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Coffee Smarter: Milk & Latte Art · Coffee People Podcast

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Like, hey everyone, if you like the roast West Coast coffee
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To, I like beer, the podcast.com hey, good morning everyone.
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Welcome to season 4 episode. 13 of the roast West Coast coffee
0:44
podcast. I'm Ryan Walton on every other
0:47
episode of this show. We try to get a little bit
0:49
coffee Smarter with a coffee expert.
0:52
One of our resident, experts is series simran, Khalsa, the
0:55
executive director of coffee at lofty, coffee company today.
0:59
She and I talked about milk and latte art latte art in
1:03
particular is hard to teach or even explained in an audio only
1:07
podcast. But Siri takes A challenge with
1:09
aplomb, I'm going to share some good training videos on roast
1:13
westcoast.com. So when you're done listening to
1:15
the podcast head there to get some bonus visuals.
1:19
As you're listening today, keep in mind.
1:20
All the complex variables that have to come together to
1:23
perfectly steamed and texture milk in order to make a really,
1:26
really good coffee. Drink variables for steaming
1:30
include the type of milk, the picture Rising temperature of
1:33
the milk, and the placement in angle of the steam wand at or
1:36
under the surface of the milk, which is constantly A changing
1:39
as you go, then for latte art, you need to consider the Cup
1:43
being poured into the amount of fat in the milk and the skill of
1:46
the Barista to control the speed and height of the poor.
1:49
They're making constant micro adjustments.
1:52
In three dimensions. It's enough to make my brain
1:55
hurt and also to make me really want a cappuccino.
1:59
I'm going to walk down the street to lofty coffee to get
2:01
one and I hope you already have one because it is time for us to
2:04
get coffee. Smarter on the roast West Coast
2:07
coffee podcast. With Siri simran Khalsa, the
2:11
executive director of coffee at lofty Coffee Company.
2:24
I'm actually like really surprised at how many people
2:27
that reach out to the show or on social media to ask questions
2:31
about steaming milk or espresso even at home because I feel like
2:37
it wasn't that long ago that like the number of people making
2:40
espresso or having espresso machines, or making cappuccinos
2:43
in the morning, like, in their kitchen, it just didn't seem
2:47
Mmmmm approachable to me. But it seems like that's
2:49
happening, more and more and more.
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That's where I was thinking about this question.
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Was, somebody told me they were doing this at home, and I was
2:55
like, looking at my little Galley kitchen and thinking,
2:58
where would I even put a machine, an espresso machine.
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If I wanted to make a cappuccino in the morning that said, we
3:04
should get into the show? Siri, welcome back to roast West
3:06
Coast. I think the worst part about
3:08
this show is I was forget to introduce myself and people and
3:11
tell them what they're listening to.
3:14
Thank you for being back. Thank you so much for having me.
3:17
This has been a fun season. Lots of great questions.
3:20
Yeah, I love that with the coffee smarter experts.
3:23
We have like the styles of conversations are so different
3:26
you and I go back and forth a lot and the conversations travel
3:30
a little bit more and sorry Chris, no offense to you.
3:33
But I ask you a question. You just talked for like 20
3:35
minutes and it's amazing because then I just listened but we
3:40
definitely have a little bit of a different style.
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What I was just talking about off air and now on air is
3:46
frothy. In milk and steaming milk and
3:49
latte art, and people are doing this at home.
3:52
I guess are doing it at home. I'm not doing it at home prayer,
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suddenly, I'm not quite there yet.
3:57
I'm wondering. How do you teach like a new
3:59
Barista kind of the beginning stages of milk?
4:02
Like what are the what are the stages they go through from like
4:06
learning how to literally heat milk up and steam it to getting
4:08
to a point where they kind of know what they're doing?
4:10
Or I don't even really know how to ask this question.
4:13
So I'm kind of butchering it, but the question is milk.
4:16
No. How do we take?
4:19
Yes. How do we teach it?
4:20
And if I were like a new Barista, a lofty coffee, what
4:24
would I have to learn in order to make a really good cup of
4:26
coffee that had steamed milk or a cappuccino or you know a flat
4:30
white or whatever? It was.
4:32
Yeah so I think it's funny I love that you asked milk because
4:37
I feel like some people they'll actually asked latte art and I
4:42
actually think the better question is milk because Because
4:48
lot are is only going to be great if you steam your milk.
