This page will talk about how to get the perfect milk, caffe style for your drink of choice be it Cappuccino, Latte or Flat White. The term ’stretching’ refers to a technique that you use to create foam in your milk while you are heating it and there are a lot of cafe’s and coffee shops out there that get it totally wrong.

The first step to getting great, smooth froth for your drinks is that you start with chilled milk. You will then look to put enough milk into your pot for the amount of drinks you are wanting to create. The important thing to know here is that the smooth froth that you get at a good coffee shop is achieved by creating micro bubbles in your milk.

Start by submerging your steam wand into the milk and turn on the steam as full as you can. To create these micro bubbles you then want to slowly lower the jug of milk until the steam wand’s tip sits just above the surface of the milk. You will know when you get the right spot as you will hear a ‘kissing’ sound, if you lower the jug too much it will make big bubbles and inconsistent froth.  At this stage you will need to limit the amount of time you ‘kiss’ the milk for depending on what type of drink you want. Depending on the pressure your steam wand puts out you will be looking to ‘kiss’ the milk for approximately 3 seconds for latte style milk, and about 8 seconds for cappuccino style milk, if you want a flat white simply leave the tip of the steam wand submerged the entire time you are steaming the milk.

It is important to use a thermometer when steaming your milk to ensure you get the serving temperature correct and to avoid burning the milk. The best serving temperature for milk is between 150 & 160 degrees Fahrenheit or between 65 & 70 degrees Celsius. If you like your drink hotter than normal you should not heat your milk beyond 180 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius) in any circumstances. Once you pass this temperature the milk will boil and this causes the flavour of the milk to change and it will not be pleasant to drink.

After you have heated your milk to the desired temperature turn off the steam, wipe the wand with a wet cloth so the milk doesn’t burn onto it, then purge the steam wand. Purging the steam wand by turning on the steam briefly will flush out any milk that may have been sucked back up the wand and prevents it from entering back into the workings of your machine.

At this stage you will need to work the milk, tap the pot of milk gently on the bench to remove any large bubbles – but not too much or you will separate the froth from the milk. Then swirl the milk in the jug, this smoothes out the froth and ensures the milk and froth stay incorporated. Once this has finished you can pour into your coffee. Simply pour out the liquid and you will have the perfect drink according to how much froth you put into the milk. Enjoy!!