Coffee pairs perfectly with many ingredients. Milk is by far the most common and beloved addition to coffee. The largest number of coffee varieties offered are made with milk or milk foam. Cappuccino is by far the most well-known and consumed coffee with milk and foam in the world. The perfect cappuccino can only be made with the right ingredients, accessories, and preparation method.
What do you need for milk foam?
For the best milk foam, use fresh, high-quality whole milk. Milk plays a crucial role in a cappuccino: not only because it makes up a large portion of the drink, but also because it adds important properties. Its fat content of approximately 3.5 percent helps bind aromatic molecules in the coffee, as well as air and water particles. This ensures the foam remains stable. Furthermore, the proteins in the milk—approximately 3.2 percent—enable milk to froth effectively and give it a creamy texture.
Whole milk produces the best results because its fat and protein content are well-balanced. Using semi-skimmed milk will still produce milk foam, but it will be less firm. The lower fat content means there aren't enough fat particles to properly trap the air and moisture in the foam, causing it to collapse more quickly.
Milk variations for cappuccino
Milk alternatives, such as soy or almond milk, also contain a different fat-to-protein ratio. This is sometimes adjusted by the producer to improve the frothing properties of the milk. These milk alternatives burn more easily than cow's milk. Therefore, it's important to heat these milk alternatives about ten degrees lower than cow's milk when using them for your latte macchiato or cappuccino.
How do you froth milk?
The process of frothing milk with the steam wand of your espresso machine consists of four parts:
- Add air to the milk by holding the tip of the steam wand just below the surface of the milk. This will cause a lot of air to be added, especially at the top of the milk pitcher, quickly creating foam.
- Once there's enough foam, we start heating the milk and rolling it. The steam wand penetrates the milk a little deeper to mix the foam with the milk and heat it further.
- Next, tap the milk jug on a hard surface to remove any large air bubbles from the surface and swirl the jug around to distribute the bubbles evenly throughout the milk.
- And finally, polish the milk by gently moving the milk jug so that the milk in the jug starts to swirl.
Your perfect milk foam is ready to be poured!
What should you pay attention to?
To prevent milk from burning during frothing, it's important to start with the coldest possible milk. This gives you more time to properly "stretch" the milk—the process of introducing air into it—before heating it to the ideal temperature of 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. If the milk gets too hot, it will start to boil and curdle. This not only creates an unpleasant odor but also a bitter taste in your cappuccino.
If you use the steam wand of an espresso machine, you can estimate the temperature by touching the bottom of the pot:
- around 32 °C it feels warm,
- at 50°C it gets hot,
- and from about 62°C it is too hot to hold.
Ideally, you should start the milk at a temperature between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius. A handy tool for keeping milk at this temperature is the JURA Cool Control. This machine keeps the milk at a constant 4 degrees Celsius and offers optimal hygiene.
Making good milk foam is a skill you have to master. Your first attempts won't be perfect—and that's perfectly normal. Keep practicing, experiment with your technique, and find what works best for you. Practice makes perfect!
Differences between espresso machines
With a semi-automatic espresso machine and steam wand, you have complete control over the frothing process: you determine how much froth you make, how thick it is, and how hot the milk is. However, this does require some practice and experience.
Fully automatic machines take this work off your hands and froth the milk automatically. This is very user-friendly, but the foam is usually slightly less thick and stable than when you make it by hand.
Automatic milk frothers are also available. These machines create thick foam at the touch of a button. Simply add milk, close the lid, and your milk froth is ready to use in just 90 seconds.
Making the perfect cappuccino takes practice and experience, but with the right accessories, good coffee and milk, and lots of practice, you'll soon be making the perfect cappuccino with delicious milk foam yourself.