4:52
Well and really, that's what Bots are is its kind of this
4:55
beautiful presentation of really well, extract of espresso and
5:02
really well steamed milk. And that when they come together
5:04
you have this beautiful picture on top.
5:06
I could be going off myths of this but to my baby Barista
5:12
experience is a what I was told that was like, that is what what
5:15
lot are came from of like being Able to show this like
5:18
immaculately prepared and presented cup of coffee.
5:23
Oh, add to that by saying, it kind of shows that whoever
5:25
prepared it was skilled in a certain way that they had
5:29
experienced. Yeah, they were skilled but also
5:32
to me it shows like finesse and Care into the products that
5:36
you're making. So yeah.
5:38
Milk is the first question latte art.
5:44
And so if you were being trained by me, Me at lofty of how to
5:48
steam milk. The first thing actually would
5:51
be learning how much milk goes into each beverage and flat.
5:57
We actually use scales to measure out our milk for every
6:01
beverage we make. And a big part of, this is to
6:03
minimize our waste especially now with inflation.
6:07
And we did a interesting like little mathematical equation of
6:14
if this much milk was wasted on every drink, Throughout the
6:17
year, it equated to like thousands of dollars of milk,
6:21
literally being thrown down the drain.
6:23
So I think that's like one thing that has nothing to do with milk
6:27
or whatever, but it's something to keep in mind is like, are you
6:30
steaming the right amount of milk for the beverage you're
6:32
making? And are you pouring half of it?
6:34
Down the drain. So you're going to measure your
6:37
milk and you also using the right picture size for the
6:40
volume of milk. When we steamed milk, we're
6:44
actually, we're adding air to it which is going to add Add
6:47
volume. So you don't want to put too
6:48
much milk in your picture to the point where as you steam it and
6:52
aerate it, it's going to increase in volume and then it's
6:54
going to be pouring out the top. So and just to clarify the
6:58
picture that you're talking about, in my head, I'm imagining
7:00
kind of like a little silver stainless steel picture that
7:03
people put up and do a steam on of the spresso machine.
7:05
But they're usually in a little bit bigger than a coffee, you
7:09
know? Traditional coffee mug, might
7:10
be, but we're not talking about like a lemonade pitcher.
7:12
It's like a small. Yeah, although you probably
7:15
could. I wouldn't recommend it.
7:17
It. I'm sure any heat proof picture.
7:22
You could probably steamed milk in but yes, there's actually
7:26
like many very beautifully. A lot of very thoughtful and
7:31
advanced technology pictures out there that are like designed to
7:35
steam the most perfect milk. So yeah, let's get into milk.
7:39
So actually where I always start is talking a little bit about
7:43
milk science and what is happening in milk because
7:47
there's more than meets the eye, because what we're dealing with
7:50
are fats and proteins, and There's a few things happening
7:56
to both of those components and milk.
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When we Steam and having an understanding of what's going
8:01
on, is going to actually allow you to better understand how to
8:05
steam your milk, with milk fats, as we add heat to them.
8:10
We're actually melting down those fats which is really good.
8:13
We want to do that by melting. Those fats were actually
8:16
bringing out more sweetness and essentially making like that,
8:20
sweet sugary deliciousness that we love in steamed milk.
8:25
And what's tricky is that and what actually creates that
8:29
really lovely microphone that we love and steamed milk is the
8:32
proteins of the milk and as those proteins get introduced to
8:38
Air and Heat, they start to break down but they're there.
8:43
The proteins are what you'd call it hydrophobic.
8:46
So they're not fully going to dissolve into the milk the way
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fat does. And so what it does is it
8:51
creates this really nice grid like micro foam structure.
8:56
But as I mentioned, the facts of the milk, they're going to start
9:00
to melt down and in, in some cases can break down that
9:04
structure of milk or that structure of foam that we're
9:07
creating by breaking down those proteins.
9:10
So, I got you, are you with me? It's kind of a.
9:12
Yeah, it's kind of know I am. But you can see my brain
9:16
processing. Like I've said it a thousand
9:19
times. I'm not a science person.
9:20
So even though I've actually like done, I've steamed some
9:24
milk and I I've tried to make, you know, velvety grids of foam
9:29
along the top. I still have to, like, think
9:31
through each of the processes. So here, I'll rephrase it in a
9:35
much simpler way. The proteins contribute to the
9:39
structure of the foam that we're trying to create.
