Can You Make Coffee With Milk Instead of Water? The Truth

Can You Brew Coffee with Milk Instead of Water? Who doesn’t love coffee? Most people enjoy a good cup of Joe and even view it as an essential part of starting their day and as an afternoon pick me up.

But your average cup of Joe with cream and sugar is becoming a thing of the past.

Now lattes, frappes, cappuccinos, and espressos are all the rave. So, if you have a basic can of coffee grounds and a regular coffee pot at home, you may very well try to find new ways to create a more gourmet brew.

But can you brew coffee with milk instead of water? Theoretically, it makes sense. After all, lattes are created with espresso and foamed milk.

However, you may want to double-check whether or not you can do that before pouring cold milk into your coffee pot.

Can You Brew Coffee with Milk Instead of Water?

You can indeed brew coffee with milk instead of water by using either a French press or a cold brewing method, but it will produce a weaker, yet creamier, cup of coffee. Alternatively, you can mix instant coffee into a cup of cold milk. It’s ill advised to brew coffee using milk in a percolating coffee pot, though.

Traditionally brewing coffee with milk will destroy your coffee pot.

While you can certainly brew coffee with milk instead of water, you can’t do it in your trusty old coffee pot. Sure, you may produce one good pot of milk and coffee on a whim, but you’ll destroy your coffee pot in the process.

Simply put, traditional coffee pots are designed for you to pour water into them, not milk. Milk contains proteins that will bind to your coffee maker, and it’s extremely difficult to remove them. You surely wouldn’t want to spend hours trying to scrub curdled milk out of your coffee pot!

Not only will your future pots of coffee taste like spoiled milk, the protein remnants will cause bacteria to grow in your coffee pot. Eventually, your morning cup of Joe could have you calling into work sick instead of giving you the energy to make it through the day.

French Press Brewing with Milk

Since milk can only be heated to a maximum temperature of 160 degrees, you can’t brew coffee with milk in a stove-top espresso maker, and it’s difficult to brew it in an aeropress due to the shortened extraction process. The best way to brew hot coffee with milk is with a manual French press.

First, you need to warm the milk to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, simply add in the coffee grounds, steep them, and press down the plunger. Voila! You have a cup of warm milk and coffee! The milk flavor will stand out most and the overall result will be a mild and creamy cup of Joe.

Cold Brewing Coffee with Milk

Although you can also use a French press to cold brew coffee with milk, it’s much easier to do it the old-fashioned way with a Mason jar and filter. If you don’t have a French press, this is the only way to brew coffee with milk aside from using instant coffee.

This is a time-consuming, yet simple method of making coffee with milk. You just need to steep fine ground coffee in milk, and refrigerate the jar of coffee for 8 hours. The result is a cold and refreshing glass of coffee. While it may not be strong enough for morning motivation, it’s a delicious afternoon treat.

Mixing Instant Coffee with Milk

If you don’t have a French press and can’t spare the time to cold brew coffee with milk, you can definitely make instant coffee with milk instead of water. Many people don’t like instant coffee because it’s very strong and bitter, but milk will make it taste much milder and creamier.

One of the downsides of brewing coffee with milk is that it usually results in a very weak cup of coffee that mainly tastes like milk.

While you can counteract this effect by using a darker roast for the French press or cold brewing method, the best way to achieve a stronger cup of coffee and milk is to mix it with instant coffee.

If you want a hot cup of coffee, heat the milk to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, and then mix in the instant coffee grounds. But instant coffee also works well with cold milk. You can always slowly add more coffee grounds to achieve your desired strength and flavor.

Conclusion to Can You Make Coffee with Milk Instead of Water?

Coffee can be made with milk instead of water. You just can’t do it in a traditional percolating coffee pot unless you want to tackle a nightmarish cleaning project.

French press brewing and cold brewing are effective, yet time-consuming methods of brewing coffee with milk instead of water.

For faster results, you can always mix some instant coffee in with a glass of milk to reduce the bitter flavor and increase nutritional value.

Gourmet coffee drinks have gained increasing popularity as coffee provides a boost of energy and has surprising health benefits. But regular old Joe can become boring after a while.

So, if you want to experiment with creative ways of brewing coffee, such as using milk instead of water, go ahead! Who knows? You may end up creating the next big Starbucks beverage!

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