Just curious if anyone knows rather getting milk textured properly can be done with anything less than whole milk for example 2% milk or does that lack of milk cream in the milk cause the milk to separate too much during texturing etc...

I hope this question makes sense. I have only been trying with the whole milk from the store and 2% from the store. Haven't gotten the texturing right with either but think I've gotten in the ball park a few times but it seems like when I think i've got it, as I pound and twirl, the foam is to seperated from the rest of the milk, even though it appears to be macro foam with no visible bubbles.

I get equally good results from whole milk and 2%. I don't usually buy 2% and did so just to see if there was a difference when steaming. I was surprised that 2% not only textures well, but when textured it is as enjoyable to me as whole milk is.

wow thanks for the reply, so do you find you are able to pour art with any type of milk?

2% and Whole milk, for me, work equally well.. I think whole milk has a richer/fuller mouthfeel, but 2% does taste good. Pouring art with either is more or less the same feat.

1% work OK, but you gotta be on your game.. I have trouble getting it perfect for art purposes. Also, if you do get art quality milk, I feel like the foam dissipates very quickly. Pour a rosetta, put it down and look for the camera.. find camera, rosetta is now a blob.

Ive never tried skim/nonfat.. I have no desire too. Ive tried a few soymilks... I have trouble texturing them at all... But, 8th continent soymilk comes in vanilla and chocolate. Use the Vanilla when you are having cereal and its like dessert for breakfast.. and its good for you!(ish)

My favorite milk is Parmalat Whole Milk. We dont drink a lot of milk besides when it is in a cappa/latte, or a chocolate milk. Parmalat, I think, is sweeter then regular milk out of the carton.. I could drink it if I had too straight. But as for texturing, I think parmalat is the easiest of all the milks Ive tried

I haven' tried every type of milk. I buy whole milk. I shop at 2 or 3 different stores and have probably used 5 or 7 different brands. I used 2% one time. I cannot tell the difference between any of the different brands I have tried. I get latte art from all of them.

In my experience the wand tip makes more difference than the milk. I have a single and a double hole tip for my Brewtus and they behave very differently. The one hole tip is a breeze. I can literally use it with my eyes closed. The two hole tip requires more focused attention to get a good result. The one hole tip consistently produces better results than the 2 hole, but I can pour art with either.

1.5% fat - uht goat milk (tastes funny both before and after steaming. before steaming it's very sweet, the scent reminds me those --not so high technology production-- milks from my childhood and you expect it to get sweeter after steaming, but surprisingly it doesn't, instead it tastes like skim cow milk tastes pre-steaming)

left: 6oz cappa cup - 1 hole tip
right: 8oz latte cup - 3 hole tip

Very nice looking, thanks for sharing the photos, very inspiring for me to continue in the face of driving frustration,

Are you saying then, that you poured those with the 1.5% milk you described? And you like the flavor your getting with that milk? I suppose depending on what your espresso blend is I could compliment it quite well.

thanks ted,

unlike some other countries, we don't have %4 fat whole milk (so far highest I found was %3,4) in general fat percentage is %3 for whole milk, and for skim milk it's %1,5

uht goat milk is a new product here and it's available only as %1,5 skim milk (and yes those in the photos above poured with %1,5 goat milk), I've tried cow milk from same company but both taste and texture wasn't satisfying. Though there are some other brands' skim milk offerings which I'm able to get much better results compared to some other brands' whole milk offerings.

In north eastern US, the normal is 12% fat for whole milk 4% is harder to find

can't blame people if they prefer half n' half over milk, it tastes good besides some of us should get fat so that "healthy living" people can make a living

Sorry for bumping up an old thread..

But I was wondering how you guys change your technique when frothing different % Milk.

I find with whole milk its relatively easy to get perfect foam for latte art - but I don't like the tastes of whole milk it's way too filling.

With Fat Free I get very thick foam which makes a bush instead of a rosetta lol

With 1% I also get kind of blob like but less so

With 2% It is better, but I have a gallon of 1% at the moment lol

I have mixed about 1/4 whole milk and the rest 1% in the past and got pretty good results.

I was wondering if you can somehow modify steaming technique and still get great microfoam at 0% and 1%.

0% milk? isn't that called water?

But to your point, lower fat milk takes less stretching and more swirling/rolling in the pitcher while steaming. It is also easier to get those medium size bubbles. If you want tip breaches the surface of the milk, it is all over. You will never get all the bubbles out. I will also use less steam on low fat milk. I may just crack the valve so I get about half the normal pressure to better control the milk. The lower viscosity makes it want to roll more in the pitcher. At full pressure, it tends to get rolling so fast it will whirlpool down and the steam tip will get exposed and blast bubbles into the milk. Usually just as you are about to turn it off.

The problem isn't getting huge bubbles in the milk - I still get microfoam.. it just seems thicker.. when I pour I get blobs

That means you have too much foam, stretched too long. Low fat milk takes very little stretching. You also have to get a good vortex in the pitcher to make sure the microfoam is incorporated top to bottom. A little swirl and thump of the pitcher helps.