9:42
And then the fat is what contributes to the sweetness and
9:46
texture of steamed milk, but too little fat and too much fat can
9:52
disrupted the structure of the foam that we're making.
9:55
So to go back to milk. It was talking about fats and
9:59
proteins. Let's say we're taking whole
10:02
milk. I like to use that sort of as a
10:05
baseline. It's definitely one of the
10:07
easier milks to steam. And as we, let's say, we have a
10:12
full picture. We're going to put our steam
10:15
wand into the picture in podcast form.
10:18
This is kind of funny, but the angle in which your steam one is
10:21
in your pictures, really important.
10:24
There's a few things about your steam wand location, you don't
10:27
want it to be too far down and you don't really ever want the
10:30
Steam on to touch the bottom of the picture.
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Then what I like to train my Baristas is to hold the steam
10:36
one just on the surface and when you turn the Steam on on to have
10:41
those holes on the steam wand, which allow the steam into the
10:45
milk, just below the surface as for the position on the surface
10:52
of the milk. I always say, stick the steam
10:56
wand straight into the center but then kick it off.
10:59
Maybe half an inch to the side. So it's a little bit offset from
11:03
the center, but it's also not touching the side of the
11:06
picture. This is going to be a really
11:08
ideal angle to create that Whirlpool that helps us create
11:13
that really nice texture and phone.
11:15
So where are we were steam wand positioning?
11:20
And so there's lots of things going on.
11:23
So Another thing is that milk fats, they're going to start to
11:28
dissolve at around like 80 to 100 degrees and so at that point
11:36
is, when you don't want to allow any more air into your milk
11:40
because that's when that was those milk bags are going to
11:43
start to disrupt that structure of phone.
11:46
So in that first few seconds of steaming is when you're creating
11:49
that really good foam and then once those milk fat start to
11:53
dissolve, L've, that's when you want to no longer, allow any air
11:57
into the milk and you want to just get that steam going and
12:01
keep the milk to the ideal temperature and get that
12:03
Whirlpool to get that. Really smooth microphone.
12:07
So just so I'm following the timeline here, the first part of
12:11
it of the process of steaming the milk to create this milk
12:18
could agree. This email is you're using your
12:21
steam wand. It's going into the top.
12:23
The milk just off center. You're kind of creating that
12:26
foam while the temperature is still relatively low.
12:30
And then when that when that whole picture kind of reaches a
12:33
certain temperature point, where you'd be damaging the faster
12:36
dissolve, in the fats, you're plunging the wand deeper, or
12:39
lifting the picture up. So the blonde plunges deeper.
12:42
Yeah, and using the remainder of that time to start heating
12:47
heating the milk. So it gets to a temperature that
12:49
it can be combined with the coffee appropriately.
12:52
Absolutely, while you said, That beautifully.
12:54
And I think something to say I do find, if you have that
12:58
perfect angle and that, perfect aeration, sometimes as your
13:03
aerating the milk, the milk will increase in volume to the
13:08
perfect point that when you no longer want to allow are the
13:14
steam. One is actually already
13:15
submerged so you're like not having it like move your picture
13:18
much and that's like the sweetest most ideal perfect
13:23
place And of your steam one where you don't even have to
13:25
move your picture and as you've aerated it, once it gets to that
13:29
point, you've already aerated exactly enough and it's already
13:32
increased. So that that wand is now
13:34
submerged completely to touch on something.
13:37
You said earlier about measuring out the appropriate amounts of
13:40
milk, I would just say to clarify.
13:42
Like one of them, kind of the differences between cappuccino
13:46
and a latte. And say, another drink is, even
13:49
if the base is the same espresso, or the same amount, a
13:52
single shot, or a double Shot. What changes what drink you're
13:56
drinking in. Is essentially, the amount of
13:57
milk. And then the amount of milk
13:59
versus the amount of foam. Yes.
14:02
Correct. Absolutely, to make sure that's
14:04
clear to anyone listening. This is why we're talking about
14:07
steaming milk. So yeah, a cappuccino might have
14:09
X amount of milk versus this much foam versus a latte, which
14:13
is going to be bigger and have more.
