Permeate is a watery by-product of milk processing that some dairy companies add back into the milk to dilute the protein levels, to ensure a consistent product throughout the year. Permeate therefore helped the café milk supply with issues of seasonal change, which in turn often caused baristas some grief when they were stretching the milk. In the past at certain times of the year, some brands of milk would not thicken to a silky consistency and separated from the espresso base, due to the change in the protein level.

Consumer demand for transparency in manufacturing in the retail area has made milk companies look at the processing methods they use.

Lance Brown, National Account Manager, Commercial Coffee at Lion, believes this is a great initiative, because it gives consumers the confidence they’re buying the purest quality milk available – which is good news for branded milk.

Lance, before his role at “Lion” (Formally National Food) worked for a large multinational coffee company and has seen the changes in coffee presentation over the last 20 years. Removing permeate from milk is not really going to have much impact on coffee making, especially stretching milk, as barista standards are now much higher in milk based coffee beverages. Baristas now stretch milk very differently from ten years ago, when milk was also very unstable due to the past practices of a regulated milk board. In those days, low quality milk could enter the market place from poor farming practices. Today, farmers are paid better for higher fat and protein milks from the farm gate. This better quality milk and more skill base in coffee making will alleviate seasonal changes in milk protein and fat levels.

Many dairy companies have explained the reasons for permeate removal back to the consumer at the retail end of the market, and Lance Brown said its time to tell the café barista what changes permeate removal will have on their role as a café barista.

Milk based coffees make up 95% of café beverages and the demand now for latte art techniques is standard in most cafés. When interviewing Lance he was also very skeptical about what may happen when removing this product, but he was pleasantly surprised by the increase in taste in this milk, reminding him of how good things tasted back before the world become so complicated.

David Makin, our own twice crowned Australian Barista Champion and owner of Axil Coffee in Melbourne, has been behind this initiative, involved in much of the industry testing schedules that Dairy Farmers/Pura undertook before making a final decision in the foodservice arena. David has travelled all over the world competing in barista competitions, and securing great quality milk for his competitions was sometimes a major challenge whilst being abroad. David, as a high level competitor, totally understands milk and its ability in the cup. He wants milk with good texturing ability and also high in flavour, but not overbearing on the important coffee base. He has been very impressed with the permeate free milk from Dairy Farmer/Pura and has conducted live tests in his busy café, with very positive feedback.

David recognises current trends and can see many parts of the hospitality industry going back to fresh, well presented but simple styles. The same approach is also happening around café and restaurant food … Real farm style milks again, without having to hand milk the cow.

Lance and his team at Lion have been supporting the Australian Café Industry since the start up of the Australian Barista Competitions over 10 years ago. Lion has been behind the education of café owners, supporting them in the growth of the milk based coffee. This dairy company has supported a number of home-grown Australian Latte Art Champions on their quests for the world title, such as Con Haralambopoulos and Will Priestly. This support has seen the Australian café industry progress to become one of the most sophisticated industries in the world, and it’s now a very smart business. Lance has many new irons in the fire around innovated beverage presentation.

Thank you from the industry, for explaining to us the facts about permeate.

Facts about Permeate
Permeate is a watery by-product of milk processing. Some dairy companies add it to milk to dilute the protein levels throughout the year.  Protein levels in milk fluctuate due to seasonal variations. Not adding permeate simplifies the milk manufacturing process and delivers milk which is closer to how it is on farm.