If you are having trouble whipping up enough foam for your lattes or cappuccinos, try using lactose-free milk.
I have no idea what it is about lactose-free milk, but for some reason it makes more foam. So give it a shot, especially if you are a cappuccino fan and need lots of froth.
What are your experiences with the various kinds of milk? I know there are a lot of people who like to steam half-and-half. It's not something I've tried. I'd be interested to hear your opinions of what type of milk works for you.
I got an email yesterday with the following question for a reader, and thought I'd share my thoughts here in case other readers are having the same difficulty frothing their milk with an Aerolatte whisk.
Hi John,
I enjoy your blog. I have traveled to Australia a few times, and am looking for ways to re-create the perfect flat white. Although I'm new to espresso machines, I have no trouble pulling great double shots (same Gaggia espresso maker and Breville bean grinder that you have, using Victrola Triborough [beans]), but I'm finding the milk frothing to be difficult using the whisk method. What I'm finding is that I can get the proper 2x volumetric expansion with lots of foam (looks just like the picture of the milk in your glass,
how to make milk for espresso drinks),
but after I swirl the flask for ~20 seconds and try to fold the foam into the milk with a spoon, and pour off the milk into the cup, the milk from the bottom of the flask seems thin and normal rather than the velvety characteristic of flat whites. The result is something more like a cappuccino or an au lait--the espresso turns to cream-colored coffee rather than velvety throughout. For some reason, the foam doesn't seem to be mixing well with the more liquidity milk on the bottom.
Any suggestions on how to make the poured milk more consistently velvety?
Thanks,
PC
Thanks for your question, PC. I have experienced the same problem myself in the past, and essentially it's because you haven't actually created enough foam, or haven't sufficiently blended the foam on the top into the milk at the bottom. The milk from the bottom that goes into a flat white isn't totally foam-free. Mixing the milk at the bottom into the foam on the top is best done, I find, by using a large teaspoon, rather than swirling the milk. Lift the milk from the bottom up into the foam, and push the foam from the top down into the milk at the bottom in a circular motion. If normal stirring can be considered to be stirring in a horizontal plane, then what I'm trying to describe is like stirring in a vertical plane. Hopefully you get what I mean.
Here are a few tips of things I have discovered over time that have helped me produce plenty of foam in the milk using an Aerolatte. Hopefully these will resolve this issue for you:
Standard AA batteries are rated at 1500 milliamps (mAh) maximum. I discovered long ago that fresh batteries with a higher milliamp rating make a huge difference as the whisk runs faster. I changed to rechargeable batteries with a high 2000 mAh rating some time ago now and now get a lot more wizz for my buck. (I use Sanyo eneloop AA 2000mAh rechargeable, but any rechargeable 2000 mAh batteries you can get for a good price will do you well).
Recharge the batteries as soon as you detect any slow down in the speed of the whisk. I find the "eneloops" last for a month or more before detecting any slowdown. The higher amperage also appears not to have done any damage to my Aerolatte as the one I am using currently is already over 2 years old and going strong.
Use no-fat or 1% milk - the lower the fat content, the better for foaming
Another thing that I found is that lactose-free milk, for whatever reason, produces a lot more foam. You could try using that. Personally I find it actually produces too much foam for a flat-white, though. It is perfect milk to use if you're making cappuccinos, however.
When whisking the milk, move the whisk slowly around the mug in the opposite direction of the circular motion of the milk. This adds additional resistance and helps creates more foam.
One other thing to check is that you stop the whisk before you take it out of the milk. If you are lifting it out and turning it off at the same time, you will end up with large air bubbles on top of your milk, which is something you want to avoid.
Hopefully these tips will help you out. In a nutshell, get as much foam as possible, mix it into the milk at the bottom by stirring vertically, pour what should be slightly-foamed milk from the bottom of your mug into your espresso at one side (not the center), holding back the lighter foam at the top with your large teaspoon. All going well you should be able to re-live your "flat white" experience from Downunder. Once again, thanks for your question and for following ECS.
Typically the milk is prepared in a stainless-steel pitcher or "jug" as it is called in some countries. You need the pitcher to be large enough to accommodate the expansion in the volume of the milk as you steam it. Choose the size of the pitcher based on how many drinks you are going to prepare.
If you are going to prepare several drinks, you might consider preparing more than one batch of milk, or at least "recharging" what is left by adding more milk to the pitcher and preparing more. The fact is that once you have poured off milk for the first two drinks, you will be left with milk that is not sufficiently volumized to make a good drink and pleasing your guests. In steaming the milk you are setting out to "volumize" it by adding tiny air bubbles to the milk, what are called "microbubbles". (Another expression you'll hear that means the same thing is "stretching" the milk).