14:15
Yeah, exactly. And there's actually some really
14:18
great tools where you can have. There's these thermometers that
14:22
are you Clip onto the side of your picture so that you can see
14:27
the temperature as your steaming it and that's super helpful
14:30
because it's like, once you see that milk at to around like 60°,
14:33
you know, you're going to need to start to plan to plunge that
14:36
that wand a little bit more so that you're not allowing any
14:39
more air. And then I find you want to take
14:44
your milk no more than like 160 degrees and even to me, that's
14:48
quite hot. But once you start passing that
14:52
temperature, you start to really break down the milk and you're
14:57
going to lose the quality and texture.
14:59
Also, just gets so hot and like, to me, that's when you start to
15:03
lose some of the sweetness of the milk, which is what we're
15:05
trying to highlight. So we kind of that's like the
15:09
very basics of steaming. But something to consider
15:12
especially now that there's a lot more people drinking
15:14
alternative milks and maybe you like breve.
15:18
If you like that, like really rich coffee or you like nonfat
15:21
milk, I had mentioned earlier like that.
15:23
Content is going to really depend really influence.
15:27
How much are you want to put into the milk?
15:30
And a good rule of thumb? The more fat, the more air, the
15:35
less fat less air. And I think that's always like
15:38
some people are like I hate steaming nonfat milk or I hate
15:41
steaming almond milk or it's like I can never get a good but
15:45
I think keeping that in mind, like again, more fat more are
15:48
less fat less air will help you achieve a very similar, if not
15:53
Sustained milk texture that you can't with whole milk.
15:57
Here's there a like I usually get like, almond milk in my
16:01
coffee. Is there a alternative milk that
16:05
you you find works best for this process or that seems better?
16:10
Or are they all just kind of a pain?
16:12
Yeah, so I again, I feel like it's like, if you're a skilled
16:16
Barista, it you can be given any milk and you can steam it well.
16:20
So that lofty. We actually Our own almond milk
16:24
and house. And I take a lot of pride in the
16:27
saying that because it's like a really good almond milk.
16:30
It's very simple and it's ingredients where that it's
16:32
literally just almonds water. I think we've do put a little
16:36
bit of coconut sugar in there to sweeten it up.
16:39
But overall, very simple compared to some of those box
16:43
brands where you got a lot of like oils and whatnot to kind of
16:47
keep that texture, but I actually approached steaming our
16:51
almond milk out lofty, the same Way, I steam our whole milk.
16:55
Like I don't try to think too much about it and because we put
16:58
so much almonds in it. It's like got actually very
17:01
similar quality to whole milk and is very easy to steam.
17:04
Also, very easy to pour. It it pours really nicely but I
17:09
do find even for the Box stuff that almond milk for the most
17:12
part, I find schemes the best oat milk, which I know is very
17:17
popular. I do not particularly love
17:19
steaming, I find you do have to aerate it a little bit less.
17:23
You get that kind of like puffy foam and then also coconut milk.
17:27
Can be a pain in the ass. Just to coconut milk.
17:32
I want to say think it has something to do with like the
17:34
fat quality because it's like so much.
17:37
It's a rich. In fact that getting that stable
17:41
foam is really challenging and then you know what, I you don't
17:46
see as much anymore as you did like 10 years ago but soy milk.
17:51
I feel like used to be a really big thing and so I'm okay.
17:53
Actually seems pretty good but you don't really.
17:56
I feel like you don't really see soy milk anymore.
17:59
Wonder why that is. Okay, so we've gone through,
18:02
we're steaming milk and the beginning part of like creating
18:05
foam by through aeration, what am I learning next while on my
18:10
on day, two of my Barista training because I assume by day
18:13
three, I'll be making perfect latte art, right?
18:17
I mean I think that's my big thing is that I tell Bruce this
18:20
is they want to be supporting lot are right away and and most
18:23
Them can but really focusing on getting that good texture
18:27
because if you don't have that really good consistent texture
18:31
it's going to be very challenging to pour lot are
18:34
getting that good texture. What we'll do next is kind of
18:38
talk about some practice techniques to pouring latte art
18:43
because a lot of times what it is, it's just timing and the
18:46
angle in which you're pouring. And so I actually have a lot of
18:50
my briefs is practice with water and just the sense of like
18:54
having a steady stream of milk first, like, kind of like having
18:58
it kind of janky, or a lot of times.
19:00
What I see is produces pouring too slowly.
19:03
And what ends up happening there is like that.
19:05
Milk starts to separate from the foam and then by the time you're
19:08
done, it's just plopping on top. So really practicing kind of
19:12
pouring with confidence where you're pouring your you know
19:16
when to raise your picture or bring your picture closer to the
19:19
cup. But to quickly walk you through
19:22
how you might pour. Heart.
