Steaming oat milk on a home espresso machine
Helpful tips for home baristas
Both professional and beginner home baristas will probably find oat milk slightly more challenging to steam consistently. Please keep on reading for my tips to help you improve and achieve more consistent results when you’re steaming oat milk on your home espresso machine.
Extra aeration
Oat milk requires additional aeration compared to regular dairy milk in order to achieve that beautiful creamy consistency. When I started out as a barista, I would regularly under-aerate it, which resulted in a very hot milk, thin texture and ultimately, poor latte art. Once I figured this trick out and adjusted my steaming technique, it was a game changer!
Heats up faster
Oat milk heats up faster than regular dairy milk. If you’re not using it straight away, I suggest keeping it in the fridge while making the espresso shots and pulling it out only right before steaming it. Doing so will give you more time to aerate it and work on that smooth silky texture.
Slower separation
One of the reasons why I enjoy working with oat milk is that it doesn’t separate as quickly as regular dairy milk. After the steaming process is finished, even if I let the pitcher rest (no swirling) for 10 - 15 seconds, the oat milk holds together well and the latte art still comes out great.
Look for the barista version oat milk
Not any oat milk will do, so my suggestion is to look for the versions suitable for coffee or baristas. These products are specifically designed to work well during frothing and in combination with espresso based coffee drinks. You can also ask around for suggestions at your favorite cafés and try looking up any of the recommended brands in your local grocery store.
Milk steaming technique
In addition to the above, I’ve also written about my milk steaming technique, make sure to have a look at it too.
I hope you find these tips helpful and, if you’d like to dive deeper, you may consider our espresso and latte art home barista workshops. Happy brewing!