Place the tip of the steamer of your espresso machine just a little below the surface of the milk. Your aim is to suck air into the milk by forming a whirlpool near the top of the milk. Do not have the tip of the steamer above the milk or so close to the surface of the milk that the steam is blowing air into the milk: you are wanting the air to be sucked into the milk. Do not move the pitcher up and down in an action that takes the steamer head in and out of the milk. Unfortunately, this is something that you'll see happening at quite a few coffee shops, and when you see it you can be sure the "barista" is poorly trained and you are about to be served an inferior drink.
Tilt the pitcher slightly so that the air being sucked into the milk is hitting the side of the pitcher near the bottom and is making the milk rotate so that the heat is being distributed and all of the milk is being brought into contact with the steam as it circulates around the pitcher. By the time the milk has come to the correct temperature for your drink, it should be volumized to the extent that it has approximately doubled in volume.
As I said before, make sure you leave sufficient room for this expansion to occur when you start out otherwise you will have to stop the steaming process before it is at the right temperature. The milk should have been volumized by the addition of tiny "micro-bubbles" of air. It shouldn't be full of large bubbles which is what will happen if you lift the steam tip above the surface of the milk and blow into the milk. If however there are a few larger bubbles on the top of the milk when you are done, you can remove them by banging the pitcher on your counter top to break them.
That's the basic preparation of your milk. However if you are going to be making a "flat white" or macchiato you have one more step to follow. That is to fold the micro-bubbles from the top into the milk at the bottom using a spoon or by swirling the milk in the pitcher until it becomes one consistent velvety and rich mixture. Use this milk for the preparation of
flat whites and macchiato coffee.
Get Rid of Messy Clean Up
When Steaming Your Espresso Milk with an Aerolatte
whisk
Using the steamer in your home espresso machine can be a bit of a hassle. For a start, you need to have a machine that has a separate boiler for the water used to steam the milk. The reason for this is that to make steam, the water has to be heated a lot hotter than the water that is used to brew your espresso. If your machine has only one boiler for both brewing the espresso and steaming the milk, then don't use the machines steamer. (I give you an alternative below.) Some machines I found also cause the pressure in the espresso side to increase to the point that you get "blow back" when you remove the filter cup from the machine and coffee grounds will be blown all over your kitchen. (This was a fault of the "Briel" espresso machine I owned for a while; other than that fault, it was a good machine though.
When using the steamer you also need to be meticulous in keeping the steam head clean of milk so that the the tiny hole that the steam comes through doesn't become blocked with dried milk, not to mention obvious health and hygiene reasons that demand you keep the steam head clean, milk being such a wonderful breeding medium for bacteria!
Because of all these "drawbacks" I personally have dispensed with using the steamer at home, and use a wonderful little gadget called an "Aerolatte", which is basically a battery-powered whisk.
I use a plastic mug in which to heat the milk in the microwave oven; 1 minute is the perfect time for bringing the milk to the right temperature in my case. You then use the Aerolatte to achieve the same volumization effect talked about above. Again, position the whisk head
sufficiently below the surface of the milk for it to cause a vortex that sucks air down into the milk. I works perfectly, and all it takes to keep the whisk clean is to run it briefly under some running water after each time you use it.
Buy an Aerolatte at Amazon.com . You can get them in several finishes. The one I have at home is
the matt black. I recommend getting the stand that goes with it too so you can keep it conveniently next to your espresso machine.
Typically the milk is prepared in a stainless-steel pitcher or "jug" as it is called in some countries. You need the pitcher to be large enough to accommodate the expansion in the volume of the milk as you steam it. Choose the size of the pitcher based on how many drinks you are going to prepare. If you are going to prepare several drinks, you might consider preparing more than one batch of milk, or at least "recharging" what is left by adding more milk to the pitcher and preparing more. The fact is that once you have poured off milk for the first two drinks, you will be left with milk that is not sufficiently volumized to make a good drink and pleasing your guests.
In steaming the milk you are setting out to "volumize" it by adding tiny air bubbles to the milk, what are called "microbubbles". (Another expression you'll hear that means the same thing is "stretching" the milk). Place the tip of the steamer of your espresso machine just a little below the surface of the milk. Your aim is to suck air into the milk by forming a whirlpool near the top of the milk. Do not have the tip of the steamer above the milk or so close to the surface of the milk that the steam is blowing air into the milk: you are wanting the air to be sucked into the milk.
