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Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

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  • donnas650
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Now I am no expert on this, but the following advice has come from me being in this exact same situation from Christmas Day onwards. One thing I did was went in to The Coffee Barun and one of my mates was there, so he actually gave me some pointers on Marks Synesso there which also has 4 holes in the steam wand. I was going about it all the wrong way and this made me realise some things I was doing wrong.

    Now Mark at the Coffee Barun had lent me a Motta jug, and as wicked as it is, there is a technique to using them(yet to learn it), so I have been practicing(not enough, as I only make around 8-10 coffees a day at home) using a small Sunbeam jug which is fairly straight. I was using my mates tips, but still finding that at best I was ending up with foam on top, and less textured milk below. I then tried it with water, and this helped a lot. As you are able to see what you are doing with water, it gives you a better handle on your technique. I was able to get creamier milk, albeit with more foam and bubbles than I would like, but it is a lot better than before. As I said, I am not an expert (yet) and this may be a bad way to learn, but I found it helpful.

    I will still get my mate to come over and have a play and check out my technique as I dont want to pick up any bad habits, but my last couple of coffees were pretty good(no fancy latte art, like I could pull out on the Sunbeam), but when I nail it, it would be awesome.

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  • Joshymo
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    haha looks like it mate, the two hole wands are definitely a good setup to go a little home machine as at most you will usually only be hitting a 600ml jug

    with a 4 hole the best idea is yeah to plug two holes with the toothpicks as sometimes it is simply to much for the amount of milk no matter what you do, like trying to put a 6 litre V8 through thr drivetrain of a hyundai excel, spin spin spin spin spin hahahah

    otherwise the best bet you have is to control the amount of power the wand has over the milk.
    to do so aim the wand vertically as much as possible and sit it just slighty off centre, if it moves closer to the edges it will spin faster causing the milk to whirpool too high and leave your wand naked in the middle to blast milk and bubbles everywhere, dont be afraid to turn the wand off mid-steam if things start going awry

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  • donnas650
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Originally posted by Thundergod link=1195385869/0#14 date=1198653078
    Hopefully your friends have some experience or qualifications.
    Otherwise Id recommend a course for some hands on practice with a qualified instructor.
    One came second in the barista comp at the Royal Adelaide show and has been a barista for a long time. The other just setup shop and uses a Synesso. I think I will be in good hands.

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  • Thundergod
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Hopefully your friends have some experience or qualifications.
    Otherwise Id recommend a course for some hands on practice with a qualified instructor.

    Leave a comment:


  • donnas650
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    I got the Vibiemme Levetta from my girlfriend yesterday and I am finding the same issues with steaming. Will try and get some pointers from some friends, but the above advice was helpful as well. It really lets off a lot of steam, especially compared to the little Sunbeam I had. I love my new tamper as well.

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  • robusto
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Practise, practise practise. I despaired after mastering steaming with a Silvia... and then going back to kindergarten with its commercial successor.

    It took time, but now I do a reasonable job with confidence. You learn--over time---what works. WHere the best sweet spot is for the steam tip. The tell-tale sounds. How big that crucial little "dark spot"between the tip and milk should be.....

    Knowing what to look and listen for, and taking the necessary steps to make it all fall into place.

    But for single lattes, Id suggest you give yourself a sporting chance by using a tip with just two holes.

    Leave a comment:


  • BigMark
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    I am in Perth,
    Get this, I rang the distributor who I bought the machine from and they did some research into the 2 hole steam tip and rang me back saying that there is no such thing for that machine, fortunately I had done my own research and located one in Sydney which will be here tomorrow so heres hoping all goes well.
    I will keep you posted regarding the impending success of this venture!

    Leave a comment:


  • Identity
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Hi Mark,

    where are you based?

    Talk Coffee are in Melbourne and Di Bartoli in Sydney - theyll both probably have them in stock, so whichever is closer. Some of the other sponsors would have them too (Im guessing CoffeeParts would) but Im not sure without phoning them.

