Fresh Milk vs Recycled Milk

Keeshond

Hi everyone.

I would like to know how many bairstas use fresh milk every single time.

Say you've just made a latte. Do you throw away the remaining milk in the jug completely, before you make your next cappucino?

I know many cafes just re-heat the same milk over and over again. Is this acceptable? Can we view this as a standard practice?

Soy milk, in particular, seems to become over-stretched very quickly. Is this true?

ausrs

Hi everyone. I know many cafes just re-heat the same milk over and over again. Is this acceptable? Can we view this as a standard practice?

YUK re heating milk is a disgusting habit ,i have seen it done before ......and in places like that i choose to drink TEA !!

admin

Hi there Keeshond - no it is no standardly accepted practice, although you do see it [re-heating milk] all too commonly. Bottom line is that no trainers recommend it [in fact all good ones recommend that you don't do it!]. My suggestion is that you use that as a sign that they are not a good cafe for coffee and avoid them, or even say something to the barista, next time you visit! -A

john

If the Barista has a selection of jugs in various sizes and only textures/heats enough milk for each order, then there should not be much waste. JD

JF

I wonder if (from Admins comments re all trainers recommending NOT to do this) this proves that there any too many "untrained" barista's out there? At least you would hope so - otherwise the trained Barista's recycling milk has obviously missed the point. Do you all think this is due to; A) No training (as mentioned above) Cost - is the Barista trying to save a few dollars C) Laziness - can not be stuffed Cheers JF

askthecoffeeguy

there are no excuses for using reheated milk, and it does no favours to the coffee you are drinking. we get around this by pouring the contents of the previous jug, if the are still fresh and worth using, on top of the milk in the 'just heated' jug, so that the same milk is not reheated. and if the milk is not to scratch we through it out i have seen some places place used milk in the fridge, wait for it to chill, and reuse it for hot chocolates and iced coffee, although I'm not sure about the logistics of this from a health and safety point of view. Pat

espressopronto

I cannot condone ANYONE using reheated milk for ANYTHING yuck! yucky yuck yuck yuckity YUCK! Baristas make hundreds of coffees a day and should, at a certain point, be able to know exactly how much milk they need to make certain drinks in certain cups and mugs etc. also, if there is a production line of coffees think about it logically, it's like a puzzle, what two coffees can you make together? are there two macs coming up but not together? make enough milk for them both and you will not have to waste time or extra milk by steaming twice. having said that, you cannot do that for all beverages and it will be more efficient if you use a smaller jug to steam for each beverage ie. lattes, caps etc. and better for quality control. i agree with other postings, you see too many 'baristas' reusing old milk. it will affect the taste, the texture, the smell, everything. just don't do it, please this is one time when recycling is NOT good. :o(

queen_of_coffee

As a barista you are expected to make a perfect and fresh coffee each time round. Through my experience reheating milk is a big NO NO. Try to heat just enough milk for the coffee(s) that you need to make, after some practice you wont have any wastage and your coffee will taste much better.

askthecoffeeguy

I agree - its better to monitor your usage, and discard what you don't need, than to try and rehash the old stuff, which has health regulation implications as well At my work we have probably 15 different milk jugs, of varying shapes and sizes (though nothing bigger than a lt) - for that very purpose! And you can immediately taste the difference in milk quality as well when it has been reheated.   I've seen plenty of places pouring fresh milk on top of steaming hot milk that has just been used, and then blasting away at it again. But I for one won't be buying my coffee from there, or anything else for that matter - not if I can help it!