Most people simply pour their store-bought coffee into their coffee filter every morning and lazily brew up a pot of wake up juice to get their day going. But you are different. You have chosen to open your eyes to the world of coffee around you so you can truly experience the art of growing, preparing and brewing coffee. Good for you. You will experience a level of enjoyment when drinking coffee that only a select few will ever have.

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After you spend a little time diving in and learning about coffee, you will quickly find that there are multiple ways to prepare the coffee long before it is ever poured into a bag for you to take home. In fact, there are many different ways that coffee is prepared with two of the main preparation methods being washed and unwashed coffee. Each of these methods brings its own strengths and weaknesses to your coffee table and can greatly impact the flavor of your coffee long before it reaches your French press or drip coffee maker.


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Understanding the Bean

First, it is important to understand what the coffee bean is and how it is prepared. Understanding at least a little bit about this process can help you understand why some coffee tastes differently from others and can help you predict how some coffee could taste when you venture out into the world to try new and interesting coffees.

Coffee is actually a fruit, not a bean like many believe. The coffee cherry is usually a red or yellow fruit that contains two seeds that are surrounded by a soft layer of mucilage and a thin skin known as the parchment. The processing of coffee begins with the cherry harvested from the plant. Once it is harvested, the bean must be separated from the cherry without losing the aroma that is contained within the mucilage.

Washed Coffee

Washed coffee, also referred to as the wet process, the coffee cherry is pulped by a machine referred to as a pulper. Big surprise there. This means that the outer layer of skin is removed. Once this outer layer has been removed, the bean with is mucilage is then fermented in water for at least one to two days and sometimes longer. After the fermentation process, the bean is then washed from its mucilage after it has released its aroma.

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Of all the coffee processing methods, this method often produces the highest quality coffee. However, it requires a lot of skill and water in order to perform correctly. Some of the world’s finest (and often most expensive) coffees are created using this process.

Unwashed Coffee

Unwashed coffee, also referred to as both natural coffee processing or the dry process, is what I would call the classic approach to coffee preparation. Basically, this is the oldest preparation method that has been in use for hundreds of years. In this process, first the coffee cherries are washed and then they are dried in the sun. Once the drying process is complete, the green seed is then removed from the fermented, dried cherry.

The removal of the bean is the most difficult and risky process when producing coffee using this method as there is very little control on the process of the bean removal. However, this process still doesn’t require as much skill as the washed process meaning it is a much easier process and is widely used among coffee producers around the world.

Semi-washed Coffee

Using the semi-washed method, aspects of both the washed and unwashed methods are combined. In this process, the out skins are removed, but the pulp is allowed to remain and dry in the sun. Once the drying process is complete, often the pulp is wet and then the beans are removed just like they are in the dry process.

Flavor Differences

While how you prepare your coffee definitely affects how your coffee will taste, how the coffee beans are prepared before roasting and brewing is the largest contributing factor to the flavor of the coffee we make every day. It may surprise you when you taste the differences in coffee processed in the washed and unwashed methods. Each coffee producer will undoubtedly claim that their method is the best, but in my experience both methods bring a wonderful variety to the coffee we pour for ourselves every morning.

Washed Method

This is a relatively new process to preparing coffee when you take a look at the long history of the human love affair with coffee. This process often creates a bean that is much cleaner and brighter and tastes much fruitier than the unwashed method. If you prefer your coffee to be a little more on the acidic side, finding a bean prepared using the washed method is essential.
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Unwashed Method

The unwashed method, also known as the dry-process, creates a coffee that is heavy in body but remains sweet and very smooth and complex. In many cases, countries that have a very dry climate such as Indonesia, Ethiopia and Brazil use this method. These countries have plenty of sun to make sure that the beans are dried properly compared to many other areas.

Semi-Washed Method

The general consensus is the unwashed method produces a bolder coffee with more body and increased complexity, while the washed method produces a much more acidic coffee with enhanced clarity. Beans created using the semi-washed process are an attempt to combine the best of both worlds of the two methods, often giving a bolder coffee with increased acidity when compared to the other methods.

