficult if you practice a lot, but one thing to keep in mind is that the time to heat milk varies from machine to machine, which affects your foam.

 

 

Some rules to get as good milk frothing as possible:

  • Have everything in a cold jug

  • Always have cold milk

  • Skim the milk first to body temperature (approx. 40 degrees)

  • Then continue to heat until it is the right temperature (about 60 degrees)

  • Keep the milk moving at all times - it should not stand still.

  • Always clean the steam nozzle immediately after use

  • Do not leave the milk in the jug for too long.

  • It is not recommended to skim milk again, or reheat already skimmed milk

Checklist for good milk frothing

Barista basic

  • Online course (15 moments)

  • Digital test

  • Certificate

More about skimming milk

Barista Advance

  • Online course (15 moments)

  • Digital test

  • 2 days internship (learn to make coffee)

  • Practical test

  • Grade + diploma

From

 

 

The following things should always be kept in mind when skimming milk:
When you stop the nozzle from the milk frother, you can hear several different sounds from the machine depending on how deep you insert the nozzle. If you hold the nozzle at the surface, you get a kind of bubbling sound. When you have the nozzle in the middle of the depth, you hardly hear anything at all from the skimmer. And when you hold the nozzle at the bottom of the bringer that you skim in, you will hear a kind of screaming sound from the skimmer.

Your goal is to keep the nozzle in the middle of the bringer where you hear as little noise as possible. To get your microfoam, move the nozzle slightly upwards in the bringer so that you sometimes hear a kind of sucking sound from the skimmer. But be careful, if you get too much of the sucking sound, your milk foam will not be micro enough. To heat the milk after the frothing is done, position the nozzle in the lower half of the bringer, but still close to the center. You will occasionally hear a screaming sound.

When you froth the milk, you want a kind of whirlwind in your milk jug. You do this by tilting the jug so that the beginning of the nozzle touches the top of the jug and the rest tilts obliquely into the milk. However, if you have a multi-hole nozzle, holding the nozzle straight down the center for this type of nozzle will automatically create a whirlwind.

During the frothing of the milk, the volume in the jug will increase. You want to skim the milk until the volume in the jug has increased by about 50%. If you froth more than this, you will not get the perfect micro-foam that you need to be able to make beautiful patterns in your coffee. When you have increased the volume by 50%, the coffee pot is usually lukewarm, about 40 degrees, then stick the nozzle a little deeper to avoid more foam. Hold your hand on the side of the jug to check the temperature. When the jug gets uncomfortably hot, then the milk is warm enough. Then immediately switch off the milk frother and remove the nozzle. Make your favorite pattern in your coffee, serve it and then clean your mouthpiece so it is ready for the next batch of milk.

This with temperatures is important. Around 40 degrees, the proteins that make it possible to get a good, fine, foam solidify. After 40 degrees, it is not possible to continue to create a good foam, so then the focus is on just continuing to heat the milk. The final temperature should then be about 60 degrees (a little colder for cappuccino, a little warmer for caffe latte). But even here it is important not to get too hot. For over 70 degrees, the milk begins to change taste, and become a little sweeter. It gets a character of gruel. This is to be avoided.

bottom of page