Brains530 Senior Member Joined: 1 Feb 2009 Posts: 24 Location: Davis, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012, 6:53pm Subject: Astoria SAE
I have a pretty old Astoria 2 group machine which steams pretty bad foam. It's really hard to get a decent cappuccino on it. I recently bought a new steam wand tip for it. When I screw it on, it only covers about half of the threads before being fully on. I think the problem with the old tips are the holes are too big. Any suggestions? Thanks!
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,685 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Tue Jan 31, 2012, 6:52am Subject: Re: Astoria SAE
I don't think it is a matter that the holes are too big, rather with a two group commercial machine, it was not designed to steam 6 oz of milk and the holes are the proper size for the job the machine was designed to do.
Are you having a problem with your new tip? I am not quite sure what you are asking.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
Brains530 Senior Member Joined: 1 Feb 2009 Posts: 24 Location: Davis, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Tue Jan 31, 2012, 10:21am Subject: Re: Astoria SAE
The new tip doesn't fit all the way on. The steam wand has about 10 threads and the tip I bought only screws up about 5. Maybe I don't fully understand but I feel like any commercial espresso machine should be able to make a cappuccino with beautiful micro foam. Is there any sort of thread adapter or should I just call it a loss and make sure I get a tip with 10 threads?
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,685 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Wed Feb 1, 2012, 7:10am Subject: Re: Astoria SAE
In relation to the threads, how deep is the new tip? If it screws on all the way it can go, then you will have threads left over on your wand. That may or may not be a big deal depending on how you feel about it though it will be a little harder cleaning the wand.
Yes, commercial machines are perfectly able to do great foam but I think the thing you are not thinking about is that when you try to steam a small volume of milk, it is like trying to take a sip from a fire hose, the ratio is all wrong. Commercial machines are designed for a commercial setting including steaming larger volumes of milk at a time.
My single (and my double groups for that matter) will blow 4 or 6 oz of milk out of the pitcher and it requires a steady hand and skill with the steam knob to throttle the machine down for small volumes of milk and even then perfect foam is very hard to do if it is even possible, and the pitcher is very important in size and volume.
On the other hand, with 12 to 16 oz of milk in a 32 oz pitcher, you can get perfect foam nearly every time in only a few seconds.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
Posted Tue Nov 6, 2012, 10:36am Subject: Re: Astoria SAE
calblacksmith Said:
In relation to the threads, how deep is the new tip? If it screws on all the way it can go, then you will have threads left over on your wand. That may or may not be a big deal depending on how you feel about it though it will be a little harder cleaning the wand.
Yes, commercial machines are perfectly able to do great foam but I think the thing you are not thinking about is that when you try to steam a small volume of milk, it is like trying to take a sip from a fire hose, the ratio is all wrong. Commercial machines are designed for a commercial setting including steaming larger volumes of milk at a time.
My single (and my double groups for that matter) will blow 4 or 6 oz of milk out of the pitcher and it requires a steady hand and skill with the steam knob to throttle the machine down for small volumes of milk and even then perfect foam is very hard to do if it is even possible, and the pitcher is very important in size and volume.
On the other hand, with 12 to 16 oz of milk in a 32 oz pitcher, you can get perfect foam nearly every time in only a few seconds.
Came across this while googling on why I can't get decent quality microfoam/pour latte art etc with my commercial Astoria single group. Apologies for the resurrection. Now I know why unfortunately. Being wired for 220v and being an absolute powerhouse, unless I make a huge pitcher of steamed milk for my single drink it would appear that the OP including myself, would need to downgrade machines?
Brains530 Senior Member Joined: 1 Feb 2009 Posts: 24 Location: Davis, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Tue Nov 6, 2012, 10:48am Subject: Re: Astoria SAE
I eventually got the new tips on all the way and it works way better. I believe the stock tips come wit 5 holes and they're fairly large. I reccomend getting new tips with at most 4 holes that are smaller. It's all about the tip. The one I bought from EP will go on though I don't know if I messed up the threads on the steam wand or not.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 