Hi all,
Just a couple of questions, as Im banging my head up against the wall today, >

Does anyone with the Vibiemme domobar have any particular techniques with milk steaming ?
Ive seen so many different versions for different machines, what applies for mine ?.
I seem to be way too inconsistant with this thing. Some days its absolute gold, up with the best microfoam Ive ever had, sweet, silky, really accentutates the coffee flavours and generally makes me obsess about " why isnt like that everytime ? " etc, etc... Its like the planets align. Then what seems to me too often for such a expensive machine, it just wont fold or combine the foam and milk. I dont feel im changing what Im doing technique-wise but I just end up with close but thinner foam that falls from the sides of the jug too quickly, indicating to me that its too thin and watery. I normally swirl afterwards and gauge it from how well it sticks to the wall of the jug.
Is steaming the milk, particularly this machine that hard ? is it on a knife edge of getting it right to catastrophe ? every instruction on the net I read seems to me to make it sound so simple. Can I be that much of a idiot ? Why can I not do it that easy ? damn ! >

I stopped using the two hole tip as I usually only make enough for one coffee in a small jug. I got a spare tip and had one hole soldered up at a jewellers, (by the way he did the opposite hole I wanted... jerk >
, now I have do it a bit backwards as the steam jets towards the machine not away) anyway, Ive tried every combination Ive ever read about after scouring every website on the net. ( angling the jug, not angling, aiming the jet at the wall, keeping it in the middle etc... )My technique:
I bleed the wand ( not sure how much water out of the wand is normal ? absolutely none or a little ? ) until its as dry as its gonna get, put my jug in, start to wind on the steam until I hear and see the milk start spinning (how fast is too fast ? ).
I lower the jug enough so it starts to just suck some air in, keeping the whirlpool, then when its gone from cold to warm and Ive stretched about a 1/3rd I lower the tip until its submerged and move it closer to the edge and continue until its getting too hot to hold, shut off the steam and tap and spin in the jug and pray its gonna be a good one and be nice and silky and sticking to the walls as it runs down the inside.
Is there a point where spinning the milk too fast wont allow it to fold and incorporate ?
Is this thing putting out TOO much steam ?
I dont run it so it spits milk everywhere, but, is it better to go slower with less steam than try to utilise the machines steam capabilities and get it done quicker ?
Is any screaming noises at all ok ? or should it always just softly spin and suck a little air gently at the start ? do the screaming noises indicate that the milk is trying to spin too fast ? i.e. too much steam ?
Sometimes I question my technique ( and sanity ), at what point do I start to think well it must be the milk quality ? ( I usually use Dairy Farmers normal milk, is A2 the way to go ? I know its heaps dearer per litre ) is the milk that temperamental regarding freshness ? or am I just crap ? do pros have the same issue or could they get microfoam outta any milk ? am I chasing my tail ?
Ive had it about six months now and I usually make one in the morning and one after work. Ive tried going through heaps of milk to refine it all, but that usually results in:
a) I either get it and think great ...and cant do it exactly the next time,
or
b) End up angry because I feel like a dick and cant do it at all and just waste milk and start burning my hands on repeatedly steaming milk one after the other because i wont let it beat me. WTF is wrong with me ?
Thanks for any help, Im sure it cant be specific to the VBM, but after all the trial and error I dont know anymore. Sorry for all the questions, I need to ask them all. I wish I could do a course, but it would be unlikely due to time and Id have to use my machine to really get the full benefits.
Thanks,
Phil the Phrustrated one.


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