Do not move the pitcher up and down in an action that takes the steamer head in and out of the milk. Unfortunately, this is something that you'll see happening at quite a few coffee shops, and when you see it you can be sure the "barista" is poorly trained and you are about to be served an inferior drink.
Tilt the pitcher slightly so that the air being sucked into the milk is hitting the side of the pitcher near the bottom and is making the milk rotate so that the heat is being distributed and all of the milk is being brought into contact with the steam as it circulates around the pitcher.
By the time the milk has come to the correct temperature for your drink, it should be volumized to the extent that it has approximately doubled in volume. As I said before, make sure you leave sufficient room for this expansion to occur when you start out otherwise you will have to stop the steaming process before it is at the right temperature.
The milk should have been volumized by the addition of tiny "micro-bubbles" of air. It shouldn't be full of large bubbles which is what will happen if you lift the steam tip above the surface of the milk and blow into the milk. If however there are a few larger bubbles on the top of the milk when you are done, you can remove them by banging the pitcher on your counter top to break them
That's the basic preparation of your milk. However if you are going to be making a "flat white" or macchiato you have one more step to follow. That is to fold the micro-bubbles from the top into the milk at the bottom using a spoon or by swirling the milk in the pitcher until it becomes one consistent velvety and rich mixture. Use this milk for the preparation of flat whites and macchiato coffee. But here's what I do to save all the messy clean up when steaming your espresso milk: I use an Aerolatte whisk. Using the steamer in your home espresso machine can be a bit of a hassle. For a start, you need to have a machine that has a separate boiler for the water used to steam the milk. The reason for this is that to make steam, the water has to be heated a lot hotter than the water that is used to brew your espresso. If your machine has only one boiler for both brewing the espresso and steaming the milk, then don't use the machines steamer. (I give you an alternative below.) Some machines I found also cause the pressure in the espresso side to increase to the point that you get "blow back" when you remove the filter cup from the machine and coffee grounds will be blown all over your kitchen. (This was a fault of the "Briel" espresso machine I owned for a while; other than that fault, it was a good machine though. When using the steamer you also need to be meticulous in keeping the steam head clean of milk so that the the tiny hole that the steam comes through doesn't become blocked with dried milk, not to mention obvious health and hygiene reasons that demand you keep the steam head clean, milk being such a wonderful breeding medium for bacteria
For all these "drawbacks" I personally have dispensed with using the steamer at home, and use a wonderful little gadget called an "Aerolatte", which is basically a battery-powered whisk. I use a plastic mug in which to heat the milk in the microwave oven; 1 minute is the perfect time for bringing the milk to the right temperature in my case. You then use the Aerolatte to achieve the same volumization effect talked about above. Again, position the whisk head sufficiently below the surface of the milk for it to cause a vortex that sucks air down into the milk. I works perfectly, and all it takes to keep the whisk clean is to run it briefly under some running water after each time you use it
You can buy an Aerolatte at Amazon.com. You can get them in several finishes. The one I have at home is the matt black. I recommend getting the stand that goes with it too so you can keep it conveniently next to your espresso machine.
rechargeable, but any rechargeable 2000 mAh batteries you can get for a good price will do you well).
Recharge the batteries as soon as you detect any slow down in the speed of the whisk. I find the "eneloops" last for a month or more before detecting any slowdown. The higher amperage also appears not to have done any damage to my Aerolatte as the one I am using currently is already over 2 years old and going strong.
The milk should have been volumized by the addition of tiny "micro-bubbles" of air. It shouldn't be full of large bubbles which is what will happen if you lift the steam tip above the surface of the milk and blow into the milk. If however there are a few larger bubbles on the top of the milk when you are done, you can remove them by banging the pitcher on your counter top to break them. 
By the time the milk has come to the correct temperature for your drink, it should be volumized to the extent that it has approximately doubled in volume. As I said before, make sure you leave sufficient room for this expansion to occur when you start out otherwise you will have to stop the steaming process before it is at the right temperature.
machine and coffee grounds will be blown all over your kitchen. (This was a fault of the "Briel" espresso machine I owned for a while; other than that fault, it was a good machine though. When using the steamer you also need to be meticulous in keeping the steam head clean of milk so that the the tiny hole that the steam comes through doesn't become blocked with dried milk, not to mention obvious health and hygiene reasons that demand you keep the steam head clean, milk being such a wonderful breeding medium for bacteria
