Anyone can make a latte. It is not true that you need to be a barista to make yourself one at home. All you need to do is to follow and perfect these 7 easy steps on how to make a latte with an espresso machine.
Step 1: Coffee Should Be At Perfect Temperature
It is vital that the coffee is at the best temperature for a latte. This will be an ease since most coffee makers have an indicator, usually a red light that will come on when the coffee is hot enough. Surprisingly, your cup must be preheated as well. Try pouring boiling water into it and letting it sit for 30 seconds to one minute. Afterwards, wipe it dry and start the latte making process.
Step 2: Grind To Perfection
Most baristas have perfected the grinding process after years of practice. You, on the other hand, can make it on your first try. For beginning, grind it bristly. Observe the grinder and see if there are any shots produced at all. If there is nothing, keep on grinding. Eventually, the extraction process will produce the perfect cream that will go on top. The flow shot should take somewhere from 25 - 30 seconds to complete. Make sure that the flow is steady for the whole duration.
Step 3: Portafilter
Place your choice of ground coffee on the port filter. Your hand to make sure there is no excess coffee into the filter and prepare it for tamping.
Step 4: How To Make a Latte With An Espresso Machine? Watch the Tamping Process
Use your tamper for pressure on your porta filter filled with ground coffee. Hopefully, you have a, solid level, entry tamper. There are a lot of tampers available, just choose what is easier to use for your convenience. Estimate the pressure you apply. Somewhere between 25 pounds to 30 pounds is the right amount. If you go over or under that, the product will be uneven and expect poor-quality cream.
Step 5: Extracting the Ground Coffee
Make sure that there are no bits of old coffee stuck in the filter. Try pressing down on the extraction button for four seconds. Then, quickly place the porta filter into the espresso machine and press the same button again. It is imperative that you insert the porta filter to lessen the risk of burnt ground beans that give a bitter taste. The extraction process will take about 30 seconds. Note that the espresso shot should go directly to the cup where the cream is.
Step 6: The Milk
The milk is one of the most important parts about how to make a latte with an espresso machine. The perfect latte milk is one that is creamy and velvet like in consistency. The best type of milk you can use is the full cream alternative. Pour cold milk into your stainless steel jug until the pouring dip. Use a steam wand no more than 1 centimeter underneath the surface of the jug. Turn on the wand. Stop when you hear the milk make a hissing sound indicating that it has expanded. Once the milk reaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit, bring your wand to the center of the jug and keep on steaming until it reaches 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 7: Latte Art
This is the part where you incorporate your creativity in making your latte. Finally, pour your expanded milk. Shake your jug from left to right while pouring the milk so that more foam comes out. If your milk is too silky, latte art will be very difficult to do.
So, as you read on this article if you follow this simples rules you will never have a problem about how to make a latte with an espresso machine.