Make smooth, milky coffee after following note (7)
I believe the answer is:
flatten
'make smooth' is the definition.
'milky coffee after following note' is the wordplay.
'milky coffee' becomes 'latte' (I've seen this before).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'following' becomes 'f' (used when citing page numbers etc).
'note' becomes 'n' (abbreviation**).
'latte' put after 'f' is 'flatte'.
'flatte'+'n'='FLATTEN'
(Other definitions for flatten that I've seen before include "Raze to the ground" , "Knock to the ground" , "Even" , "Squash" , "Stop" .)