Hello, Ive been working as a barista for 6 years, and also have my own equipment at home for 10 years, but through the years , very rarely, Ive got milk that is impossible to steam!
And it could seem like a stupid excuse for not "know how to", but Im a professional, and been working at some of the best coffee bars in Stockholm , and learned from the best. I can steam milk perfectly in my sleep...
And this also happened when Ive been at work, and none of the colleagues and not even the boss can make the milk steamed the normal way, whatever you do, it will behave strange, get big bubbles, that breaks and the milk gets thin and in a skinny consistence....so we had to serve the consumers bad coffee drinks with milk the whole day...
I have also experienced to be a customer, and the barista in the cafe, explains to me that the milk does not "work" that day..
I have heard different explanations to this problem, but never got a sure, good answer. Some of my earlier bosses have said that it is because of the farmer have changed the food for their cows, and some have told me its because of that the animals have got some medicine...hm...
Does someone here really know the REAL reason for this strange problem?..
I had this problem with the milk the last two days, and its really frustrating...I want to make my perfect morning cappuccino....

Katta

Hi Katta,

Welcome to the forums! I live in Denver, Colorado and we use a local dairy company that owns and operates every step of the dairy process from cows to bottling and delivery. I have only experienced what you described a couple times, but it is definitely a thing. We've discussed this with the dairy and they will take all of the affected bottles back. While milk does definitely change in taste, texture, and behavior with the seasons and the cows' diets, this particular issue has something to do with the other steps involved. Which step I'm not exactly sure, but it does have to do with one of the many transformations milk goes through before it gets to us. I would let the dairy know about it and see if they will at least credit you for the affected milk jugs. Good luck and greetings from USA!

While we want nice microfoam when we steam the milk; dairies, like all food proceesssors, fervently hate all foam -- it takes up excess space, making for under filled containers or spills, and cavitating pumps. In the past, some dairies used defoaming agents, and that milk never foamed (It's still used in many condensed milks). Nowadays, most dairies pump the milk in alternating pressure and vacuum based systems to prevent air getting into the milk, or from bubbles forming. I suspect, but don't know, that when this gets too enthusiastic, the milk won't foam properly.

Excessive homogenization or pasteurization at too high a temperature can also ruin the milk for foaming.

Oddly enough, I find the biggest industrial dairies have the most consistent milk when it comes to foaming, probably because they have the most expensive controls on their processing gear. Taste is another matter.

For you at home, there is no solution, just get more milk. For the store, it might help to get in touch with the dairy and explain. Their process experts should know where exactly the problem is created; and if common enough, they might be able to make some money and create some good will by selling a cappuccino certified grade for coffee stores

Already some good input here. I'd only add that it is often brand-specific. When we lived in NZ, we frequented Altura (great coffee roaster/cafe) and took some basic barista training there. One day at home I ran into a milk that simply would not foam. Asking of the experts at Altura yielded, "We never use that brand...it won't foam". Some years later, while living in Indonesia, we ran into the same thing; the milk from one of the dairies simply would not foam. The solution was to switch to another brand.

Kathiccino wrote:... and been working at some of the best coffee bars in Stockholm , and learned from the best.

Katta

Stockholm does have some excellent coffee shops! It would be great to have your insight on HB.

In Australia this is a seasonal thing - the diet of the dairy cattle changes from fresh grass to hay at certain times of the year, and this affects the milk.

My thoughts are pure anecdote. I can note differences in the milk's taste when the cows move from pasture to hay. We purchase only organic milk which comes from grazed cows when pasture is available. I don't notice a correlated steaming difference. I will discuss with baristas at Kopplins in STP (only use organic milk from one dairy) and get their seasonal observations. Good shop with volumes of business.

I talked with a shop owner at length today. Their shop only uses organic milk from one dairy; it is not homogenized.

He said there is more difficulty in incorporating air twice a year; when the cows move from pasture to barn/hay in late Fall and when the cows transition from hay to pasture in May/June. He suggests it is a protein based issue. Soon the milk stabilizes and once again it is easier to incorporate milk.

His position: Feed change is more than correlative -- it is causative.

How does the taste of the milk change when moved from pasture to hay, I wonder? I remember hearing from a friend that he noticed a change in milk he was getting from a grazed cow (single origin milk from a particular cow) that he felt the farmers had let get into the thistle.

When I was a kid, milk came from a small local farm. I could clearly taste the move to pasture but never remember the taste shifting when the cows moved to hay in the Fall. If the cows got into Spring onions, look out. You were in for a BAM.

Now, our milk comes from a large organic outfit. That genericizes the milk and I can't tell one organic milk from another large organic outfit (Organic Valley/Horizon). The "terroir-microlot" is gone.