Steaming milk is easier than it looks.  With a few simple instructions and a little practice, you'll be frothing milk to make your own latte and cappuccino at home like a pro - and it will taste great!

Watching the barristas at the coffee shop froth milk seems like they are performing magic as the steam wand shrieks and the foam becomes fluffy before your eyes. Don't be dismayed, because it doesn't require extensive training or years of practice to learn how to froth milk.

Here are simple instructions that anyone can follow, to steam your milk with just the right amount of foam.

1. Pour enough milk into your container (pitcher) to leave room for foam
2. Place the tip of the steamer (wand) into the milk and turn on the steam.
3. Slowly lower the container as the foam rises, keeping the wand's tip near the top of the milk.
4. Don't boil the milk.

Pretty simple, right? Of course, practice helps. But most of all, to get really good at steaming milk with the desired froth, you have to pay attention as you're following these steps. Timing is everything, and you need to pay close attention.

WATCH  the foam. You should see fluffy foam, not just bubbly milk. If you see your foam start clumping, you've gone too far.

LISTEN to the wand. You'll become accustomed to the sound the cappuccino machine makes as it steams your milk. If it is too muffled, then the wand is too deep. If it's too loud, the wand is not deep enough. The pitch is important because you can't actually see below the surface of the milk as it froths.

MOVE the pitcher as the foam builds and don't leave your wand in one place. This is the tricky part, and you will learn to move the pitcher up and down, swirl it and shake it around. Position the wand to blast the bigger bubbles and nurture the smaller ones. This is the fun part of frothing milk.

After you taste your finished product, if it doesn't taste quite right, just try again! You'll keep getting better.

If you don't have a cappuccino machine, here is a selection of milk steamers that you may be interested in.

For more about how to make cappuccino and latte at home...