Milk has opinions

When Beatrice is cooperative and the espresso is pulling sweet, the milk is the last thing left to get wrong. And most people get it wrong the same way, by being in a hurry.

Cold milk, cold pitcher. Tip the wand just off center so the milk turns instead of bubbles. You want a quiet hiss for the first few seconds, the part that folds in the air, and then you drop the wand deeper and let it spin and heat with no more hissing at all. 2 jobs, in that order, never at once.

Stop when the pitcher is too hot to hold comfortably for more than a second. That is hotter than people expect and cooler than a machine would ever choose. I will not give you a number for it. You learn it in your hand. Burnt milk tastes like a mistake, and no latte art will save it.

Then pour like you mean it. The pattern on top is a reward for doing the rest right. It is not a thing you add to cover for the rest going wrong.