Milk temperature, texture and coffee flavour

Milk temperature, texture, and coffee flavour.

This post is a follow-on from milk and coffee. It is more of an open question than a list of facts or reasons for doing things.

In food service, it is common for professionals to heat milk-based drinks to a point where it is not great for the gut, let alone your palate. If we think a little bit about why we like a certain temperature of drink it can change by the day itself. If it is freezing outside and we just want to be warmed up, that might be a different call from drinking in 40C. In my experience, there is one thing that doesn’t change, which is coffee flavour at specific temperatures.

For this to work, we have to assume that we have an optimum and consistent extraction. (Scales and timers are always useful here). It has been said that I have too much time because I ask questions about things (often admittedly to myself).

To optimise the best milk-based cup of coffee for me…I look for:

In my mind the lower the temperature of dairy, (within bounds) the more coffee flavour.

Lowering the volume of air in milk will improve texture.  I like to feel that my drink is almost melting as I drink it.

Keeping the cup size smaller will make the experience more intense and just better, in general.

Where do you stand on this one? I bought a toy to experiment and it’s genius.