19:26
So what you'll want to do is initially you want to pour a
19:29
little bit higher than like you don't want to pour with the
19:32
picture right against the cup because what you want, is the
19:35
milk to sink below the crema of the espresso.
19:39
So that you have that nice kind of like brown coffee, colored
19:43
canvas to pour your latte around.
19:46
So starting by pouring a little bit higher so that milk sinks
19:50
below. You'll sometimes see some very
19:53
Has all like, kind of move the picture around as they're
19:56
filling the cup, and I do that to kind of help even out the
20:00
color across, again, across your milk and coffee canvas.
20:05
So that it's when you pour the latte art, you have a really
20:08
nice contrast of milk to coffee. And when, when you're ready to
20:12
pour your logs hair, I think it's great to get your going to
20:16
bring that picture closer to the rim of the cup, and I start to
20:20
do that around, maybe 2/3, maybe even a little less.
20:23
More than two-thirds full of the cup.
20:26
We're going to start to now. Bring that picture closer to the
20:29
cup in in the positioning that you want to pour.
20:33
I always start like similar to your, your steam wand angle is,
20:37
maybe you're going to be in the center, but just slightly above
20:40
where you want the want Eric to land.
20:42
So if you want to in the center of the Cup, start just above the
20:45
center. So you have room to push your
20:48
design in whichever direction you would like it to go.
20:52
So, for a heart, You're going to go starting just above the
20:55
center of the cup and maybe you'll give your picture of
20:58
slight wiggle to get those little ripples in the heart.
21:01
And then right before you finish filling the cup up, what you'll
21:05
want to do is just pull your picture slightly up and then
21:09
pull it through that. Maybe roundish design to get
21:12
that nice clean cut that makes up heart shape and that's a big
21:16
one. I always like to stress with
21:17
newer, Baristas is really remembering to bring that
21:21
picture up and through because You're staying really close to
21:24
your picture and then you just are really close to the cup and
21:27
just pull through you kind of get this elongated blob.
21:31
When you're first pouring, you have that milk sink below the
21:33
chroma in the same Lane of thought pulling that picture up.
21:39
So that as you cut through that, milk is sinking below your
21:42
design and below the surface of the coffee drink and gets that
21:48
really clean crisp line. So it's nice and symmetrical.
21:51
And well, Cheap. You know, this is a really
21:55
challenging thing to describe on like, I Know audio podcast.
21:59
So I will link to some videos of this happening to and I
22:05
appreciate you took on the challenge.
22:06
I think something we talked about in some other shows that
22:09
applies here to the last show. We talked about, you know, how
22:12
we taste and all the different senses involved and steaming
22:16
milk kind of involves that too, because, as you're talking, I'm
22:19
thinking about how we're talking about temperatures, so holding
22:22
this picture. You're going to start feeling
22:24
the temperature rising. I've heard this term before, so
22:28
I'm not just a genius and thinking this, but like the
22:31
sound of the milk being steamed, kind of the idea of the sound of
22:34
ripping paper is the way. I was kind of told about it, so
22:38
when you're aerating the milk to create the foam, there's a
22:40
certain sound that it's making and so you're taking that in as
22:44
well, kind of that sound and the feeling and even if you have a
22:47
thermometer, you're going to feel your mug steaming up in
22:50
temperature and potentially going from cold Two very hot
22:54
really fast which may not be you start to learn how to practice,
22:57
I guess. And all those different things
22:59
and I don't, you might know better than me.
23:01
But if there's if you can smell like kind of the sweetness of
23:05
the milk, as those fats are being separated or not, I've
23:08
done a little bit of steaming and I One Time made around blob
23:12
in the middle of a cup, trying to make latte art and then I
23:15
thought, you know what, maybe I'd be better talking about
23:17
coffee than making it, but I'm wondering if there are any other
23:20
senses you think about, or I think instinctively sounded
23:24
temperature would be the two that I kind of jump on that.
23:27
Jump out at me. Yeah, you're touching on a
23:29
really great point because actually even like the flow of
23:32
service, if I'm training someone new, sometimes you can hear from
23:35
across the room like oh that, milks not being aerated enough
23:39
or they're aerating it way too much, and you can hear that.
