how to make cold foam for coffee

How to Make Cold Foam for Coffee (Sweet Cold Foam Too!)

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Cold foam is a delicious coffee topping, and it may seem like you need to have special equipment to make it, but chances are you have everything you need in your kitchen. 

Foam is used to give your iced coffee drink a creamy, velvety touch. 

In the summer, people often like to drink all different types of chilled coffee beverages because iced beverages are so refreshing. 

Preparing cold foam is simple and quick, and we’ve put together every possible detail for you to make your own cold foam.

What Is Cold Foam?

Cold foam is a chilled, frothy, dairy-based topping that usually goes on top of cold brews. It’s typically prepared with nonfat milk, then whisked together in high-powered blenders. 

This delicious foamy topping adds a touch of milkiness to our gourmet coffee beverages, giving them a cold, velvety texture.

Cold foam rests above the thick, frothy drink and melts as you sip it. Moreover, it adds just a handful of calories to your iced drink since it’s made with nonfat milk. 

Cold foam, unlike other milky coffee toppings, is prepared without steam or heat, ensuring that your iced beverages stay perfectly chilled.

What Kind of Milk Should You Use for Cold Foam?

The best milk for making cold foam is low-fat milk or skim milk. Low-fat milk or skim milk has excellent frothing, high-volume, long-lasting, cold-foaming capabilities.

The higher level of air produced in the milk makes a large amount of cold foam. This creates a super-fine, silky-textured cold froth that is simply great on all different types of coffee drinks.

Using condensed cream in place of skim milk is a possibility for when you want to treat yourself after a tiring day at work. Using heavy cream can give an even richer creamy foam that’s absolutely delicious and amazing.

Here’s How to Make Cold Foam for Coffee

Making cold foam is not an uphill challenge. It may look complicated, but in reality, it’s not. Making cold foam for coffee is as easy as making the coffee itself.

It will only take a couple of minutes to prepare cold foam. Here are four simple ways to make coffee cold foam.

1. Make Cold Foam With a Handheld Mixer

Using a handheld mixer to make cold foam is the easiest and most economical method. 

In terms of ingredients, all you need is refrigerated milk and cream. Here’s your item list:

  • Handheld mixer
  • Cold Milk
  • Cream
  • Bowl

First take a clean bowl that is large enough to mix your dairy products into.

How much of the ingredients you use depends on how many people you are serving.For a single serving, pour a half culp of the milk and half cup of the cream into the bowl and stir thoroughly with a hand mixer.  

Keep in mind that you need to keep the mixer submerged in the liquid to avoid splashing. Continue blending until the milk mixture is soft and creamy.

There you have it – cold foam! You then pour or scoop your milk mix gently onto your cold brew coffee and enjoy.

2. Make Cold Foam With a French Press

Another ingenious method of making cold foam is to use a French press. This method will require a little more energy to get the job done.

You will need:

  • A French press
  • Milk
  • Cream

Pour the desired amount of milk into the French press, then add the same amount of cream. Close the lid of the French press and start pressing the piston upwards and downwards to thoroughly blend the mixture until soft and foamy.

Note: Don’t overfill your French press – you won’t be able to mix it well if your press is filled all the way up to the brim.

Keep in mind, for a perfectly smooth texture, you need to add half cream and half milk. This is the best way to get consistent foam for your chilled coffee.

3. Make Cold Foam With a Blender

Another efficient way to make cold foam is to use a blender. For this, you will need:

  • A blender
  • Milk
  • Cream

For this method, all you need to do is toss equal amounts of milk and cream into the blender and blend them well. If you want thick foam, you can add more cream. If you prefer foam that is less thick, you can reduce the amount of cream and add more milk instead.

4. Make Cold Foam With a Milk Frother

If you can afford an electric frother, then this method is perfect for you. It’s not at all difficult to use a milk frother. This method requires the fewest ingredients, and it’s great if you want to spare yourself a few calories and not use cream.

  • Milk
  • Milk frother

Pour the desired amount of milk into the milk frother and adjust the speed dial accordingly. These machines already have built-in options to foam the milk to the desired thickness.

Add Flavors to Make Sweet Cold Foam

Coffee is a beverage that lends itself very well to different flavors. Try adding a flavored syrup to your cold foam to create sweet cold foam. 

You can also add sugar or honey when making foam. Lavender syrup and vanilla syrup may be a good addition if you enjoy them. Be sure to blend them into the foam for a few seconds, no matter what method you choose.

Using Mason Jar for Sweet Cold Foam

If you don’t have one or more of the previously mentioned appliances, you can always make sweet cold foam using a mason jar and some elbow grease. This is a terrific technique since you can almost always find a mason jar or something similar. 

Follow these steps to make sweet cold foam in a mason jar:

  • Fill a mason jar halfway with chilled milk.
  • Add any sweets, spices, or syrups you want.
  • Close the lid. (Tightly!)
  • Shake the jar briskly.
  • Continue shaking until you get the desired consistency.

This approach can be quite a workout depending on how much milk you use, so prepare accordingly. 

Serving the Cold Foam with Your Coffee

Cold foam adds a final touch to your cold coffee, but you can take it one step further and garnish it with chocolate shavings, a touch of whipped cream, or sugar crystals. 

Some people prefer to add just cold foam to their coffee instead of adding any milk or cream to the actual coffee.

To serve, select a fun glass, pour your chilled coffee into it, and add dollops of your cold foam onto it. Add as much or as little as you like, and sprinkle with the garnish of your choice.

Final Tips for Making Cold Foam

Here are the essentials to keep in mind when making cold foam to get the best results:

  • The idea is to get tiny, consistent bubbles that don’t look like bubbles in the first place, because that is what generates the smooth texture. This is something that the French press is better at than the handheld milk frother.
  • For added richness, switch the cream-to-milk ratio to 2 parts heavy cream and one part milk — you’ll only need to whisk for 30 seconds with this ratio.
  • Experiment with different syrup flavors! Lavender, vanilla, cinnamon, caramel, and peppermint are all fantastic flavors to use in your cold foam!
  • Use heavy cream that is chilled. When the cream is cold, its fat stays emulsified for longer. Warm heavy cream cannot be used to make stable, thick foam. 

Bottom Line: Cold Foam Is the “Coolest” Part of Chilled Coffee

Cold foam is a tasty and decadent addition to any cup of chilled coffee, and learning how to make cold foam for coffee is much easier than you may have thought.

If nonfat milk isn’t your cup of tea, condensed milk and flavor options can help you up your cold foam game. Feel free to mix and combine different-flavored syrups and milks to make a better-tasting foam. 

So, while you can ask for cold foam on top of any Starbucks coffee, now that you’ve got the info, you can duplicate that same sweet foamy taste in your own kitchen!