Cold foam is a creamy, smooth, and slightly sweet complement to any delightful iced coffee drink. But what is it exactly, and why would you want to utilize it? The most crucial question is, how do you make cold foam for coffee?
Continue reading to find out everything you need to know about cold foam, including where it came from, how to prepare it, and what kind of milk is ideal. You’ll be mixing up smooth, creamy beverages in no time!
What is cold foam?
Cold foam is defined as cold milk that has been whipped into a froth. The main difference between this and conventional steamed or frothed milk is the lack of heat! Although cold foam was invented earlier, Starbucks is credited with popularizing it. In 2014, the well-known coffee chain launched its sweetened cold foam. You may now request it on top of any iced Starbucks drink.
What is the origin of cold foam?
Although there is no precise timeframe for the evolution of frothy non-fat milk as a coffee topping, Japanese cold beverage businesses have been tending towards over-the-top foam drinks for some years.
Around 2012, the beer firm Kirin developed a machine that, similar to a frozen yogurt machine, dispensed frozen beer head atop its beverages. Other Japanese enterprises quickly followed, developing similar stunt beer equipment to produce foamy toppings rivaling a Guinness. Breweries in the United States are increasingly following suit.
Starbucks’ addition of cold foam appears to have coincided with the expanding popularity of cheese tea in the United States, as well as its hot custardy relative, Vietnamese egg coffee — all of which have a distinctive appearance with a thick float of cream on top of tea or coffee.
Starbucks’ salted cream cold foam closely resembles the saltiness of a cheese tea. This drink originated in Taiwan and became famous in mainland China, albeit the cold foam lacks the heaviness and flavor of the whipped cream cheese composition.
Greece’s coffee culture deserves some of the credit as well. The country’s outdoor cafe culture revolves around foamy iced coffees. The recipe for Greek frappes dates to 1957, when a Nescafe salesman made an iced coffee with sugar, water, and instant coffee using a Nesquik shaker.
The resulting beverage — iced instant coffee with a foamy, milk-free head — quickly became a popular beverage served almost everywhere in Greece. Cappuccino freddos (Freddo meaning cold), also popular in Greece, are nearly identical to Starbucks cold foam beverages. A cold milk foam topping is frothed using special shakers or whisks and laid on thick over the top of iced espresso in the drink.
Why should you use cold foam?
Why would you choose cold foam over steaming milk? You don’t need to apply heat when drinking iced coffee. Cold foam will also stay on top of your drink for a longer period. When heated milk is poured over ice, there is a potential that germs will proliferate.
The best milk for making cold foam
Have you ever wished you could produce this foam at home? Whether you’re looking for a fresh iced coffee recipe or you’re sick of the same old chocolate syrup or cream topping on your latte, milk foam should be at the top of your list. The foam is simple to manufacture at home; just be sure to use genuine ingredients.
When producing the foam, the ideal milk to use is 2 percent fat milk or low-fat milk. This milk can produce high-volume, long-lasting small milk bubbles which make cold foam so delicious.
Consider this: the more air you introduce into the milk, the more bubbles it generates. This will produce an extremely fine and velvety textured cold foam that is fantastic on top of various iced coffee drinks.
When you want to pamper yourself after a long day of work, use half-and-half or heavy cream instead of low-fat milk. Using half and half or heavy cream results in an even richer and creamier froth that is very delicious.
Most air bubbles like to trap themselves in thicker, fatter milk, which is why producing the foam with half & half, or just heavy cream, will work wonderfully and taste even better than using non-fat milk.
Starbucks’ cold foam
Starbucks’ cold foam is created with non-fat milk and a special mixer to generate flawlessly smooth, textured foam with tiny bubbles.
In addition to conventional cold foam, there are flavored cold foams created with heavy cream. Salted caramel cream cold foam, vanilla, sweet cream cold foam, and a seasonal pumpkin cream cold foam are all available.
Cold foam can be personalized! Try adding cold matcha foam (matcha combined with cold foam), pumpkin cold foam to your drink (pumpkin spice syrup blended with cold foam), or cold strawberry foam (strawberry puree sauce blended with cold foam).
Any iced drink at Starbucks can be ordered with cold foam for an additional fee.
Cold foam vs. Vanilla sweet cream
Starbucks cold foam is whipped nonfat milk that is served on top of cold brew coffee beverages. Each taste of a cold foam-topped drink from one of the new strawless cups is a delicious combination of coffee and cream. You may think of it as the ideal sip.
To clarify, Starbucks cold foam is more than aerated cold milk. The non-fat milk is beaten at high speed in a special, bladeless blender. The end result is a “foam” that resembles melting ice cream.
Of course, you may request cold foam on top of any Starbucks beverage, but it’s best served with a cold brew or nitro cold brew.
Baristas can also prepare cold foam with any sort of milk. However, it may not be as frothy as nonfat dairy milk.
What is vanilla, sweet cream?
Starbucks vanilla sweet cream is a straightforward combination of vanilla syrup, 2% milk, and heavy cream. This vanilla-flavored cream adds just the right amount of creaminess to a cup of cold brew coffee. Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew is a very popular summertime beverage.
However, if you order a drink with sweet vanilla cream, the cream is not combined into a froth.
I suppose you might compare this cream to a thinner vanilla whipped cream that hasn’t been beaten.
