Bring the café experience into your own kitchen with homemade cold foam coffee! There's nothing quite like the satisfaction of crafting your own delicious and refreshing coffee beverage right at home. In this guide, we'll walk you through the simple steps and ingredients needed to create velvety cold foam that perfectly complements your favorite chilled coffee.
Whether you're a seasoned coffee aficionado or just dipping your toes into the world of homebrewing, making cold foam coffee at home is sure to elevate your morning routine or afternoon pick-me-up. Let's dive in and discover how easy and rewarding it can be to enjoy café-quality cold foam coffee from the comfort of your own home.
What is Cold Foam Coffee?
Cold foam coffee is one of the most delicious coffee trends to emerge in the last few years. It’s fairly simple–cold brew or iced coffee is topped with foam made from cold, frothed milk. Making cold foam is similar to frothing milk for lattes, cappuccinos, and macchiatos, except the milk stays cold instead of getting steamed. Cold foam adds a frothy, velvety texture to iced coffee beverages that cuts through acidity without the overwhelming heaviness of whipped cream. It’s a light, low-calorie indulgence that refreshingly elevates your favorite cold coffee beverages.
Best Cold Foam Coffee Beverages
You can add cold foam to just about any coffee beverage, but certain ones stand out when topped with cold foam. Here are some of our favorites.
Cold Brew Coffee
Cold brew coffee is known for its smooth and rich flavor profile, and adding cold foam enhances the texture and taste of the beverage. The creamy, slightly sweet cold foam balances the cold brew’s boldness and complements its natural richness, resulting in a well-balanced, indulgent coffee drink.
Additionally, the layered presentation of cold brew coffee with cold foam on top adds visual appeal to the drink, making it even more enjoyable.
Iced Coffee
Like cold brew, cold foam can enhance the flavor and presentation of iced coffee. Since iced coffee tends to be a bit more bitter than cold brew, the cold foam helps cut through the acidity to provide a more balanced flavor to your iced coffee.
Iced coffee also has a slightly thinner mouthfeel than cold brew. When added to iced coffee, cold foam provides a creamy and velvety layer on top, enhancing the overall mouthfeel and flavor experience. It adds a touch of luxury to the drink, making it feel indulgent and memorable.
Iced Lattes
Hot lattes are made with espresso, steamed milk, and a thin layer of frothed milk on top. However, many cafes make iced lattes with only espresso and cold milk, meaning you miss out on all that good foam. Cold foam on an iced latte provides a more traditional latte texture for an elevated experience.
Iced Cappuccinos
Adding cold foam to an iced cappuccino is the best way to enjoy this beverage. Since a cappuccino is known for featuring a generous amount of steamed, frothed milk, adding cold foam to an iced cappuccino helps replicate that traditional composition. The cold foam mimics the velvety texture of a traditional hot cappuccino, making iced cappuccinos the perfect refreshing beverage to enjoy on a hot summer day.
What You Need to Make Cold Foam Coffee
Cold foam coffee is easy to make at home. You only need a few ingredients and basic equipment to whip up this delicious topping for your cold coffee beverages.
Ingredients
- Cold brew, iced coffee, or espresso
- Cold milk
- We recommend frothing about 4oz of milk at a time for cold foam.
- Any dairy milk will do, as well as some types of non-dairy milk.
Equipment
- Milk frother, blender, mason jar, or French press coffee maker
- Tall glass or cup for serving
How to Make Cold Foam Coffee at Home
Do you have a craving for a cold-foam coffee beverage right now? Follow these steps to create your cold foam at home.
1. Make your coffee
Prepare your cold brew or iced coffee ahead of time. With cold brew coffee, you’ll need to let coarsely ground coffee steep in cold water for a while (usually 12 hours). For iced coffee, you’ll need to brew concentrated hot coffee using a traditional coffee maker, French press, or pour over, then pour it over ice to chill.
If you’re making an iced latte or cappuccino, you’ll need to make some espresso using an at-home machine or another technique, like French press espresso.
2. Froth your milk
There are a few ways to make cold foam at home. You can absolutely splurge on an electric milk frother, but plenty of DIY options work just as well. Here are some of our favorite techniques.
With an electric milk frother or blender:
- Pour the desired amount of cold milk into the frother or blender.
- Froth or blend the milk until it becomes thick and creamy.
With a mason jar:
- Pour the desired amount of cold milk into the mason jar, but don’t fill it up–the milk will expand as it forms microfoam.
- Close the lid tightly and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds until the milk becomes frothy and doubles in volume.
With a French press:
- Pour your cold milk into your French press coffee maker.
- Pump the mesh plunger for about 20-30 seconds until the milk is whipped into a thick foam.
3. Pour the foam & enjoy
Once the foam is ready, pour your chilled coffee into a glass filled with ice cubes (if that’s what you prefer). Carefully spoon the foam on top of the coffee–if you pour, some of the unfrothed milk will mix with the coffee. Once you top your beverage with the cold foam, you’re ready to enjoy!
What Milk Works Best for Cold Foam?
Certain types of milk usually produce better foam than others due to their protein and fat content.
Whole Milk
Whole milk has a higher fat content, creating a richer and creamier foam. It creates a luxurious texture and mouthfeel, making it a popular choice for cold foam and steamed milk.
2% and Skim Milk
These milk options are lower in fat than whole milk but still contain enough fat to produce decent foam. They offer a balance between creaminess and lower calorie content.
Coconut Milk
Non-dairy milks don’t usually froth as well as dairy milks due to lower protein content and different fat compositions. However, coconut milk holds up surprisingly well when used for cold foam beverages.
Chill Out with Cold Foam
The possibilities for cold foam coffee creations are endless. Feel free to get creative with flavors, syrups, and toppings to craft your perfect cold foam coffee beverage. Whether you’re enjoying cold foam coffee on a hot day or all year round, don’t forget to use high-quality ingredients. That includes the coffee you use! We have a wide selection of blends and single-origin coffees that are smooth, flavorful, and perfectly balanced for all your cold foam coffee needs.
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