Please don't torture your milk

As much as a great cappuccino is about the coffee, the taste is also influenced hugely by the milk and how it has been prepared. After all if you use traditional measures, a third of the drink will be milk and a third foam, which only leaves.

If you have stood in a coffee shop and watched the Barista chatting to their mate whilst steaming the milk, be very nervous about what is going into your cup. Almost certainly they will have applied too much heat to the product which means that the milk goes from having a natural sweet taste which enhances the taste of the coffee to an almost bitter taste which fights the coffee.

What to do?

Well in the first instance who ever is heating the milk needs to pay attention!

If you're making a cappuccino, the steam wand needs to be full on, and placed just below the surface of the milk. What you want to achieve is a swirling action. The milk appears to be turning over on itself, and a slight hissing noise should be coming from the wand as it drives air and steam into the milk.

Although you can use a thermometer, I prefer to place my hand on the base of the milk jug (stainless steel ones are best). So now I've got two checks, one visual, and one sensory.

My guide is that once you can no longer hold your hand on the base of the jug, the milk is hot enough for the cappuccino. If you're using a thermometer you should stop steaming when the needle reaches 60 degree centigrade, or 140 degrees f.

The milk should have almost a sheen to it with the bubbles being very fine.

Should you have any large bubbles in the milk, you can get rid of these by gently tapping the jug on a flat surface.

For the best cappuccinos, pour the milk immediately into the coffee, before the liquid has time to separate from the foam. If you're adventerous you can start doing a bit of Latte art on your cappuccino, but that's a whole new topic.

Remember, to achieve the best foam, you should always start off with fresh cold milk. Heat breaks down the protein in the milk, and as a result it quickly looses its ability to foam; that includes leaving milk out at ambient temperature.