Hello All
Ive seen some debate under this topic that you can only get good foam using a steaming wand but I would like to digress here.
I drink flat whites/ lattes and, to me ,you have good foam in your coffee when
If you use a Mokka or Presso, plunger or other device and want to have great milk drinks I dont think you need to purchase a stove top steamer, or should feel inadequate without a steam wand. Ive been using a battery powered whizzer most mornings for the last two years and feel I have perfected the technique. I have tried the plastic and glass plunger devices to froth milk and I do not think they work as well as the froth tends to be without any body and consistency. The washup is worse too.
If you are doing large batches of milk, say more than three cups, the whizzer may be inadequate.
WHIZZER: This is a $10 low tech device and the Avanti Model I use is still okay after one year of use. The cheaper ones you get from the supermarket are of inferior quality. Make sure you use fresh batteries as the output is significantly reduced if the batteries are slightly drained. Many people have bad experiences with the whizzer because they use flat batteries. I prefer to use rechargables. The whizzer shaft is sometimes bent which affects the rotation speed significantly. You may need to carefully bend the shaft straight so that is rotates on its centre.
FULL CREAM MILK. Unless you are on a diet, use full cream milk for best results. For some unknown reason certain batches of milk (1 in 10) are very difficult to froth. If you cant get milk to froth then try another carton
HEATING THE MILK. I use a stainless steel half litre ubrik (handled jug with spout) on the stove together with a milk thermometer and 1-2 latte cups of milk. The trick is to heat the milk gently to allow the sugars in the milk to caremalize. I dont recommend the microwave as it is too easy to overheat your milk which gives it a boiled taste. On the stove you can easily keep an eye on whats going on. Besides, the microwave spoils the fun of the process. Heat the milk to about 70 degrees. If you get the skin forming on the milk you may have overheated it. If the skin starts forming, give the milk a quick whiz to get the fats back into the milk
FROTHING. Put the whizzer head in the milk on an angle. The head should be fully submerged in the milk. Turn it on. The Faux Pas of most people is to jiggle the whizzer up and down creating lots of bubbles and foam. Keep the head just under the milk surface and get the milk to start circling in a gentle whirlpool. If you get big bubbles then move the position of the whizzer so the big bubbles are drawn into the vortex of the rotating milk. Within a minute you should clearly see the microfoam up to a centimetre on the surface of the milk. It seems that the longer you do this the creamier the microfoam (but we are not aiming for bulk here, more consistency). The choice is to follow this procedure with the ubrick on the stove to keep the milk warm, or take it off to get the milk at the right temperature.
I repeat, the trick is to get the foam without the big bubbles and you may need to experiment with your setup and angles to get this happening.
POURING The best results is if you pour the milk into your shot the second you stop whisking. It is tricky to get all the timing right so that your fresh shot is ready at this point. Of course you will get the best results if you use a wide, bowl shaped cappucino cup so that the coffee "folds" into the milk.
WASHUP Put some water in the ubrik, whiz the whizzer in it and dry it off. A brush is sometimes handy to get the milk out.
Good luck with this and believe me, you dont need a big machine to have fun preparing first rate milk coffee, either at home or away from home.
Ive seen some debate under this topic that you can only get good foam using a steaming wand but I would like to digress here.
I drink flat whites/ lattes and, to me ,you have good foam in your coffee when
- You get that beautiful caramel marbled affect when the crema, coffee and foam mixes as you pour the milk into your shot
- the foam doesnt dissapate before you finish you cup
- when you drink the coffee you always have a layer of foam on the liquid rather than a gap appearing where you see the coffee milk below.
- You have to use a spoon to get the spoonfulls yummy caramelly foam out
- The empty cup has a crust of foam/coffee around the sides (which is hard to wash off if you dont soak the cup)
If you use a Mokka or Presso, plunger or other device and want to have great milk drinks I dont think you need to purchase a stove top steamer, or should feel inadequate without a steam wand. Ive been using a battery powered whizzer most mornings for the last two years and feel I have perfected the technique. I have tried the plastic and glass plunger devices to froth milk and I do not think they work as well as the froth tends to be without any body and consistency. The washup is worse too.
If you are doing large batches of milk, say more than three cups, the whizzer may be inadequate.
WHIZZER: This is a $10 low tech device and the Avanti Model I use is still okay after one year of use. The cheaper ones you get from the supermarket are of inferior quality. Make sure you use fresh batteries as the output is significantly reduced if the batteries are slightly drained. Many people have bad experiences with the whizzer because they use flat batteries. I prefer to use rechargables. The whizzer shaft is sometimes bent which affects the rotation speed significantly. You may need to carefully bend the shaft straight so that is rotates on its centre.
FULL CREAM MILK. Unless you are on a diet, use full cream milk for best results. For some unknown reason certain batches of milk (1 in 10) are very difficult to froth. If you cant get milk to froth then try another carton
HEATING THE MILK. I use a stainless steel half litre ubrik (handled jug with spout) on the stove together with a milk thermometer and 1-2 latte cups of milk. The trick is to heat the milk gently to allow the sugars in the milk to caremalize. I dont recommend the microwave as it is too easy to overheat your milk which gives it a boiled taste. On the stove you can easily keep an eye on whats going on. Besides, the microwave spoils the fun of the process. Heat the milk to about 70 degrees. If you get the skin forming on the milk you may have overheated it. If the skin starts forming, give the milk a quick whiz to get the fats back into the milk
FROTHING. Put the whizzer head in the milk on an angle. The head should be fully submerged in the milk. Turn it on. The Faux Pas of most people is to jiggle the whizzer up and down creating lots of bubbles and foam. Keep the head just under the milk surface and get the milk to start circling in a gentle whirlpool. If you get big bubbles then move the position of the whizzer so the big bubbles are drawn into the vortex of the rotating milk. Within a minute you should clearly see the microfoam up to a centimetre on the surface of the milk. It seems that the longer you do this the creamier the microfoam (but we are not aiming for bulk here, more consistency). The choice is to follow this procedure with the ubrick on the stove to keep the milk warm, or take it off to get the milk at the right temperature.
I repeat, the trick is to get the foam without the big bubbles and you may need to experiment with your setup and angles to get this happening.
POURING The best results is if you pour the milk into your shot the second you stop whisking. It is tricky to get all the timing right so that your fresh shot is ready at this point. Of course you will get the best results if you use a wide, bowl shaped cappucino cup so that the coffee "folds" into the milk.
WASHUP Put some water in the ubrik, whiz the whizzer in it and dry it off. A brush is sometimes handy to get the milk out.
Good luck with this and believe me, you dont need a big machine to have fun preparing first rate milk coffee, either at home or away from home.


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