Barista 101: Let's Learn This Together

To contact us Click HERE

Curdled milk is not the whey...in hot espresso drinks.

(I brok my own rule and started writing this one  last week...and saved it. I feel really passionate about the content, so I didn't wanna let it go. But still, I think this post sucks and that in better times I can do better. Oh well, chalk it up to experience and...publish. Always publish.).

Part of being awesome is admitting when you don't know something. It's OK to admit that you do not know everything. Unless you grew up in one of those your parents came from the older, harder and harsh country to this country and you were born here-and the pressure cooker to be perfect and never make mistakes upbringing, then you won't be able to relate on how hard it is to admit that you did not know something or made a simple mistake (which is freekin' natural).  Not me,  I'll admit when I don't know something. There is no shame in that.

The shame is when you are trying to figure something out, but then fail because you obviously don't know that little something something you need to know and you are too pigheaded (no offense to any pig heads out there) to admit it (like the mythical/stereotype/scenario that all dudes never ask for directions when they are lost (6), ...but you don't/won't/can't admit to it. pre-Anywhoo....

Google "crudling espresso drinks" and a million gazillion sites come up.

I don't know what symbolic file to put this one under. Is it urban legends, or something that only  cafe and restaurant employees talk about, like, customers. It could be a question that housewives ask and answer in the morin' hello's-just passing by's- off to somewheres, or it could be one of the he most frequently asked questions in industry forums-n-such. Hell, maybe it's just something that I have wondered about but never took the time to check it out, aka something I don't know. Here it is.

Why do the fruity flavors curdle the milk in hot espresso drinks. The best success rate is raspberry, and yet, sometimes even that one curdles. All the other flavors it's, like, totally a lose nine drinks to curdling, win one ratio when you use any other fruit flavor beside rasp. (raps is, like 7-10 ratio in the win column).

OK, revoke my Skeptics Card on this one. I never tried to solve this one and the little looking up I did got me so pumped up...I'm going right for the writing ( this time).  I haven't solved it yet, but this is what I have so far.

(Loud knocking sound in my head and my moi-grain, le knoch, le knock! ) 

"Hello Kriss, is anybody home, cause your falling asleep at the wheel." The guy (c'est moi) that always says everything, all experience as mere humans know it is a chemical reaction happening in the brain (4), a mechanics of *something something* happening in the brain (Team Materialist),  didn't even autonomically try (3) to think about the why's and how's of three liquids at different temperatures getting all mixed up in the same vessel, and then getting fucked up in the process in the form of curdling, is something that could be called a "chemical reaction" (I just quoted myself), and if it is called that, then that reaction is what all the cool kids are call science. Dugh. Hello. I dropped the ball on that one. I'm doing push ups right now (5). Here's the totally little I've checked out so far.

This is a very good effort from a manuel technique and with hemp mi8lk at that. If this was from a pro-machine in a real cafe (not home brew), then the effort is below average and rather...weak sauce.

This guy is asking for a barista chemist. Better living thur chemistry I always say. Yippieeeeee

This forum starts of with the order of operations (I just thought that up, because I was thinkz 'bout teh maths earlier), and just like in anyother forum, for any subject, lot's  of times the exchanges in the comments section don't even address the question and you halfta weed thru them all to find the the tid-bit gems that actually address the question. ALL FORUMS. Anyhoo...

Two things stood out 1) the order the ingredients of the drink is poured makes a difference (the order of operations)  and 2) temperature. Me...they are symbiotic.

Scenario/remedies...if you put the (room temperature) flavor shot in the hot milk and espresso last then the likeliness of kerrdle increases. If you put the espresso in first (hot) then the flavor shot (room temp) and then the steamed milk on top then the drink might kerrdal, but with lower probability (higher chance of success) . I think this is why the other fruit flavors might or might not cerdail. It seems that raspberry is the best bet, although I have seen that kerdell also.

I'm not one of those poser-baristas that use an automatic machine, but even I would yield to the person that uses this.

It is something about the different temperatures of the ingredients plus acid-ic-ness of the fruit (did I mention that this only happens with he fruity flavors, not like vanilla's of the world, nutty...) that makes the espresso drink look like it has cottage cheese in it. Somehow if the two have a temperature buffer, like chocolate and/or espresso, then it will bring the probability that the fruit flavor acid kerdelling will NOT happen. One of the suggestions said to put the flavor in the milk and steam it together. Makes sense right. right.

