Are you ready to discover our new drink? We present our competition cappuccino . And it's here to stay.
It is a latte prepared with previously frozen and distilled milk. It's like regular milk, but better! The difference is in how it is prepared.
First things first: what does it get its name from?
It is a cappuccino in the literal sense of the word but its origin is in the World Barista Championship organized in 2017, thanks to the finalist Ben Hunt who presented this drink.
Well, but what is this milk that is used?
It's just plain old fresh milk. We recommend using whole milk, although it is also possible to use milk with a lower fat content. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten it to work with alternative milks yet.
The process to obtain this milk is to freeze it and then distill it, that is, to separate the elements of the milk. There seems to be a lot of science behind it but it is very simple: reduce the water content in milk.
By freezing the milk and then placing it in the refrigerator until approximately half of the contents melt (this takes no more and no less than 30 hours!) we get the components of the milk with a lower melting point to melt first That the others. That is, the protein and minerals in milk melt before the water.
The result? A much creamier milk, intense in flavor, and with greater sweetness.
So, a competition cappuccino is a latte prepared with this milk.
We use the resulting thawed milk like any milk. If you order a competition cappuccino we will make you a hot drink, with steamed milk. Come on, a cappuccino with extra flavor and texture. By steaming this milk, which in itself is already creamier, we will achieve a delicate texture and the characteristic sweetness of the milk protein is enhanced.
But we don't want to limit you: you can also order it cold and enjoy the softness and density of this milk. It gives us notes of salted caramel cookie , but it only has coffee and milk!
Okay, now you may be wondering: if it is so good, why isn't it in all coffee shops?
The truth is that this milk requires a lot of preparation time. As we mentioned, it takes about 12 hours to freeze and another 30 hours to melt the milk to ensure not breaking the cold chain.
In addition, there is a key factor and that is that only half of the milk that is frozen is used. This would be an unjustified waste for cafeterias. For us it is not: the other half of the milk that is not used is perfectly suitable for cooking, so it goes to our sister cafeteria, Misión Café, and there they make the most of it.
Tips and tricks if you want to try it at home
The first thing is to emphasize the importance of using fresh, whole milk to obtain the best results in terms of flavor and texture. We recommend using a plastic container or bottle when freezing and (this is important!) not filling it completely. Milk expands when frozen, so it can overflow if the bottle does not have enough space.
The steps are super easy:
- Place the milk bottle in the freezer until it is completely frozen.
- Once frozen, leave the milk bottle upside down inside another container so that it drips little by little.
- Take the two containers to the refrigerator and let half of the contents melt, it will take approximately a day and a half.
- Once melted, use this milk to prepare a latte, or give a twist to your cereals. You can use the milk that remains in the bottle for cooking.
As a last piece of advice, if you consider that the milk is too sweet for your taste, you can always mix it with a little fresh old milk to balance the two drinks.
We know that once you try it you will like it as much as we do.
Niki Villegas
