Hot water first or milk first - which side are you on?

I was at a coffee tasting in Austin last weekend and this barista guy practically yelled at me for putting milk in before the hot water when I was making an americano. He said it ruins the crema and changes the flavor profile, but I've been doing it that way for 10 years and never noticed a difference. So which is it - does order actually matter or is this just coffee snobbery?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancythomas1mo ago

That barista in Austin was probably just being dramatic, I mean I've seen plenty of coffee pros do milk first with no issues. Idk, maybe it's just me but if you can't taste the difference after 10 years then your way works fine.

jessica8411mo ago

Got a friend who used to work at a coffee shop in Denver, and she told me this story about how this one regular would always order a latte with milk first and just stand there watching them pour it. She said he'd get all huffy if they did it "wrong" and would go on about how it ruins the crema or whatever. One day the new guy accidentally did it milk first and the customer didn't even notice, just drank it and said it was perfect. So yeah, @nancythomas I think you're right that a lot of it is just theater sometimes. People get so wrapped up in the ritual they forget it's just coffee at the end of the day. If you've been doing your thing for a decade and it tastes fine, that barista can keep their opinions to themselves.