when i'm training baristas on how to steam milk there is one simple thing that everyone seems
to struggle with at first getting the milk to spin correctly in the jug otherwise known as
the vortex getting this part of the process right is essential if
you want to get silky smooth texture and impress your mum with some fancy latte art
so today we are going to take a closer look at this technique using both commercial and
home espresso machines and solve a few common problems that keep coming up ready let's do this
in a previous video we already covered the basic milk steaming process so today we're
not going to go through every part of the process again instead we are going to focus in on just
the spin here's the way i do it i hope it helps for this example i filled a 600 ml of jug with
around 250 ml of ordinary full fat cow's milk which comes up to just below the base of the spout
the first thing to notice is that i'm using only the spout of the jug and lightly resting
it against the steam wand for a bit of extra angle next note the angle of the seam wand the
exact angle of the seam wand will vary by machine but generally you want to keep it closer to the
machine rather than pointing it out towards you so the steam wand should be pointing down towards the
bottom center of the jug not at one of the jug's sidewalls start with the tip of the steam wand
place just below the surface of the milk if you start with it all the way in then you're drowning
the steam tip and it'll be hard to get a nice easy spin from it more likely you'll end up with a
surface of the milk jumping around like a 90s mosh pit and it'll sound like an absolute nightmare too
but if you start with the tip on the surface of the milk or just above it then you'll probably
end up with a face full of milk so just below the surface of the milk is where i've got it
another thing you'll notice that i'm starting with the jug level and then tilting the steam
wand ever so slightly to create the spin i'm not holding it on any extreme angle like this
and i'm definitely not moving the jug around like this just let the angle of the steam wand do the
work for you now that we've found our position turn the steam wand on full so at this point if
the milk isn't spinning smoothly then you can make some small adjustments to the position of the jug
to correct this just be aware it can take a second or two for your adjustment to take effect
this can take some trial and error to find the right spot and that's why it's helpful to practice
this process with water and a drop of dishwashing detergent rather than just wasting litres of milk
getting the wand in the right position quickly means that you can focus on injecting air into
the milk while it's still cool if you take too long to get the spin under control then
you'll end up injecting air when the milk is hot which often produces a very dry and bubbly foam
when we get it right the foam and milk should be seamless with a shiny gloss finish
just don't stare at it for too long because it will separate into layers if it stops moving let's
quickly recap the process at full speed position the wand turn the steam on full and adjust the
jug if you need to inject small kisses of air into the milk then let it spin all the way up
to temperature and when it's too hot to touch shut it off okay now i know a lot of you are thinking
so that's all good for a commercial machine but what if i'm not using a twenty thousand dollar La
Marzocco machine great question let's try it again on this $400 Breville Bambino of course
a little machine like this has far less steam pressure than a commercial machine so the whole
process is going to feel like it's happening in slow motion not only that but the lower pressure
really means that you're only going to be able to create a good spin with smaller quantities
of milk i find that the maximum capacity to get good results is around 200 ml of milk
so we'll really need to use a jug that's no larger than four to five hundred ml for best results on a
machine like this that just might mean rather than steaming milk for two coffees at the same time
you could steam them separately using a smaller jug but chances are you'll get a better end result
a good tip for any steam wand is to purge the condensation out of the wand before you start
steaming with a small machine like this the thermoblock generally needs a few seconds to
flush the water out and come up to full pressure so the process i use is to let the steam come up
to pressure shut it off and then quickly restart it once the wand is under the surface of the milk
once we get going the process is pretty much exactly the same as for the larger
machine position the wand adjust the position slightly until the milk starts to spin evenly
and then the tilt might just be a bit more just to get everything moving
and the benefit with a smaller machine is that you have longer to find that perfect
position before the milk heats up too much too fast okay so let's say you've done all
of this and your milk still looks like a hot mess here's some troubleshooting tips that might help
make sure the steam wand is running at full capacity over
time milk will harden around the holes on the end of the steam tip
this can significantly affect the output of steam so you need to remove the tip and clean it out
some people use acidic cleaners to break this down but you can generally get the job done
with a sharp object if your machine doesn't come with a steam tip cleaner then sometimes
all you need is a paper clip or you get it done like a pro with this set of tip cleaners
the next is milk variety you can get a silky texture with most varieties of cow's milk
or with milk alternatives like almond, soy or oat but there are some varieties that make the whole
process a little easier for cow's milk choose a good quality fresh whole milk around four percent
milk fat the ability to get a silky texture is affected by the proteins and enzymes in the milk
itself which can vary throughout the year so if you're really struggling with a particular type
of milk sometimes it can help to try milk from a different dairy just don't go blaming the cows for
your bad steaming technique of course milk alternatives don't have the same problem
with seasonal variation but the ingredients and the brand can make a huge difference
these days many brands have barista varieties of these milk alternatives which have been designed
for steaming in our experience the most reliable variety for getting a silky texture is oat milk
most brands we tested steamed really well and resisted curdling and separation better
than soy or almond milk that being said there are some good options in each of
these categories if you don't like oat milk you just need to find the right one
finally there's a reason that every barista on youtube makes it look so easy practice
when you work in a cafe we will make hundreds of coffees every day so techniques like these become
second nature if you don't have hundreds of family and friends to practice on
then the best tip i can give you is to keep repeating the steaming process
using water and a drop of detergent until these techniques become natural and then once you're
done you'll have a sink of hot soapy water ready to wash up okay so now you've got your
silky milk texture down pat and you are ready to blow some minds with your latte art skills
a great place to start is with the tulip pattern which i'll show you how to make right here it
looks impressive and the technique is surprisingly very simple until next time stay stoked