If you look at the Starbucks menu picture, you’ll notice that the sweet cream cascades across the cold brew. There is also no pillowy layer on top.
This leads us to the sweet vanilla cream cool foam.
What is vanilla, sweet cream cold foam?
Starbucks vanilla sweet cream cold foam is nothing more than vanilla, sweet cream mixed into a creamy foam. Pour the cream mixture into the cold-foam blender to create vanilla sweet cream cold foam!
As Starbucks describes it, the end product is a cloud of vanilla sweet cream cold foam.
Making cold foam for coffee:
Ingredients:
- Non-fat milk
- Sugar (or honey)
1. Using a blender
1. Mix the milk and sugar.
Stir and mix ¼ cup milk with a splash of honey or sugar. If you want your cold foam to be sweeter, you can change this ratio. Alternatively, omit the sugar!
2. Froth using a blender.
Froth the milk mixture with a blender, milk frother, or food processor until thick and creamy. You want the foam to last as long as possible, so don’t stop blending too soon.
3. Add it to your favorite iced beverage!
Pour your cool foam into any iced coffee beverage, such as cold brew, iced coffee, or an iced latte. Cold foam does not store well because it is made up of little bubbles. Therefore we recommend preparing small batches and utilizing them within a day or two.
2. French press method
This method produces ideal cold foam with tiny, homogeneous bubbles.
- Fill a French press halfway with chilled half-and-half and sweetener.
- Place the lid on top and move the plunger up and down. The volume of the half-and-half will more than double.
- Drizzle cold foam over an iced beverage.
3. Handheld milk frother method
This is the second-best way to generate cold foam because the bubbles are larger and more irregular, but a handheld milk frother, like the Aerolatte milk frother, is easier to clean than a French press.
- Using a handheld milk frother, whisk together half and half and sugar. The frothy cold foam should take around 20 seconds to form.
- Place a dollop of chilled foam on top of an iced beverage.
4. Using a jar to make cold foam
If you don’t have any of the aforementioned equipment, you can manufacture cold foam with a resealable jar. For this technique, you could, for example, use a mason jar.
You could even use a resealable storage jar like I am, or an empty jam jar that has been carefully cleaned. It does not have to be the most beautiful to be effective.
To get started, you’ll need the following ingredients and equipment:
- Your choice of resealable jar
- 12 cups (0.12 liter) low-fat milk
The best aspect about utilizing this jar is that you can easily scoop the foam from it without transferring it from, for example, your blender to a suitable cup. To create the foam:
- Fill your container halfway with cold milk.
- Replace the lid.
- Start violently shaking until a large number of foam forms. This is approximately the minute mark, according to my research.
- Once thoroughly fluffed, remove the jar lid and begin utilizing your freshly made foam!
This is the simplest method for creating cold foam at home. And it can be used to make a variety of delectable coffee drinks, particularly iced coffees. It’s simply incredible.
Serving suggestions
- Cold foam can be used in place of or in addition to milk or cream in an iced drink.
- It’s up to you whether to stir the cold foam into the drink or drink it straight, sipping the cold foam first as it works its way down the cup.
- Use cold foam to transform any iced coffee drink into a coffee shop-quality beverage, such as an iced latte or cold brew.
- Instead of simple syrup or plain sugar, make a flavored cold brew for a tasty treat.
Flavored cold foam
- Vanilla Cold Foam
To produce Vanilla sweet cream cold foam, mix with vanilla syrup and a half and half, just like at Starbucks.
- Brown Sugar Cold Foam
To make a beautifully sweet cold foam, make your brown sugar syrup.
- Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam
Using pumpkin spice syrup, flavor cold foam with the season’s characteristic pumpkin spice.
- Cold Honey Foam
Top your iced coffee with cold honey foam made from honey syrup.
- Cold Lavender Foam
Mix lavender syrup into half and half to make lavender cold foam to add a floral touch to your drink.
- Cold Peppermint Foam
To sweeten and flavor your cold foam, mix half and half with simple mint syrup.
Expert tips
- The idea is to make tiny, homogeneous bubbles that don’t even look like bubbles, because that gives a smooth texture. The French press is more effective at this than the handheld milk frother.
- The French press produces excellent cold foam, but it’s a pain to clean. The handheld milk frother is considerably easier to clean than the French press, but the cold foam isn’t as smooth because the bubbles are larger. However, they both taste delicious and add velvety foam to your iced drink.
- Avoid overfilling the French press. As air is forced into the cold foam, it will double or treble in volume, so bear that in mind as you pour the half-and-half into the French press.
- Don’t flood the French press too much. The strainer must be immersed in the half-and-half for air to be pumped into it.
FAQs
What drinks can I add cold foam to?
Is it possible to make cold foam without a frother or a French press?
What kind of milk is used in cold foam?
But what causes milk to foam in the first place?
How does cold foam taste?
When did Starbucks start to serve cold foam?
Conclusion
That’s all there is to it when it comes to preparing cold foam for coffee. If you like iced coffee, you’ll love this creamy topper. It’s a significant step up from combining hot foam and cold drinks, and it’s surprisingly simple to produce. We hope you enjoy your slightly sweet, refreshing coffee!
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Disclosure: No compensation or free products were received in exchange for writing this review.
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