Today I went to a barista jam in a café called the Grind. It was all about milk.
So you rock up with your milk - rice, soy, organic, boggo blue-top - jump onto a coffee machine, get steaming and compare notes.
Organic is a tricky customer, especially if it's not homogenised (how silver-top used to be in the good old doorstep days). The fat molecules aren't incorporated into the protein, so it's hard to achieve a smooth texture. Often it's a rougher finish with more air bubbles. Though, texture aside, you can't beat it for creaminess and it comes from happy cows, let's not forget. Or so we like to believe.
Rice milk, another challenge. Low in fat, it froths up fast but collapses all too soon. Fat's handy for keeping things stable. Far from creamy, it's more
like a sweetened cardboardy rice, like hot liquid Rice Krispies. If you're into that sort of thing.
like a sweetened cardboardy rice, like hot liquid Rice Krispies. If you're into that sort of thing. Steam your milk to the right ratio of froth to liquid and you stand half a chance of pouring a good latté art - the pattern on top of a coffee. A good definition between creamy white milk and nutty-coloured crema creates the sharpest pattern.
The best baristas pour free-hand so there's no fiddly mucking around once the milk hits the cup. Once you start pouring, there's no going back.
Though you can always make another one.
