How to make cold foam at home

Cold foam is milk (usually mixed with a little cream and syrup) that's frothed cold until it's thick enough to float on top of an iced drink. Unlike whipped cream, it's still pourable, so it slowly cascades into your coffee as you sip. It's also one of the easiest café tricks to copy at home: no espresso machine, no steam wand, just a frother and a cold jug of milk.

Why cold foam works

Milk foam is held together by milk proteins, which wrap around tiny air bubbles, while fat makes the foam feel rich and creamy but also weighs it down. That's why:

• Nonfat milk alone makes a very stiff, airy foam that's light in flavor.
• Heavy cream alone tends to become soft whipped cream rather than a pourable foam.
• A blend of cream and lower-fat milk gives the café-style middle ground: dense, velvety, stable and still pourable.

Keep everything as cold as possible. Cold milk foams more stably, and the foam holds longer on an iced drink.

The basic cold foam ratio

For one drink: 3 tablespoons heavy cream + 2 tablespoons 2% milk + 1 tablespoon syrup. That's roughly a 3:2:1 ratio, easy to scale for a crowd. Froth for 20 to 40 seconds until it thickens and roughly doubles, and stop while it's still pourable.

Four ways to froth it

• Handheld frother: froth in a tall, narrow glass so it doesn't splash. Keep the whisk just under the surface. 20 to 40 seconds.
• French press: add the cold ingredients and pump the plunger quickly 30 to 45 times. Makes a very fine, even foam. Great for two to four drinks.
• Jar: seal in a jar (no more than a third full) and shake hard for about 60 seconds.
• Blender: a few seconds on low. Watch it closely: it goes from foam to whipped cream fast.

Vanilla sweet cream cold foam

The classic. Sweet, creamy and perfect on cold brew.

Marshmallow cold foam

A toasty, campfire-sweet foam that's been all over Pinterest. The trick is warming the marshmallow creme just enough to loosen it, then letting it cool before frothing so it doesn't melt the foam.

Banana cold foam

Banana syrup is one of the fastest-rising coffee flavors, and it's lovely as a foam: think banana bread in a glass. Make a batch of banana syrup first (about 10 minutes of simmering), then keep it in the fridge for the week. The coffee syrup calculator scales the banana syrup recipe to any size.

Brown sugar cinnamon cold foam

Dairy-free cold foam

Plant milks foam differently because their proteins and fats vary. For the best results:

• Use a barista-style oat or soy milk, which is designed to foam, and froth it very cold.
• For richness, blend 2 tablespoons of chilled coconut cream (the thick part from the top of a can) with 3 tablespoons of barista oat milk and 1 tablespoon of syrup.
• Froth a little longer than dairy and serve right away; plant foams usually hold for a shorter time.

How to build the perfect cold foam drink

1. Fill a glass with ice. A tall glass shows off the layers.
2. Add cold coffee. Cold brew (diluted concentrate), iced pour-over or chilled strong coffee. Leave 2 to 3 cm at the top. Need a batch? See our cold brew ratio guide.
3. Froth your foam. Stop while it's thick but still pourable.
4. Pour slowly over the back of a spoon so it sits on top instead of diving in.
5. Garnish. Cinnamon, cocoa, crushed cookies, toasted marshmallow or a drizzle of caramel.

Cold foam vs sweet cream vs whipped cream

• Sweet cream is simply cream, milk and syrup stirred together and poured into a drink. It sinks and swirls.
• Cold foam is the same kind of mixture frothed until it's airy enough to float. It sits on top and slowly blends in.
• Whipped cream is cream beaten until it holds stiff peaks. It's much thicker and sits firmly on top like a dessert.

Seasonal cold foam ideas

• Autumn: pumpkin spice syrup with a pinch of cinnamon.
• Winter: peppermint and a spoon of cocoa powder, or brown sugar with a little ginger.
• Spring: a few drops of lavender syrup (a little goes a long way).
• Summer: banana or coconut, served over cold brew with lots of ice.

Troubleshooting cold foam

• Won't thicken: the milk isn't cold enough, or it's a non-barista plant milk. Chill everything (even the glass) and try again.
• Turned into whipped cream: too much cream or frothed too long. Add a splash of milk and stir it back to pourable.
• Sinks straight away: it's too thin. Froth a bit longer, and pour slowly over a spoon.
• Too sweet: cut the syrup to 2 teaspoons; the foam still holds.

Questions people ask