If you came to this post hoping to discover which type of coffee was better, I’m afraid you will read this without getting the answers you hoped. You see, in the end it all comes down to your personal taste. Both the washed and the unwashed methods can create a truly amazing coffee bean that provides enough body and flavor to impress even the most critical of coffee aficionados. But, like everything in life, not everyone will agree. Some will prefer the fruitier tastes that the washed method brings while others will enjoy the sweeter full body coffees created by the unwashed method.

While these two different processes are quite distinct from one another, there is one thing they have in common, and no, I’m not talking about the coffee beans. Both of these preparation methods can create a truly unique and amazing coffee experience that will delight your taste buds and keep you coming back for more day after day after day. If you want to find the best tasting coffee using these methods, I encourage you to get out there and experiment. Try coffees created using both methods and see which ones delight your tastes buds or cause you to have that sour face when you take a drink. You may find that you prefer one method over the other, or you may even enjoy both and be able to appreciate the subtle differences each preparation process brings to your coffee mug.

Recommended Reading

What’s the Deal with Honey and Pulped Natural Coffees

What's the deal with Honey and Pulped Natural Coffees anyway? Learn all you need to know about this coffee process right here.

How to Buy The Best Coffee Beans

Why settle for good coffee when it could be great? All you need are the best coffee beans. Finding them is pretty easy, if you know what to look for.

The Difference Between Arabica and Robusta Coffee Beans

Find out the differences between arabica and robusta coffee beans so you know what you are buying when you head out to stock up on coffee beans.

The Truth About Decaf Coffee (and How It’s Made)

Learn everything you ever wanted to know about decaf coffee including how it is made and the health benefits it brings. 

A Complete List Of Every Type of Coffee That Exists

Check out this list of every type of coffee that exists so you can find a new type of coffee to enjoy whenever you are ready to try something new.



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For years, how you take your coffee—black or otherwise—has been a litmus test used by many, fairly or not, to assess your commitment to quality. Except in one area: espresso. In the world of espresso-based beverages, milk is a welcome friend, an ally, and an honored ingredient that is treated with respect and care . . . mostly.
Despite the importance milk plays in most café drinks (it’s roughly eighty-three percent of a twelve-ounce latte!), many baristas don’t take the time to pay close attention to this most crucial of ingredients as they steam it.

A few years ago, I walked into a lovely café and ordered a cappuccino. A few minutes later, my name was called, followed by the words, “Cappuccino on the bar!” I left my seat and walked over to the counter to collect my drink. What sat there was not good. Without even getting close to the surface of the froth, I could smell that the milk was burned. The bubbles that constituted the foam were huge, and created an image like the saddest meringue in the world, relegated to sitting unceremoniously on top of a bed of lava-hot milk and coffee. The mug couldn’t even hold all of it, and frothed milk spilled over the side onto the saucer.

My mother taught me to never judge a book by its cover (although Danny, the Champion of the World is just as boring as the cover indicates), so I took a sip, hoping for the best, and expecting exactly what it ended up being—unbearably bad. Here’s the thing: the espresso at this café is actually pretty good. They do a great job roasting coffee, and their blending skills are top notch. How tragic then that the staff in the café doesn’t complement the lovely coffee with milk that is steamed as carefully as the espresso is pulled.

Milk is hugely important. We need to steam it and care for it with that importance in mind.

Just like coffee, freshness matters, and storing milk properly affects freshness. Milk needs to be stored in a refrigerator, and should be returned to the refrigerator right after use. This ensures that not only are your customers getting delicious beverages, they’re getting safe beverages as well.

When it’s time to steam milk for a beverage, grab a pitcher, and pour enough milk so that the pitcher is between one-third and half full, depending on the size of drink you’re making. Then—and this is perhaps the most important thing you’ll read today—purge the steam wand. How? Point the steam wand tip into the drain tray on the espresso machine, or into a bar towel. Now turn it on, wait a second, and turn it off. Done!

