My wife got me an Instant Milk Frother for my birthday this year. She must have noticed how much I like my Instant pot and my Instant coffee maker. It makes all kinds of different foams, plus it steams milk. It got me thinking and experimenting. What milk froths best?
The best milk froth can turn an ordinary drip coffee into a coffeehouse specialty drink. Well-frothed milk in a coffee drink expands and heightens the experience, adding new textures and flavors. Plus, it’s pretty to look at.
This post explains all about milk froth and what it means for coffee drinkers. I’ll tell you what kind of milk makes the best milk froth. I’ll also identify one obvious champion in the battle for milk froth superiority. I may surprise you with a couple of other milks that froth up better than you think.
What Is Milk Froth?
We’ve all had some lovely milk froth added to a coffee drink before. But you may not know or understand exactly what it is. Milk froth can be a decorative addition to a drink, or a way to lighten and extend a coffee-sipping experience. Bad milk froth can ruin a coffee drink.
So, what is milk froth?
Milk froth is milk that has had air added to it, giving it a light and foamy texture. Milk froth is the result of air being pushed through milk, changing its physical properties. Frothed milk tastes creamier and feels light and bubbly on your lips and tongue.
Even the best coffee in the world, prepared by a top American coffee roaster, lacks something without the addition of some light and airy milk froth.
The best milk froth has a light feel but is firm enough to hold its shape. You should see bubbles in your froth, and they should (for the most part) be about the same size.
What Makes Milk Froth Good?
The quality of a milk’s froth depends on three factors:
- how you aerate the milk
- whether or not the milk and coffee are cold or warm
- the type of milk you use to make the froth
You can add air to milk lots of different ways. The most familiar is the steam wand on an espresso machine. I can hear the sound of a steam wand in a coffee shop without even really having to think about it.
You can sort of froth your milk using a whisk, but you aren’t likely to get the perfect creamy texture you get at a coffee shop with hand power alone.
Endless kitchen gadgets exist to help people froth milk at home. One of my favorites is the Zulay MilkBoss. It’s easy to use, runs on a single AA battery, and comes with a storage stand so you can set it up right next to your coffee station. The stainless steel whisk cleans easy and gets the job done.
Ultimately, the most important factor in making that perfect coffeehouse milk froth is the milk itself. Certain types of milk and milk alternatives produce a better foam. Whether or not a milk can make foam mostly has to do with that milk’s fat content, but other factors exist.
The Best Milk for Making Froth
The best milk for making froth is whole milk.
Whole milk has the best protein, sugar, fat, and water content to produce a rich heady foam that turns a morning coffee into the perfect latte.
Froth some whole milk at home and watch what happens. Those microbubbles are what you’re looking for in the perfect coffee milk froth. They’re consistently the same size, and they’re light while still maintaining a meringue-like firmness.
Organic Valley Whole Milk is the best nationally available whole milk I’ve ever tried. It tastes very close to the farm fresh milk we sometimes get from our farm collective membership. Its heavy protein and sugar content makes a foam like no other whole milk we’ve tried.
Does Low-Fat Milk Make Froth?
My house is big on whole milk. We also like whole fat yogurt and whole fat dairy products of all kinds. We find them to be a healthy addition to our diet. I think their nutritional value outweighs their higher fat and sugar content, especially if you’re an active person.
But I recognize that some people prefer low-fat milks.
Does low-fat milk make froth?
Low-fat milk makes an acceptable froth for coffee drinks, but it will take a bit more work to produce it, and it won’t be as firm. The trick is to tap the milk frothing container a few times on a hard surface so more bubbles emerge to form froth.
In my opinion, low-fat milk froth just doesn’t taste as good as a full-fat product.
If you want to try to make low-fat milk froth for your coffee drink, I’d go with Organic Valley 1% Low Fat Milk. Organic Valley milk tastes good, and I’ll admit that this low-fat version is a decent alternative to froth made with their whole milk.
The Best Alternative Milk for Making Froth
I’ve tried just about every milk alternative there is, from hemp milk to macadamia nut milk. I’ve also tried making froth with a few of them.
The worst, by far, was cashew milk. Try as I might, I couldn’t make that stuff turn into any kind of foam at all. It’s just too thin and watery, I think.
Here’s a real shocker – the froth my wife made from oat milk was almost as good as the whole milk froth I made. The two froths show no difference in texture. The only real difference is a slightly lighter and sweeter taste for the froth made from oat milk.
I would have no problem putting oat milk froth in my coffee. Oat milk has a ratio of nutrients very similar to cow’s milk. That’s probably why they both make an excellent froth for coffee drinks.
If you want to make oat milk froth for your home latte drink, I’d recommend Califia Farms Barista Blend Oat Milk. It’s made for coffee drinks and it froths like a dream. Get this six-pack of shelf-stable Califia Farms Oat Milk from Amazon and you’ll have perfectly firm and light milk froth for months
Does Soy Milk Make Froth?
I’m not a fan of soy milk. It has a cloying sweetness that clings to my mouth and can ruin a coffee drink. But I know I’m in the minority here – lots of you guys love soy milk.
So, does soy milk make froth?
Soy milk makes an acceptable froth, and it froths up really quick. It’s a faster froth than even my favorite, whole milk. One thing to note – these bubbles aren’t as dense as whole milk, so they won’t pour well. If you try to pour them, you’ll end up with a broken foam every time. Experiment a little and you’ll figure it out.
My wife’s favorite brand of soy milk is Hanmi Pure Soy Milk. It’s a Korean brand, and I have to admit that it’s a lot more attractive to my palate than the American soy milks I’ve had. I found a pack of 24 individually packed servings of Hanmi Pure Soy Milk on Amazon for a decent price.
The Worst Milk for Making Froth
The one milk I would never try to use for frothing again is cashew milk. I alluded to this earlier, but let’s talk about it a bit more.
Cashew milk is by far the thinnest milk substitute I’ve ever worked with. But it also has very little sugar content and relatively low protein as well.
I guess my question is – how is this stuff a milk alternative? What does it do in any way to substitute for real whole milk?
If you’ve found a way to make cashew milk froth, I’d love to hear it. That’s because I love the way cashew milk tastes, and I think it’s always good to give people another alternative to dairy milk. Lactose intolerance shouldn’t prevent someone from enjoying a gourmet coffee drink.
Conclusion: What Milk Froths Best for Coffee Drinks?
If you want to make a true coffeehouse-like milk froth, whole milk is your best bet. It will beat any other milk in any head-to-head competition. If you want consistently sized bubbles and a light texture, you’ve got to go for whole milk.
That doesn’t mean people who don’t want to drink whole milk are out of luck. Use soy milk or oat milk for a near-perfect milk froth for your coffee. You won’t be missing out on much.