pocojoe wrote:When you steam milk, the goal is to be able to steam as long as possible before the milk becomes too hot...

No. Milk should be steamed as quickly as possible within the barista's ability to control the process. The longer you steam, the more the milk's proteins coagulate... which makes the foam "gummy." You want (or at least probably want) something more like a rich liquid than like marshmallow.

Today's picture excepted, the foam bubbles seem smaller and the texture better.

Let's hope so. The pictured milk is far from microfoam. Individual bubbles should not be visible to the naked eye. The milk should appear shiny and smooth, like "chrome."

Any thoughts on why we add the milk to the coffee and not the other way around?

The "right way" to make nearly all espresso/milk drinks is to float the milk on top of the espresso, so that the coffee is drunk through the milk. The exception is a latte art, which uses a denser foamed milk so that the milk (first) floats the espresso; (second) cuts through and mixes with the espresso; and (finally, third) floats as a pattern above the espresso.

Of course, here the term "right," merely means "traditional" and "expected." Break the rules. You may be on to something very good.

Rich