Milk Woes at Milk Studios
Coming out of the Northeast Regional Barista Competition this weekend, I want to talk a bit about milk. I had been practicing with a great full-fat milk from Milk Thistle Dairy Farm in Ghent, NY. It was delicious and had wonderful texture. But for two days before and during the competition, Manhattan had run dry.
Steaming this milk was remarkably different than that which I'm used to working with when on shift. Because it is thick with solids and is non-homogenized, the barista must take more time and increase temperature to incorporate an appropriate amount of air. This in turn lowers the amount of time allowed for "repair" when the barista begins to break larger bubbles into smaller, uniform microfoam.
There's nothing too special about the fact that Milk Thistle requires and adapted steaming technique. Every milk responds differently to steam based on populations of dairy cows or differing processing techniques. We need to make slight changes in the way we orient our steam wands and pitchers whether we're steaming skim or soy. The great thing about whole milk, is its resilience to breaking down after being steamed (as long as it's prepared with some skill). The fats in the liquid end up around the bubbles which are physically secured by proteins and act as a sealant, allowing air to escape at a much lower rate than reduced-fat and skim milks. In conjunction with a lowered protein count due to skimming techniques, this makes whole-fat and higher solid count milks better for texture alone. And let's not forget the deliciousness of those milk-solids.
So, I worked with this delicious, non-homogenized, high-solid milk leading up to the competition because it is awesome and gave my espresso wonderful accompaniment and brought out wonderful flavors. And it seems as though a lot of people in the city agree with me and bought it all up. I went into my set blind with another, albeit very similar milk. As soon as I switched that steam-wand on, I could feel the difference and just wasn't ready for it. This was going to be my undoing on the score sheets, and rightly so. I fought the milk and ended up with too much grain and heat.
It was a great learning experience although I know I could have done much better. There's something nice in knowing where your problem is right away, even when you didn't bring an extra pitcher or milk and can't do anything about it. In the end, every ingredient is important. And a barista needs to know each, how they act, and how to get what he or she wants from the ingredient. Attention to detail is what drives already great coffee and great service to new heights.
Congratulations to all of the competitors this past weekend. I had a great time surrounded by so many talented and committed baristas. And an extra special congratulations to our NERB Champ of 2011, Philip Search of Dallis Brothers. Rep the NE well in Houston and break a leg!
