Mixing milk with espresso first to reduce bitterness?
Here's another interesting discussion from the guys over at HB...
Mixing milk with espresso before pouring
Started out as a question - OP saw a Montreal barista add a splash of milk to the espresso, swirl, then pour as usual.
Apparently, some do this to reduce the sometimes excessively bitter first sip that happens when dark crema and milk combine.
Thought this was worth sharing. Anybody else do this?
Mixing milk with espresso before pouring
Started out as a question - OP saw a Montreal barista add a splash of milk to the espresso, swirl, then pour as usual.
Apparently, some do this to reduce the sometimes excessively bitter first sip that happens when dark crema and milk combine.
Thought this was worth sharing. Anybody else do this?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Keaton Ritchie on
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I've always done this: the taste reasons are obvious to me. (Hey, there's even a chance I was the barista the original HB poster observed?)
The lower down the thread saying it's purely to make pouring latte art easier seems ignorant to me, but I won't deny that though you sacrifice contrast in your art when building drinks this way it does seem to make pouring art that much smoother (then again, I've built drinks this way from the start- a matter of habit perhaps?)
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Permalink Reply by Brandi Heath on
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i learn something new every day. i'll have to try to see if it makes latte art easier for me. just for practice of course
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Permalink Reply by Brady on
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As I'm thinking about this more, I've always struggled to get dark browns in my capps, but I also rarely get that bitter first sip. I don't premix. Maybe if your art technique is relatively poor (like mine) this step is unnecessary.
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If the way you poor tends to break the crema then you're probably making that first sip less intense. I imagine, however, that the first and last sip of you drink don't taste quite as similar as they could if you followed the procedure under discussion.
Brady said:As I'm thinking about this more, I've always struggled to get dark browns in my capps, but I also rarely get that bitter first sip. I don't premix. Maybe if your art technique is relatively poor (like mine) this step is unnecessary.
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Permalink Reply by Deferio on
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You don't need to mix the milk in really. Just, as Sammy Piccolo says, "Massaging the Crema" ie: mixing the espresso thoroughly. The preservation of crema as it is out of the spout to the top of the drink may look good for latte art but it is nasty to drink. Mix the espresso and you will have fewer people saying"oh it looks beautiful!"...
Then after the first sip excusing themselves to go search for sugar.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew Gasaway on
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I've never seen people actually do this...but maybe I never payed attention?
What I have seen are barista using this technique with COLD drinks.
Incorporating the espresso with a tad bit of cold milk before pouring it all into an iced latte.
There is a taste difference....but I'm not sure I like it. Then again I don't order iced lattes all that often.
Kinda of the same concept with Iced Americanos too.
Maybe I'm going a bit off topic...
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Permalink Reply by Jared Rutledge on
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yeah i usually pour a touch, swirl, then do the full pour. then again my latte art looks like interstellar feces so what do i know.
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Permalink Reply by Simon Ouderkirk on
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IIRC, Scott Rao talks about this in the Professional Barista's Handbook: he calls it "Kiwi Style" or "New Zealand Style" or somesuch.
I think the idea is that it allows a little mixing of the espresso both internally and with the milk, if that makes sense. Our house espresso is super stratified, in that the first sip is almost nothing like the final slurp. Hitting the espresso with a touch of steamed milk and giving it a swirl or stir can help to balance out the flavors. I think we've all had lattes that are pleasant to begin but become a bit gnarly toward the end - the goal of swirling/stirring is to minimize or eliminate this.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Hayward on
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This is a welcome revelation to me.
I'm no barista, so my latte art is somewhere between non-existent to inconsistent, but I did notice a slightly acrid first sip on occasion. I knew this was the crema, but I assumed it was a fault of the espresso or the extraction.
So, am I hearing that this may happen even if the coffee and the extraction are good? Are there other techniques to avoid that first sip?
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Permalink Reply by Brent hall on
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I am way late in this conversation...but if the espresso is pulled properly, and is a delicious espresso, would it be bitter to begin with? Sounds like a way to hide a bad extraction. Just a thought anyway.
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BH: I think that the argument is not that the espresso itself is bitter, but the crema, lifted to the top and largely maintained, will be bitter, much like if you scoop just the crema off of a shot of espresso, it is generally pretty ashy and unpleasant (I think a Dr-Who-Lookalike posted something about this on his video blog at some point). A proper latte will generally keep the crema intact up to the top of the cup (so goes the argument), so that the lovely syrupy espresso beneath gets milked down and mellowed out, but the crema, while stretching, maintains its original distinct flavor.
Whether this argument is accurate or not is another story. Try it! Taste it! Tell us what you find!
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Permalink Reply by Casey Loseth on
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From what I know this is a New Zealand/Australian thing. A few people I know say that it's a common technique for making "Flat Whites" I was told that some people do this because it makes the milk mix with the espresso more thoroughly, which they say creates a consistant flavour from the first sip to the last. I don't do it myself, I find that a good pour mixes things together well on it's own.
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