If, like us, Monzo has alerted you to just how much you’ve spent on takeaway coffee lately, the chances are you’re starting to think about how to replicate your favourite cappuccino, latte or flat white at home for a fraction of the cost.
However, whether you make your morning cup (or in our case, many cups) using a french press, pod machine, stovetop coffee pot, Aeropress or settle for instant, one thing’s for sure – it’s always better with velvety milk.
Investing in an espresso machine with a steam wand for using at home can be a big spend – but how can we get the feel of a takeaway coffee from our favourite cafe at home without all the kit?
Fortunately, you might already have everything you need in your kitchen to whip up frothy steamed milk for your next cup of coffee – here’s how to froth milk without a milk frother or steam wand.
According to Matt Cowie, wholesale manager (and milk frothing expert) at Edinburgh-based Cairngorm Coffee Roasters, achieving a cafe-worthy coffee at home can be as simple as using the kit you made it with.
‘As somebody who does this at home every single day and has been doing this for maybe the past eight years, this is exactly how I’d do it – this is how to hack a flat white at home,’ he tells Metro.co.uk.
‘Bang your milk in the microwave for a minute and a half. Whatever milk you prefer – it’s 2022, maybe it’s oat milk, maybe it’s pea milk, maybe it’s straight from the cow. Hopefully your coffee will be finished brewing round about the time your milk is coming out of the microwave.
‘Once done, get your milk out of the microwave and stick it in to a French press or a cafetiere and then it’s time to plunge – aggressively.
‘To get scientific, you’re looking for about 20% expansion of the milk. By plunging the milk just at the top, not going all the way to the bottom, basically it acts like a steam wand on an espresso machine. We’re just injecting air into the liquid essentially, which is exactly how a steam wand functions.
‘Once that’s done, once it’s as foamy as you want it, get your hot coffee into your mug, bang your milk in there, draw a wee picture if you want to and tada, that’s you, it’s your hacked flat white at home.’
Don’t have a french press or cafetiere? Not to worry – you can also use a soup stick blender or a regular stand blender to get the froth you’re looking for once your milk is out the microwave.
And if you don’t have a blender, you can go even more ‘manual’. Once you’ve warmed up your milk, pour it into a jar that is at least double the volume of milk you’re putting it in (be prepared for it to expand!) and give it a seriously vigorous shake – voila, Pret who?
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