Draft — architecture demonstration. Not yet reviewed as Handbook knowledge.
Fix
The foam collapsed before the drink reached the guest
A cap that looks correct in the shaker but breaks in the glass is almost always a drainage problem, not a dosing problem.
The symptom
The head is dense on the strain, then thins and separates within a minute of leaving the station.
Revised 2026-08-17
Do this now
Readable in seconds, mid-service.
- 01Chill the glass. A warm coupe drains a cap faster than any dosing error.
- 02Strain and serve in one movement — do not park the finished drink.
- 03Check dilution: a watery drink cannot hold structure regardless of protein.
Diagnosis
Most likely cause first. Check, then correct.
Warm glassware
- Check
- Touch the outside of the glass before pouring.
- Fix
- Hold glassware in the freezer or on ice through service.
Over-dilution from spent ice
- Check
- Look at the ice in the shaker — rounded edges mean it is done.
- Fix
- Shake on fresh, hard ice; replace the well through the shift.
Insufficient aeration
- Check
- Foam looks bubbly rather than matte and tight.
- Fix
- Shake harder rather than longer; aim for a homogeneous matte cap.
So it does not happen again
- Set a glass-chilling routine at the start of every shift.
- Keep the serve path short — build near the pass, not away from it.
This happens because
Technique used here
Commonly fails as
About this Handbook
The Foam Handbook is published by FOAMY WHITES, who make a pasteurised liquid egg white for bars. We write about foam the way we would explain it across the bar — including where our product is not the answer.