23:44
And I think that the eye again, this is a definitely an
23:47
interesting topic to discuss verse actually like showing but
23:52
Help. I hope some of what I'm saying
23:53
makes sense. There's a lot as you mentioned
23:58
and just with tasting to kind of consider both, even also like
24:02
looking at your milk and seen as you add air to it how much in
24:06
volume it is increasing and being able to see that and know,
24:11
okay? This is a latte it's just going
24:13
to have a thin layer of foam so I don't want to over aerate it
24:16
or knowing that it's a cappuccino and knowing okay I'm
24:19
going to consciously allow a little bit more air in To there.
24:22
So I got a little bit of a denser foam, really using all
24:25
your senses in that, but I realized we've talked a lot
24:29
about a lot of different things. And if I'm going to just
24:32
summarize a few quick tips, so that if all this goes out over
24:38
people's heads, there's something people can take away.
24:41
I think talking about the temperature, making sure if you
24:44
have the ability actually, one time worked at a cafe, where we
24:48
had a freezer right below, our espresso machine.
24:51
And we kept our Is in there to keep them as cold as possible
24:54
because as I had mentioned with the, those milk fats starting to
24:59
result to dissolve at around, like 80 to 100 degrees.
25:03
You want your milk to be as cold as possible to give you the most
25:07
amount of time to get that right texture in the beginning where
25:10
it's like if you use room temperature milk, it's gonna get
25:13
hot so quickly that you're not going to be able to properly
25:16
aerate it. So first tip, keep your milk
25:19
cold. I personally loved that.
25:22
That's what I would do. If my picture nice and cold, I
25:25
would say, yeah, measuring out your milk for the right beverage
25:29
that you're making, and then really paying attention to all
25:34
the little things that you had said, like the sound how it
25:39
visually looks and practicing that I think.
25:42
Also, this isn't maybe a cop-out for, for this coffee, smarter
25:46
expert, but honestly, like Instagram and YouTube videos
25:51
like I felt when I, if I was like going to a latte art
25:57
Throwdown or I like knew I was gonna have like, shift on bar
26:01
like I would watch like before doing it.
26:03
Just watch some videos because you kind of see people's body
26:06
language like their body positioning, you see how quickly
26:09
they're pouring their milk and at least for me I'm like quite a
26:12
bit. I'm a very visual learner, so
26:14
seeing that made it easier to replicate in service or in a
26:17
competition or something. So kind of like recognizing
26:22
That. Oh, they're not just pouring
26:23
beautiful otter, but how are they holding their cup?
26:25
What angle is their arm at how close or far away?
26:28
Are they from their cup? All those little things can
26:31
really play into how well you can pour your lot are, I'm
26:36
smiling because I'm one because you have this cat that's running
26:39
across your computer and that's not just fantastically clean and
26:44
truly emblematic of the times that we live in that we do these
26:48
podcasts over a video chat, but also I'm Having like these kind
26:52
of like flashbacks to Little League where I had a coach.
26:55
Okay, keep your elbow at this angle.
26:57
You know, if you're swinging a bat or how to like get down to
27:00
pick up a ground ball or something and it's kind of the
27:02
same concept with whatever it is that you're doing.
27:05
But in this particular case, steaming milk like there are
27:09
techniques that work better than others.
27:11
And one thing we didn't talk about during this episode, I
27:15
don't know if this is a sin so much as a state of being but
27:19
Dimensionality when you're talking about where you're
27:23
holding the picture in relation to your drink, as you're pouring
27:26
your milk into it, to create that art and raising that
27:30
picture up or down and kind of being aware of where you are.
27:33
In this process, seems to be really important and I've been
27:37
told more than once by my wife that I have to remember, I'm
27:39
three-dimensional. I'd, I truly think that maybe, I
27:42
think more in two Dimensions because, like, I can draw things
27:45
that I can see that third dimension in reality is, Is
27:49
where I sometimes forget that my arm is this bigger moves, this
27:53
faster, this thing which is why I was never created latte art,
27:56
but being aware of that and knowing that kind of joked about
28:00
making perfect latte art on day three.
28:01
And I'm sure that there are some people that can do that
28:04
naturally. But realistically it's not just
28:07
about making one cup of Grey latte art.
