No matter how carefully selected, roasted and fresh your coffee beans are, the milk you choose for your coffee entirely changes the texture and flavour of your brew. Here's the low-down on milk and UK Barista Champion, Hugo Hercod's thoughts on what makes the perfect pour.

What do baristas want?

Baristas are looking for a full-bodied milk which easily and consistently creates a stable microfoam for a creamy, smooth mouth-feel. The protein in milk is responsible for creating and stabilising the foam, whereas the butterfat content gives a creamy flavour. Baristas seek a fresh flavour with a touch of richness, but not so much that it overpowers the all-important coffee.

Milk foam is essentially an emulsification of air, water and fat. Whole milk produces a creamier, richer foam with a more velvety texture, which works best in coffee. What's more, fat-globules coat the tongue, which inhibit coffee's naturally bitter and acidic flavours from coming through. This means you'll get a sweeter, rounder flavour overall.

As experts in milk, Trewithen Dairy know how important it is to achieve the right balance of butterfat and protein. Trewithen Dairy milk comes from a mix of dairy herds: Brown Swiss, Friesian, Holsteins and Jerseys, used specifically for the balance between protein for the consistent foam and high butterfat content to produce the perfect milk for coffee.

Hugo Hercod, 2008 UK Barista Champion: “Trewithen Dairy works so well, foam texture is always good, it's so consistent and it lasts a long time. It's as good as it gets for milk for coffee.

“I have worked with Trewithen since I started, their attention to detail is second to none, even down to having a coffee machine in their laboratory to foam test every batch of milk before it goes out. I simply won't use any other milk.”

Co-founder of Trewithen Dairy, Bill Clarke, says “not all milk is the same”. Therefore he seeks out dairy farmers within Cornwall who can produce the quality of milk he wants for Trewithen Dairy products.

Bill Clarke, Chairman of Trewithen Dairy: “It is not one system, breed or type of feed that delivers the best milk, it is the holistic approach to the perfect blend, achieved from the rich diversity of breeds, feeds and grasses an working with farming families who care. I have been specific about the farmers who supply us, ensuring they share the values of Trewithen Dairy and instinctively want to develop a farming business fit for future generations. It all becomes clear when they talk with passion about the beautiful things around them. For any barista, this blend of care, knowledge and expertise creates the perfect milk for great tasting coffee.”

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Notes to Editors

For further information, high resolution images or additional expert comment, please contact RAW Food & Drink PR: Harry Wild - Harry@rawfoodanddrinkpr.co.uk Tel: 07540399025 @RawSW

About Trewithen Dairy:

Trewithen Dairy is owned and run by the Clarke family, who have owned Greymare Farm in the Glynn Valley since 1976 and started crafting dairy products there in March 1994. As the business has grown, so has their family. It's not just the Clarke family that do all they can to make our delicious Cornish dairy products what they are, it's their colleagues, farmers and of course, customers too.

In the early days, the Clarkes had their own herd. Bill and Rachel would bottle the milk once the children were in bed and deliver it early the next morning. They cooked the clotted cream themselves, in open trays and potted it by hand. Their customers loved all of this Cornish dairy goodness and soon the Clarkes were supplying more and more happy customers. By 2001, the milk bottling and cream making side of the business had become so successful that the family made the brave decision to sell their herd and moved full time into producing milk, cream, butter and, more recently, yoghurt. Bill and Rachel's sons Francis and George now run the dairy day to day with key roles as Managing Director and Production Director respectively, with more than 200 highly valued employees and plenty of continued input from Bill and Rachel.