I'm posting this because for two days in a row now at 2 different coffee places I've gotten crappy Latte's. And its the reason I moved to regular drip coffee for the most part. But Dammit, sometimes a man needs a Latte.
First, get your espresso shot ready to pour but steam your milk first! get the milk nice and warm and then start making your foam by holding the steam tip just under the surface of the the milk and gently moving it up and down. Not too much foam, if your making one latte, a half inch layer of foam is plenty. Watch your thermometer! Once the milk gets to 139-140 degrees, SHUT THE STEAM OFF! Once the steam is off the temp will continue to rise to 145 degrees. Now, this is complicated, start your shot pouring and get the milk pitcher and tamp it down on the counter a few times. This will burst any big bubbles in the foam and will make it stiff and managable. Pour your shot in your cup first, (if you do it the other way around, you have a machiatto) and pour your milk into the cup, using a spoon to hold back the foam. (Remember, a shot of espresso and a bunch of foam is a cappuccino NOT a latte.) once the cup is about 3/4 full with milk and coffee stop pouring and use the spoon to push in the nice stiff foam. DO NOT just remove the spoon and continue to pour. A good latte should have a head of foam about the size of a good head on a beer. Some people like it flat (no foam) I guess thats okay. Having it with non-fat milk is not, the foam sucks, and only accomplished master baristas like myself can get a good head of foam from non-fat milk.
Things to watch out for.
Don't burn the milk. A pitcher of milk can be steamed once and only once. As soon as you try to reheat an already heated and steamed pitcher of milk, the temperature will jump up too fast and you'll have burnt milk before you know it. (this is whats happened the last two times I went to the Starbucks on Colorado and Los Robles) When you're at Starbucks and you hear the milk steaming...if it sounds really deep and hollow...the barista has burnt the milk and you're in for a crappy drink.
Feel the weight. A good latte, should have the heft of a full cup of drip coffee. If the cup feels too light, you've gotten a lazy barista and its probably a cappuccino. (This is what happened at Gelsons this morning.)
The funny thing is that I worked at Starbucks, but I didn't learn how to make proper espresso drinks there. I was taught by old school masters when I worked for a company called Old Pacific Coffee. They used to have a coffee cart at the conference center, but now they're based in Temecula. Those dudes knew how to make coffee.
7 comments:
I didn't know you had any coffee experience outside of Starbucks. Didn't you only work there for like a month or something because it was annoying?
Actually, Old Pacific Coffee was fun and I made good tips. Starbucks was pure misery though.
you could also ask good ol audge about the espresso. and thank u jesus.
ah screw that asking me crap: pete i think you covered all the bases on that one, and thanks for that. however, i do have one minor qualm. i believe that you could steam milk twice, so long as the milk was initially being steamed for latté action then given time to cool a bit before the second steaming. it's the Frothing for cappuccinos that you can only do once, because it really expands the milk. once you have really expanded milk you might as well have spilt it. or drunk it before it got cold. yum
Yes but...chances are you made that first pitcher with foam, and then used that foam for a drink. If you re-heat it, your going to either get a flat latte or a latte with some cold foam on top.
will someone please write something, i am bored
Hello? Bueller?
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