It’s tremendously important to purge the steam wand before (and after) steaming for a couple of reasons. First, as steam hangs out in the wand and cools, it condenses into water. That water will be the first thing that shoots out of the steam wand when you turn it on, so unless you want hot water in your fresh, cold milk, a quick purge should eliminate that. Second, when you finish steaming milk, a small vacuum is created that can suck milk into the wand. While most modern espresso machines have systems to keep that milk from traveling all the way back into the steam boiler, there is still hot milk potentially sitting in your hot steam wand. After a few slow minutes on the bar, that milk is definitely not something I want spraying into my next customer’s drink.

With your wand purged, you’re ready to steam some milk. Submerge the end of the wand into the milk, just below the surface, and turn on the steam pressure. Lower the pitcher slightly and aerate (froth) the milk, allowing the steam tip to rest right around the surface of the milk, which creates a sound of rushing air.

Aeration must be complete before 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or when the milk is just warm to the touch. After this temperature, the structure of the foam starts to change into something we don’t want, so once it reaches about body temp, you are done aerating.

Next, submerge the end of the steam wand so that it is well beneath the surface of the milk, but not quite touching the walls or bottom of the pitcher. You’re now going to heat and whip the milk to approximately 150 degrees, which is just beyond the temperature where you can hold your hand against the pitcher. You’ll probably want to adjust the angle of the steam wand to encourage the milk to spin in a vortex, which will whip the texture throughout the milk. When the pitcher becomes too hot to hold, turn off the steam pressure, remove the pitcher, and purge the wand again.

Those are the basics of steaming a single pitcher of milk. It takes practice, and you shouldn’t feel bad if you struggle the first few times. I struggled at first, and so did everyone else. It’s the commitment to sticking with it that makes all the difference.
Next time, we’ll talk more about steaming, and then how to pour that beautiful milk over your perfect espresso to make a beverage that’s “too pretty to drink.”


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It’s super exciting owning your own coffee machine, but figuring out how to steam milk can be a real trial and error endeavour, and as fun as that experimentation can be, most of us just want our damn good morning coffee. So I have tried to compile all my knowledge of steaming milk and condense it into 5 tips for you to use to get you on your way to becoming milk pros!

When we talk about steaming milk, there are a few points to really consider in helping you. The ultimate goal is to produce a beautifully textured and creamy product that mixes well with your espresso shot. If your milk texture is too thick and bubbly, it will feel more like you are eating your frothy concoction rather than drinking a smooth liquid. You also don’t want to cook your milk so hot that you have to leave it for 20 minutes before it’s drinkable.

All of the tips and tricks I am discussing here are transferable across all alternative milks as well. One difference, however, is in relation to temperature, such as how almond milk does not need to be heated as much as cows milk to avoid an added bitterness. Test it out and see what best suits your palate. You can always e-mail us below for further questions.

So here are some things to look out for:

1.    First things first- fresh is best. Re-steaming milk won’t act as a simple reheat. It will continue to cook and burn the milk, giving your coffee a strange, burnt or bitter flavour.

 

2.    Temperature. The temperature of your milk is very important. If the milk is heated too much, the proteins in the milk go through a change that is not fixed by simply cooling it down again. This is referring to the denaturing of proteins. The fats in full cream milk also undergo a physical change in chemical composition when heated well past 70degrees. In a cafe, your barista is aiming to heat the milk to somewhere between 60-65degrees and 70degrees for extra hot. 

The temperature of the milk can also be your best friend in adjusting your final foam level, but I will delve into that in more detail later. 

When steaming your milk, place your dominant hand around the jug. Avoid putting it underneath the base of the jug as this will not be as accurate of a gauge for the temperature. You will feel the temperature of the milk heat up on your palm as you are steaming. You’re indicator for the right temperature will happen when you cannot hold the jug for 3 consecutive seconds. That’s you’re signal to turn off the steam wand. For extra hot drinkers, continue steaming for an extra 1-3 seconds depending on your jug size (another tip for you extra hot drinkers: pre heat your mug before pouring in the espresso and milk so the glass or ceramic doesn’t leach out the heat). A great way of truly measuring your milk temperature is to use a thermometer (we have them online if you need it). You can use it to train your hand and perception of heat until you feel comfortable working without it.

