Milk foam is stiff and dry
The foam holds its shape like meringue and sits on the coffee as a separate layer instead of folding into it.
Applies to: Espresso machine, Cappuccino, Latte, Flat white
Likely causes and adjustments
Try one adjustment at a time so you know what actually changed the result. Start with the first cause below — if it doesn't help, reveal the next.
Cause 1 of 3 · Commonly the cause
Too much air introduced during steaming
Did the tearing sound continue for more than a few seconds?
Shorten the aeration phase and spend the time on the whirlpool instead.
Related issues
Learn the technique
Step-by-step guides to the skills this problem comes from.
- Steaming milkProduce hot milk with a fine, integrated foam that pours as one liquid rather than as foam sitting on milk.
- Making microfoamReduce the air in steamed milk to bubbles too small to see, so the foam and the liquid behave as one substance.
- Pouring latte artPlace textured milk on the surface of an espresso in a controlled pattern, by managing height, flow and cup angle.