In this guide you will learn how to steam milk for barista made coffee. Whether you need to improve your milk steaming skills for work or just want to make steamed milk at home - I guarantee after reading this article you will producing much better milk!

What Is Steamed Milk?

Steamed milk is the end result of milk being exposed to high pressured steam from a espresso machine.



It's made by introducing steam gradually into milk until the natural fats within it expand to create ‘micro-foam’, which is a layer of very small milk bubbles.



The end result is a smooth, silkily beverage perfect for espresso based drinks. The idea sounds simple enough but in practice it requires a gentle touch and sound technique.

How To Steam Milk For Lattes and Coffees

1. Fill The Jug With Milk

The first step is to fill your jug with milk. While this may sound like an obvious step, it’s actually quite important to get the right amount of milk in your jug. Not only to produce the best steamed milk but for conserving milk.



Fill the milk half way up the jug until the surface of the milk hits the lower nudge or ‘v’ of the jug spout.

2. Stretch The Milk

The second step is called ‘stretching’ and is when you turn the steam on and have the nozzle of the steam wand below the surface of the milk to make a hissing sound. This processes creates micro-foam by letting air gently into the milk.



The key is to have the nozzle just a fraction under the surface of the milk in order to create foam while making the milk spin in a whirlpool motion.



I find that the milk stretching stage lasts about 5 seconds as you only need to introduce a little bit of air into the milk. Once you create enough foam for your coffee — more for a cappuccino less for a latte — you move onto the third stage.

Note: The type of machine you have at home may affect your ability to make textured milk. If your machine is not cranking out enough steam I recommend upgrading your gear. Check out our guide on the best latte machines for this.

3. Keep Spinning The Milk In A Whirlpool Motion

The third stage is called ‘spinning’ and is when you submerge the steam wand nozzle another fraction below the milk — literally half a centimetre (1/5th of an inch) — and continue to spin the milk in a whirlpool motion.



You should hear no hissing sound other than the occasional leftover bubble being eaten up by the steam wand.



This spinning process mixes the micro foam with the milk in order to ‘polish’ the milk. The key to spinning the milk is to tilt the jug a little to get the perfect whirlpool.



You’ll need to find the sweet-spot which is a little off-centre and try to keep it there from start to finish. You can see me doing this below.

Keep spinning the milk until the jug becomes too hot to touch or around 60 degrees celsius (140 fahrenheit) then turn off the steam and wipe your steam wand with a wet, clean cloth.



However I find when steaming milk for latte art it’s better to have the milk a little cooler around 50 degrees celsius (122 fahrenheit).

4. Rest And Polish The Steamed Milk

Once the milk is made give the jug one solid THUMP on the counter to disperse any big bubbles and then leave it to sit whilst you put the espresso shots on.



Then, before pouring, swirl the milk around the jug to polish the milk and to make sure the milk and micro-foam is together. The more shiny the milk the better, but don’t be too rough otherwise you’ll make new bubbles.



You want the milk to look like wet paint.

5. Pour The Milk Into Your Coffee

When the milk is well-spun, the foam will pour out of the jug first because it sits near the top. You want to pour the milk into the coffee at a steady pace.



The key is to pour the milk along the side your cup by resting the spout of the jug on the top of your cup.



If you used a big jug you will want to distribute the foam between the different coffees. The general rule is to pour cappuccinos first, hot chocolates second, lattes third and flat whites last.



A handy tip is to ‘split’ your milk by pouring half of your milk into a smaller jug. This lets you have more control of how much foam you add to your milk-based espresso drinks -- this is very handy to make latte art like me below.

6. You've Steamed Milk!