 

3.    The volume of milk you use. The amount of milk you use in the pitcher or jug can either make your life a walk in the park or a walk over needles. When first learning, you should fill the pitcher somewhere between the bottom of the spout and 1cm above the bottom of the spout. Under filling your pitcher may cause your milk to spin wildly out of control and it may turn out super bubbly. It will also heat up very quickly. Over fill your jug too much, and you may find the milk ending up on your bench instead of in your coffee before it’s even warm! If you need to under or over fill your pitcher to cater for your cup size, consider a different sized jug.

 

4.    Foaming your milk. This is a longer point as it is often one that people struggle with the most when learning. Foaming the milk is what determines whether you are drinking a flat white, cappuccino or a babycino. It is not an easy thing to master and certainly takes a lot of practice due to the mass amount of variables that go into foaming your milk, but I shall try simplify it so it is easier to understand. 

Foaming the milk, or texturing the milk, is the process of adding air into the liquid, thickening it up to mix into the espresso shot. The more air you add to the milk, the thicker it becomes. No air for flat whites, lots of air for cappuccinos. The addition of air occurs when you hear the ‘tssk tssk’ sound coming from your pitcher and steam wand, and it is this sound that will become one of your best friends in foaming milk. You make this sound by lowering the pitcher slightly whilst steaming so that the air holes on the steam wand are just - only JUST - above the milk and open to the air. When determining how much air you wish to add, this can come down to trial and error. Unfortunately I cannot provide you a number of seconds to count, as each jug size is different and each coffee machine is different with different steam wand pressures, but I can give a few tips to help you figure it out for yourself. 

My first tip is in relation to temperature. For a smooth, creamy milk texture with microfoam (when the bubbles added are so fine you can barely see them, and the foam has a creamy raw meringue texture), all the air should be added before the milk temperature hits around 38degrees. I call this hand temperature. Pay attention to your milk temperature in the initial stages of heating. You will notice a point when the jug switches from feeling cold to feeling warm. Right in the middle, there is a microsecond moment where you can’t feel the temperature. This is because it is the same temperature as your hand. Once you have hit this point, and the jug suddenly feels warm rather than cold, stop adding air. 

The final stages of heating the milk from here on should focus on mixing the added air into the liquid. This is how we make the milk taste creamy. If you were to add air into the milk when the milk is hot, a couple of things happen. 1. The milk does not have enough time to mix everything in the jug together, often causing large bubbles and froth that separates from the liquid. 2. The texture of the milk may end up too thick and bubbly, more towards the babycino side of froth rather than foam. 3. Consider you are adding air for the full duration of the steaming process – there will be so much air added into the milk that you’re coffee will be so incredibly thick, you will need to spoon it down rather than sip. Of course - for my frothy coffee lovers – by all means, aerate away.

Another friend of yours will be sound. You may have noticed that sometimes your steam wand and milk will screech at you. It’s not the nicest of sounds. When the screeching sounds, one of two things are happening in your milk: 1. The overall milk temperature is too hot, or 2. There is no air in the milk. Even for flat whites in the cafe, we add a couple of ‘tssk’s of air to help avoid this sound. It won’t add too much foam and will certainly sound more pleasant to steam.

 

5.    Finally – the spin. Spinning the milk acts to mix the liquid and the air together, as I have mentioned above. A controlled spin of the milk in the jug helps to create that creamy texture and reduces your chance of accidentally adding more air. The alternative to spinning the milk is folding the milk, which is much less controllable and often leaves spillages on the floor and bench. 

To achieve the spin, I suggest lining up your steam wand in line with your body before you start. Place the wand tip in the centre of your jug, with the holes only just submerged beneath the milk. Then, tilt your jug on an angle about 20degress to the right or left (whatever is most comfortable for you). By angling the wand in relation to the jug like this, you are telling the steam to spin around the edges of the jug as opposed to straight down the middle. This should create your spin for you without you needing to move a muscle.

 

So there are my few little tips on steaming milk at home to create that milky texture you experience in a cafe. If you have any questions or need further explanation on any of these points, please don’t hesitate to ask! We love it when you ask questions!

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