Properly steamed milk can do wonders for your beverage, adding a natural sweetness and a smooth and velvety mouthfeel. But poorly steamed milk can destroy your drink. Always remember: great milk equals the potential for great latte art.
Square up to the machine.
Open the wand handle to let out steam prior to picking up your pitcher (this is known as purging; it clears any water or old milk residue that may be in the end of the steam wand).
With the wand pointed vertically, bring the steam tip towards you at a 60-70 degree angle.
Position your wand in the middle of the pitcher with your steam tip submerged halfway. Now tilt the pitcher, moving the base to the left. The steam tip should still be submerged halfway and near the right wall of the pitcher. The reason for this particular wand placement is to ‘encourage’ or ‘force’ the milk into a clockwise rotation along the walls of the pitcher. This is what creates ‘the vortex’.
Open the wand slowly, listening to the sound of the air being integrated into the milk. (For a cappuccino - especially 12oz cappuccinos - the air integration time will be slightly longer, as we want to introduce more air to make more foam). Once you have developed a controlled vortex, open your wand the whole way. Now raise your pitcher vertically until the sound of air integration stops (this is a tiny, controlled movement).
Always use small, intentional and controlled movements. Move the pitcher as little as possible, remaining conscious of how the angles look and how and when to position the pitcher.
Train with a thermometer to clarify drink temperatures. Be precise. Touch the pitcher wall to begin building a ‘touch memory’ of how hot the milk should feel.
