How to Use the Milk Steamer on My Espresso Maker
Any professional barista will tell you that steaming milk for espresso drinks is a high art. While that explanation may justify the price you pay for a cappuccino, using your milk steamer is easier than it looks. As long as your home espresso machine has a steamer (a slender metal tube that points down to the side of the espresso grounds holder), you too can create foamy, frothy, gourmet coffee drinks. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Steaming the Milk
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1
Make your espresso shots per the instructions that came with your machine and pour them into the cups you plan to serve them in.
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2
Pressurize if your steamer needs time to pressurize, following the instructions that came with your espresso machine. Otherwise, move on to step three.
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3
Fill your stainless steel milk pitcher with as much milk as you will need to fill the cups. Do not fill the pitcher more than two-thirds full, as steaming will add volume to the milk.
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4
Place the pitcher under the steamer. Make sure the steamer nozzle is submerged beneath the surface of the milk. Otherwise, the force of the steam will splash milk everywhere. Turn on the steamer--the higher, the better.
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5
Steam the milk with the nozzle just a quarter of an inch beneath the surface of the milk for lots of foam to make a cappuccino. Your goal is to force air down into the milk along with steam. If you are doing it right, you will hear a hissing sound, and foam will begin to form as the milk warms past room temperature.
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6
Check to see whether your steamer has a second tube along its side to suck air into the milk if you don't like foam and just want to heat the milk for a latte or a mocha. If so, remove this tube. Steam the milk as above, but submerge the nozzle an inch or more into the milk.
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7
Be sure not to boil the milk as you're steaming it. Hold your free hand on the side of the pitcher to feel the temperature (this is why the pros use stainless steel pitchers that conduct heat quickly). Listen to the noise that the steamer is making. When the high-frequency noise begins to deepen and the side of the pitcher becomes too hot to touch, you are approaching the boiling point. Turn the steamer off and remove the pitcher.
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8
Pour the milk into your cups of espresso. Spoon the milk foam in as you pour so that the foam picks up the flavor of the espresso (or spoon in afterward if you prefer pure white foam).
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9
Use a wet rag to clean the milk residue off the steamer. Run a quick blast of steam to blow any milk out of the steamer.
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Tips & Warnings
Be careful when operating the steamer. Steam is very hot, and the pressure is high. Do not put your hands under a running steamer. Do not turn on the steamer until the nozzle is submerged in the milk.
