One for the Barista!?!
One for the Barista!?
In July I am opening a new coffee shop in Shanghai: So since I moved to China I have had problems steaming milk. Sometimes I have great success other times I get a froth but it dies within a minute. The milk here often has an animal smell to it ( can't explain it any better than that), one brand of milk will never froth properly yet another brand will about half the time. I thought it was me, and was tearing my hair out with this problem (all right my hair fell out naturally years ago, but if I had some I would have torn it out), but then I tried frothing soy milk and had no problems. Consistant each time, then I tried my babies formula (she actually likes it frothy):- again no problems. What could be wrong with the milk? HELP I am DESPERATE as I have to get this right before I open.
Answers:
You are probably dealing with poor-quality milk. Poorly-fed cows produce milk with reduced butterfat, and strong-scented, weedy plants can make the milk smell or taste "off." The "animal" smell is just that--my family in the dairy business referred to that smell as "body heat," and the smell lingers if the milk isn't chilled rapidly and thoroughly right after milking the cow. If you can find a dairy source where the cows are fed good proteins (wheat, soybeans, corn), you will find better quality milk. Animals fed largely on flavored newspaper (no kidding!) will produce thin, watery milk.
When your milk froths properly, you have a good, full-bodied milk with a reasonable percentage of butterfat. The other stuff is poor milk, and no technique will make up for it.