Here's the difference between us and them (you know who you are). On the surface we (sorta) now know why fruit-espresso-milk-drink will kerdell or not. It's because there is a difference between the temperatures of two things, and one of those things is acidic.. we know "why", but what about "how."(2).

Is this the difference between alchemy and chemistry, between the old ways of thinking  and the new (better in many ways) modern and awesome thinking called (in fact it's not even called thinking anymore. I need to come up with something better, but...) post-thinking. Is this the difference between humans and animals that Iiiiii keep talking about (I admit it, I mention that one a lot). Perhaps it, this thing, the knowing-really, the knowing of why milk curdels in a hot espresso drink when you add a fruity flavor shot to it-over not knowing...this space between...naw, it's not that important. Anyhoo part deux....

What I wanna know is...what is it about the acid compounds in the fruit flavor that dissipates at blank blank temperature, and because of this reason and that reason, it adheres to the principles of chemistry, and that is why when you add a fruit flavor to an espresso drink, sometimes, it kurdelles.

I'll admit it. I don't know why...yet. I'll also state that just knowing this much is not enuff for this lil' nor-Cal skeptic. It is this knowing that separates us from those wild, kooky and not as smart as us animals.

(Does this make sense. Who cares..publish and let the chips (criticism) fall where it may. It's sunny outside and I'm gonna make me some vitamin D. Lates) . Go Niner's

(1) That is the brand that my work uses, so to me it synonymous with flavoring for a drink. It could be any brand. Whatevahhhhhhh.

(2) Yes, I realize that the "how's" and"why's" can be put in any order. so what, eye-hole-o-oooo's...

(3) You can't autonomically try. I wanna make a good joke here, but I'm too stupid too right now.

* For sure this is not an experiment or were actual survey's used...unless there is a survey matching in my brain...

(4) If a tree falls in the forest and there is no mere human, not even one, with a fully evolved human brain-model year 2012, to experience the falling of said tree-with one or more of the five senses that we all have, then did that tree-that all the all the cool kids keep talking about-because they took that ONE philosophy class as a junior-so they think that they are the shit now...fall.

As the french say, "Non."

Is reality to be experienced

(5) If you are such a goober/nerd/geek and you don't know the reference (because you didn't play team sports) it is...when you make any easy-mistake, like not catch a ball that was easy to catch, or hustle on a play in practice or a game (better hustle in the game, yo), quit, act like anything that is not an unfeeling robot jock, AND you make an easy mistake, then to punish yourself before coach punishes you just drop where you are and do (at least) ten pushups.

* The original original question was about adding some kinda citrus flavor to the espresso: how's/why's. Some said put lemon zest in the basket no harm done and some said "NOBY ALL MEANS, NEVER DO THAT. ONLY EXPRESSO SHOULD COME OUT OF THE BASKET."

And that y friends will be the next urban coffee  myth I bust. Why not put anything tru the basket. Its steel and compressed...Lates

(6) The stereotype/myth is that all men automatically DO NOT ask for directions when they are lost (your skeptic meter should be going off right now). The fist clue that should be hitting you on the head so hard it almost knock's you out is...whenever there is a statement that claims that ALLLLLL of a certain group does one certain behavior (i.e. not asking for directions), then that is baloney  Is it true that all black dudes cannotswim or ski, but can sing and dance...very well. Is it true that ALL Asian peeps are totally super good at teh maths and can fix your computer-hella fast and hella cheap (no). Is it true that there is more crime when the full/fools moon occurs once a month. the answer is...no.

What is true is that people notice that a crime is happening MORE when there is a full moon (correlation/causation) than when a crime occurs and there is not a full moon (I think so). I don't know when the stereotype of Asian peeps being better and naturally great at teh maths came to be, but it's teh wrong. The sterotype of guys NEVER ask for directions is the same thing.

Maybe guys drive more often than not when dude goes out with his awesome lady. Women get lost also, but in the couple or family driving scenario the dudes are driving are a far higher rate, so they are naturally getting lost at a higher rate, so it seems like when they do not ask for directions it is an always situation.

Or not...                                                                    ...that is a very long way for a lame joke. Wa wa waaaaaaaaaaa....