Frothing Milk question

Cammo

Hi,

I was hoping for a bit of feedback/polling re: frothing milk temp for best microfoam.

Reschsmooth

If it ain't broke...Use whatever method works for you.

k-la

Cammo i use this same method and it seems to work for me.i tend to "kiss" to 100F for a cap just to get a thicker creamier cap. And never heat the milk past 140F

Cammo

Cammo And never heat the milk past 140F

Never heat past 140?  For me that is WAY too cold - I always go to 155 and find that pleases anyone having a milk drink at my place - anyway, each to their own.. - Thanks for the tips on the frothing though...

BlueMonkey

When I was trained, I was told to stop introducing the air at 50 Deg C, then bury the tip until you reach 60, then shut off the steam. Because of the temp gauge delay, you should end up with the milk being 65 Deg. Another key point was that if your milk has streched to the amount you require before you've reached 50 Deg, then bury the tip and keep heating to 60 Deg. We were also told about a soy milk that you could treat as full cream milk, as in that you heat it as if it was the same.  Can't remember what it was called or where to get it.

Lukey

instead of using temperature as an indicator for stretching, get to know how much air needs to be added for its respective coffee's. the sooner u get enough air u need for what coffees you're doing the less chance you'll have of having big bubbles in your milk. use more of your senses as opposed to a thermometer like, feel, sight, sound and duration. that way you need to have a thermometer in your jug. i hate those things, always getting in the way. luke

phishoz

Use your hand to measure the temp. Use your eyes and ears to get the texture... There is no right way!!!

Cammo

Use your hand to measure the temp.

I'll think I'll stick with my thermometer.  At least I know I am getting a consistent temp every time.

tommy

use the thermo for a few months so you can get to know what the temp feels like on the jug, so then you can just with your senses

Cammo

use the thermo for a few months so you can get to know what the temp feels like on the jug, so then you can just with your senses

Ahhh, fair enough - I have a little thing I do where I stretch up to about 80-90F and then just sit the jug down on my Silvia's drip tray and it makes a very schweet vortex while I clean up around the machine and grinder.  I keep an eye on it until it hits 155F and then I turn it off.  Mightn't seem like much but that 20 secs or so to wipe around the machine and so-forth is really useful!

tommy

i think that putting the jug on the milk tray is certainly something that you should avoid at all cost. even though cleaning your area is important, its best to keep a finger on the milk just to get a feel for the temp

Cammo

i think that putting the jug on the milk tray is certainly something that you should avoid at all cost. even though cleaning your area is important, its best to keep a finger on the milk just to get a feel for the temp

I should have qualified my statement by pointing out that I am only a home user, might make a point of learning the pitcher temps though!

tommy

yeh i figured home due to the obvious time delay in texturing... certainly dont have that time on a commercial. But still, why not apply the same principles at home? roughly how long does it take you to texture your milk at home? about a minute?

Cammo

Yep, about a minute or so

askthecoffeeguy

If it's too hot to hold, that coffee aint sold (or at least, it shouldn't be consumed - in my humble opinion) As far as I know the correct heting temperature for milk is about 63 C, after that, all you end up with is burnt milk! ACG

tommy

i think between 60 - 70 is acceptable service

askthecoffeeguy

I err on the side of caution

Honest_Gaza

Previous advice given from this forum suggests 60-65c.  Trainers at the Sunbeam "appreciation course", suggested up to 75c is acceptable....which surprised me. Having said that, I always found that 65c was not hot enough for me.  Once I was told that heating past the 65c was not reason for a public hanging....I now live dangerously and aim for just under the 75c....and am much happier with sipping my coffee instead of guzzling.

tommy

i had a very brief glance at some info... which claims that milk burns at 72degrees C, optimal temp is between 60-65 whatever floats your boat really