Contrary to common belief, it is possible to froth your own silkysmooth milk with proper microfoam. Altho resulting in a rather labour-intensive cappucino, the process is strangely rewarding because of it's volatility, and is a nice alternative to using an espressomachine, either if you don't have the space for one, or if you're away from home on a location that requires a minimal coffee setup.
The MyPressi is a portable, handheld espressomaker that, despite it's size, produces fabulous results. It operates on widely available gas cartridges, and produces espresso at a pressure of 9 Bar. Another handheld, the HandPresso, is manually operated, and while i haven't tried it, i imagine that having to supply your own pressure is more errorprone towards getting consistent results than using the MyPressi.
Method
Assuming you have either of the mentioned handheldes, or some other means of making espresso, you also need:
- An accurate digital thermometer. (Proteins in milk, when heated above 67 degrees c, start breaking down, reducing it's ability to froth.)
- Hand-frother. They usually come in either glas or metal. Either can be placed directly on the stove. The one i use is a small Bodum frother, and results may vary with larger versions, as the "plunger" will let increasingly more air into the milk.
- A timer. I switched to a time-based method, as i developed better technique.
- A container with a spout. Used in the final stage, to eliminate remaining bubbles , resulting in a smooth, silky frothed milk. The container used to pour our milk based drink.
- Milk with 2%+ fat percentage.
- Heat source
Okay, on to the procedure. It's really very simple, and requires only patience, and a quick hand. I'll add some pictures at a later point in time:
- Pour milk into the frother. Not too much, as volume will increase about 50%. More than that and you'll have a milk that's too foamy, and also, you'll be squirting milk all over!
- Heat the milk on the stove using a not-too-steep temperature curve, until it reaches 67 degrees.
- Start your timer.
- Step one is to let some air into the milk. Raise the plunger to the top of the frother, and floor it - repeat about 20 times.
- Now, keep the plunger inside the milk, and raise/lower it as fast as you can. Don't let the plunger come in contact with the air. Adding too much air to the milk will create a froth reminiscent of soapbubbles. Not very pleasant.
- Every 45 seconds or so, repeat step 4, but only let air inside the milk about 4 times.
- Keep the head of the plunger just below the "milk-line", as the volume increases, to get maximum thrust.
- At the 2 minute mark, or just below it (experiment), you should be done.
- Pour the milk into the spout container, and move it in a circular motion, getting rid of some of the milk bubbles.
- Tap the container against the counter to further collapse remaining bubbles, leaving only a creamy, silky micro-foamy frothed milk.
- Perform latté art, and enjoy.
The picture below attempts to depict the end result of executing the above procedure. The result was a delicious cortado. Results may vary for you, but the procedure is a good guide to creating your own technique.
Basically, what i've experienced, is that it's really hard to find the balance between a good micro foam, and milk that isn't too thin, but with the procedure i'm using now, i'm closing that gap. You'll always be able to foam better milk on a good machine, but unless you possess lightning speed, you will always get a froth that's a bit thicker, and not that good for latté art. But as usual, it's the taste in the cup that counts.
