How to steam milk as a Barista from my experience/diary

My shift as a Barista just ended, and it’s already 2pm, too tired to cook and too lazy for it on a Friday evening. I never ate before my shift. It was just too early for me, so I was really hungry. Finding good food spots in Berlin, Wedding is not too difficult, so I was sitting at a Turkish restaurant and ordering food. They had traditional Turkish dishes, teas, and coffee. To my surprise, the espresso machine was quite decent, but I was not for the coffee here. Me, Just enjoying the food, suddenly heard a screaming sound that came from the steam wand of the espresso machine to better describe it as a high-pitched sound. A sound that every Barista knows and experiences, in their career as a Barista. In summary, it is not a good sign when you are in a coffee shop and hear this sound, it means that you have to make a step back move and run away from this coffee shop, just kidding. This sound comes from when you are not putting enough air into the milk, which can also burn the milk.

In this Blogpost, I want to describe how to steam milk correctly from experience i gained. Hopefully, my information will help you as a beginner. This step-by-step instruction is only for whole milk, and my steaming technique for plant-based milk is slightly different.

1. My first step before steaming milk is to purge the steam wand to remove water.

2. Pour the milk into you are milkjug and fill it up to about one-third of it. Because your milk will expand, the reason for this is the air from the steamwand.

3. Steamwand positioning: Position the steam wand into the milk jug just below the surface and slightly to the left or right side. The milk should swirl to obtain the correct texture for Latte Art.

4. Start Steaming–turn on the steam wand, for 160 ml to 200 ml drinks, use just half of the power of the steamwand and a smaller milkpitcher, because too much power can make the milk too bubbly and the texture is too thick for latte art. Another reason is that when you use too much power, youre milk falls from the jug, creating a mess around the youre workplace.

5. Milk Texturing: Lower the pitcher to introduce air into the milk as the milk heats up. You will hear a sound like scraping paper, lower the pitcher slightly, and youll see the milk start to expand and froth. The goal is to create a microfoam with tiny bubbles and a velvety texture.

6. Steam to 60 Celsius and 70 C, feel the bottom of the pitcher, when you cant hold it anymore it means the heating milk has reached the ideal temperature. The ideal temperature for steamed milk is between 60C to 70 C

7. Turn off the steam wand and remove the pitcher. Purge the steam wand to remove any milk residue and then wipe the steam wand from the milk thats resting on it.

8. This part would be about Latte Art, but I would like to describe this in another Blog Post, causing it to have much information.

To know, try, and learn to steam all milk sorts perfectly, rather than make latte art patterns. Latte Art should not be your priority as a beginner in my opinion, you will learn it by time. When the milk texture is perfect, the customer will taste it, which would not make a difference from latte art. By the way, my first heart was after one month of practice. With patience and practice, you will improve your latte art to my fellow barista friends.