28:09
I think the hope is to be consistent and over time that's
28:12
back with anything. We've talked about in the show
28:14
for 80 episodes or so is practice and it'll get better
28:18
and better and better and To the point where you don't think
28:20
about it. And I, yeah, I don't know if
28:22
that's the goal for everyone, but I think for some people
28:24
listening, it might be. Yeah, and I think that you
28:27
really, you're that speaking some truth there, because that's
28:31
ultimately what I found the Baristas who are like shoot my
28:35
day to, it's not perfect. It's like if you at least have
28:38
the good texture because when you're making, especially in a
28:42
cafe setting, if you're making beverages, of course, the
28:45
expectation is hot water but if the textures off than the Whole
28:49
beverage is also get the texture, right?
28:51
And practice practice, practice, and be intentional with it to
28:55
where, like, if your goal is to really be great at lot are like,
29:00
think about all these things. We're talking about of your
29:03
dimensionality and like, your body positioning and like what
29:07
it is, you're doing that's creating success in that.
29:11
And, you know, I can only speak to my own experience but I
29:16
would, I practice a lot because I was like, I, To be good at
29:19
this. I swear and I yeah, every single
29:24
drink was like that opportunity to be a little bit better than
29:28
your last poor or be more precise or get that perfect
29:33
surface tension where the drink looks like it's about to spill
29:35
over, but it's doesn't. And so it's just a fun Lovecraft
29:42
that you can definitely go down the rabbit hole.
29:45
I was just going to say that I say this with great respect and
29:49
Creation. But you're a nerd, you're a
29:51
coffee nerd. Me and I having talked to you
29:56
enough now, even though most of it's been virtually, I can
29:59
imagine you like making a latte art or making a cappuccino with
30:03
art on it and being like, you know, if I were like one degree
30:07
different on the way I held my arm and just like going through
30:10
that process in your head. So even if you're not showing it
30:13
to the world you know that you're going to do it a little
30:16
bit differently. Next time, I can I can Envision
30:18
it. Love that.
30:20
Well, honestly, I think that's honestly the best compliment
30:23
I've ever heard. I'm happy to be a nerd in
30:27
Minecraft. It's, it's great.
30:32
Well, and I thank you for sharing all of that nerd Dome
30:36
with us and the listeners of the show.
30:38
And we don't have another chat scheduled for a little bit, but
30:43
I'm sure you'll be back sometime soon and will dig into something
30:45
new. Thank you again for having me.
30:47
This is so fun. I am.
30:49
I'm happy to nerd out with you and to be a part of all these
30:52
other nerdy people's lives. Coffee's great to recap from
31:02
today. Don't get ahead of yourself milk
31:05
and the ability to manipulate it.
31:06
During the steaming process is the first step in creating an
31:10
excellent coffee, drink latte art.
31:12
Comes later. Some key takeaways from today,
31:14
are that the angle and depth of the steam wand are key factors
31:18
in properly steaming Milk and that by adding heat and air to
31:21
that milk, you're able to change the temperature and texture as
31:25
you break down the fats and proteins to create a classic
31:28
coffee drink. The milk / latte.
31:31
Art connection is kind of like the wax on wax off theory in the
31:34
Karate Kid movies. You need to learn a foundational
31:37
step in order to make the big fancy Splash at the competition.
31:40
Siri is actually the co-host co-leader of the San Diego
31:43
Coffee Network, which puts on events like latte art.
31:46
Showdowns. Imagine a bunch of coffee.
31:49
Sectionals all in the same room making their very best artwork
31:52
in an effort to declare a champion the correlation.
31:55
To the karate kid is only getting stronger.
31:58
I'll link to some examples of milk steaming and latte art and
32:01
more details on the San Diego Coffee Network on roast
32:04
westcoast.com, which is also where you can subscribe to the
32:08
newsletter that goes along with this podcast.
32:10
And if you have coffee smarter questions, you can send them to
32:13
us on Instagram at roast West Coast.
32:16
You might remember that we had an in-person roast West Coast
32:19
appearance at industry sponsors. Zoom bar, coffee, and tea and
32:22
Cardiff California last week. Thanks to everyone who stopped
32:25
by to say hello and lift a mug of coffee with me.
32:29
I met a bunch of cool people but I spent the most time with Gene
32:32
and Matthew who are an uncle and nephew who were stopping in for
32:35
a coffee after a surf and before breakfast.
32:39
You know, like we surfed and then we had breakfast and then
32:43
we got it covered on. I mean, is this whole experience
32:45
is what makes you know? Like right now, we're drinking
32:48
coffee. Yeah.
32:49
Is so much better than if I were sitting here by myself.