    Im just about to try to switch back to the 4-hole, but the milk I got from the servo is leaving.....argh, well Ill post a pic in the failures section

    Dont think of the toothpicks as de-limiting, but as making the other holes go twice as fast. While this isnt actually true, it might be enough to get you to try it!


    Leave a comment:


  • BigMark
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Yes Identity,
    I agree, and this was my next move, I have already concluded from advice received that this is where the problem lies.
    Does anyone have any ideas about who would be the best people to contact or should I just browse them all.

    Leave a comment:


  • Identity
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    My suggestion would be to contact one of the site sponsors for a 2-hole tip. For me, going from a 4-hole to a 2-hole was the difference between froth and latte-art-able microfoam. Then switch back to the 4 hole tip when youre comfortable.

    Leave a comment:


  • scoota_gal
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    I see that Trevorbeans has kind of already suggested this but you could also try to not turn the steam on so much when only doing small quantities of milk.

    Leave a comment:


  • BigMark
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Thanks for the suggestions TB, this is along the lines of what I have tried but will go back and refine it a little.

    Leave a comment:


  • Trevorbeans
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Hi BigMark,

    Let me offer you some encouragement!

    A few weeks ago I bought a new machine, a VBM Domobar Levetta which I found could also blast milk right out of the frothing jug if I was not careful.

    I had previously used a Saeco Via Venezia, which produced lovely creamy textured milk, but the important difference was, with the V/V I had a lot of time to think about what I was doing!

    My wife suggested I go back to using the old machine!

    With the Levetta I felt very discouraged for about two weeks because all I could produce was hot...sometimes overhot, watery milk with little or no froth, in about 15-20 secs.

    I then tried texturing with the wand positioned vertically, with the tip placed about 1 cm below the surface, in the middle of the jug.

    The technique for me to produce lovely microfoam was, in the stretching phase, to consciously keep lowering the jug to keep the tip in the same relative position to the surface of the milk, to make sure that the tip did not get buried deep into the milk...otherwise the tip would just heat the milk too quickly, rather than producing microfoam.

    I found it was preferable to "feel my way" gradually opening the steaming valve, thereby buying time, rather than to blast away at the milk from the outset.

    ( My steaming tip is the now standard 2 hole tip supplied with the Domobar, rather than the 4 hole original tip supplied by Vibiemme.)

    Although you could possibly experiment and buy a 2 hole tip from Coffee Parts, if I were you, Id really try to persevere and master the machine with the 4 hole tip as supplied by the manufacturer.

    Good luck and I hope that this helps!

    Trevorbeans

    Leave a comment:


  • BigMark
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Thanks for the welcome, Im looking forward to being part of this strange and eerie subculture.
    I read a post somewhere that suggested sticking toothpicks in 2 of the holes, while this may work I dont know how inclined I am to delimiting my new toy.

    Leave a comment:


  • Thundergod
    replied
    Re: Newbie needs help wih milk texturing

    Welcome BM.

    You no longer have the "luxury" of a slow steamer.

    Technique will be ever more important now.

    I can honestly say Ive gone backwards at times, and had no better milk than youre now experiencing, for weeks on end.

    Some hints and tips and excuse me now if youve already heard some.

    Keep the milk jug in the fridge or as I do, fill the jug and then put it in the fridge when you put the milk back, then go on preparing your coffee.

    Grind, tamp, pull the shot.
    Then get the milk out of the fridge to steam it.

    After youve purged the steam wand, dipped it deep into the jug and started steaming, slowly lower the jug until you just break the milk surface with the steam and get a "ch, ch, ch" sound.

    You should be able to tell when the milk has increased in volume a little, I aim for about a cm in my 300ml jug.
    When its stretched enough, put the wand lower into the jug again to finish heating the milk.

    If you can keep a whirlpool effect going at this stage or alternatively a folding action, it will help incorporate the microfoam.

    Turn the steam off when the jug is too hot to hold or at say 60 degrees (to allow for lag time) if you have a thermometer and then clean the steam arm before swirling the milk a little and pouring.

    Leave a comment:

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