32:53
Yeah, the same cup. And I was just, you know, it's
32:56
just isn't the same. My first experience when I was,
32:59
when I was a kid is like, when my mom gets to stop in South
33:03
Korea, when my mom would make instant coffee, With with like
33:09
you know those Carnation creamers and whatever these
33:12
things are condensed milk like sweet.
33:17
Yep. It should give you a little and
33:28
that was just it. I thought it was pretty cool to
33:33
see these two interact and how Matthew can trace his coffee
33:36
Journey. Back to his Uncle Gene.
33:38
Who in his mind can trace his back to his mom in South Korea.
33:42
Then just as I was thinking about packing up for the
33:44
morning. I met Kate and Luciano who were
33:46
pretty enthusiastic to talk about their coffee Journey.
33:51
There's only talk to us. Okay.
33:54
Yeah, have a seat. What are your names?
33:56
I'm Kate. I'm the Sienna.
33:58
Nice to meet you. I'm Ryan teacher.
34:00
I am. Thanks for taking a minute.
34:01
What brought you to zoom bar today?
34:04
Well, we live in the neighborhood and I feel like
34:06
it's the best coffee shop here. Yeah, it's a pretty good reason.
34:12
Yeah. How long have you been drinking
34:13
coffee? Do you have a memory of like
34:19
coffee of like why you thought? Thought, oh yeah, I want to keep
34:21
doing this. I have a memory of why I first
34:25
had my first cup of coffee. It wasn't why I contained a
34:28
drink coffee but I was visiting my cousin in DC.
34:31
I was in high school and he was going to college there.
34:34
I was visiting him and I was freezing and I just like, I need
34:37
something. I can drink all day and like
34:39
keeping my hand and I just had this feeling of being like
34:42
adults, drink coffee, and that's like what I should do is before
34:46
I knew you could have like tea and chives and whatever and I
34:48
got coffee and I was like this is disgusting, but I just kept
34:51
drinking and I think I should I ended up loving what made you go
34:55
back to it the second time. If you didn't like it, I think I
34:59
just had that like societal, you know?
35:01
Concepcion adults, adults. Drink coffee.
35:04
Yeah. And then it was like, that's the
35:06
only drink you can drink, when you're a cold, I don't know.
35:08
Then I went to University in Boston and I needed it for
35:11
studying and things like that, but, yeah, now I don't drink it
35:15
for those reasons. How about you for me, it was
35:18
more like University spending a lot of hours a day, studying
35:25
working project. I was saying this, I'm ensuring
35:30
energy And really those a I started doing that and it was
35:34
like wow this is disgusting. It wasn't that good copy those a
35:39
she not know good quality cup of coffee and yeah then we time I
35:45
started to write even for sometimes doesn't like that.
35:50
And then we time I started to drink good copies and right into
35:55
the psyche. Yeah.
35:58
I am drinking coffee every day. Once you.
36:01
You can't stop. It's like the Pringles of
36:03
drinks. Okay.
36:07
If you're listening, I hope you find that.
36:09
Perfect coffee to steamed milk ratio in all of your future
36:12
coffee drinks. It was great to meet you all,
36:15
and get a chance to hang out over a cup of coffee, and a big
36:18
thanks to the zoom bar coffee staff at a great single origin.
36:21
Guatemala French press that I was still thinking about on my
36:24
drive home, follow this show for updates on appearances at other
36:28
coffee industry Partners including ignite coffee.
36:31
Oysters Cafe litter. Most, your coffee company.
36:34
Coffee cycle. Roasting leap, coffee Maria,
36:37
coffee steady-state, coffee, roasting Camp, Coffee Company.
36:41
First light, whiskey, and Cape Horn coffee importers.
36:44
If you want to find the links to those top-notch companies, they
36:47
are on the front page of roast westcoast.com.
36:51
Thank you for listening everyone.
36:52
This episode of the roast West Coast coffee.
36:54
Podcast is was has been written produced and recorded by me Ryan
36:59
Walt. I hope this show is found you
37:01
happy. Healthy and with at least enough
37:03
sanity to make it through the day.
37:05
And please always tip your Baristas now more than ever and
37:09
be sure to drink a coffee. Hey there, if you liked this
37:42
coffee smarter episode and you want more and more coffee
37:44
content, please consider buying us a cup of coffee or signing up
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38:00
Subscriptions are a great way to show appreciation.
38:02
For the show, just head to roast westcoast.com to subscribe or
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