Posted Fri Oct 9, 2009, 5:38am Subject: Latte Art on the gs/3
Hi,
I've had my gs/3 now for about two months and absolutely love it. I want to try to start pouring latte art now, but I'm having some difficulties. I believe it's the operator and not the machine because on my Silvia, I was having the same symptom; heavy foam on top and liquid on the bottom. I believe it's because I'm not spinning the milk, but for some reason, I can't get it to whirlpool!
I plan on buying two gallons of milk and a pound of coffee this weekend and going to town to try to do this. I was hoping if anybody has any tips that are gs/3 specific, that would be great. The settings are pretty much default for the steam boiler. This would be "Steam Boiler Probe Sensitivity: Low", "Proportional, Integral, Derivitive (PID) Settings (Steam Boiler): 8/.15/10", "Steam Boiler Temperature Offset: 0", "Steam Boiler Temperature: 245.5".
So far, what I do is bleed the steam until it stops dripping water. This is about 3 to 5 seconds. Stick the tip in the milk, turn it on, lower the pitcher so it surfs and makes the cha-cha-cha while having the wand in the center. When the pitcher is warm to the touch, lower the wand a bit and move the pitched so the wand is near the side of the pitcher. Let it steam and try to get it to whirlpool until it's hot to the touch.
I'm going to start taking a more scientific approach to this method and start measuring the pitcher size, amount of milk, and temperatures. It seems like a lot of people that need help, respond with the above info, which I don't have yet. So, for starters, any help that's gs/3 specific would be great for now. :)
Posted Fri Oct 9, 2009, 6:03am Subject: Re: Latte Art on the gs/3
Well it certainly is possible to pour lattte art on a GS3 - CLICK FOR INSPIRING VIEO Your blob is almost certainly from overstretching and not enough blending. So I'll suggest less stretching and more whirlpooling.
Really focus on getting the milk to spin... Many have commented that the GS3 no-burn steam wand gives wetter steam than the "burn me" wand so it may be worth a change if you have the no-burn wand. Also, I might suggest using a 12 ounce pitcher just under 1/2 full to start, then stretching just a bit (maybe 5-10 seconds) then SPIN that milk like crazy.
Once you get the milk consistency then the art comes much easier.
s1rfletch Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 64 Location: Saskatchewan, Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Nuova Simonelli Grinta
Posted Fri Oct 9, 2009, 6:21am Subject: Re: Latte Art on the gs/3
You can save some money and some milk by using Scot Rao's training video where he shows how you can practice milk consistency with soap and water. It's actually pretty neat!
Posted Fri Oct 9, 2009, 7:19am Subject: Re: Latte Art on the gs/3
s1rfletch Said:
You can save some money and some milk by using Scot Rao's training video where he shows how you can practice milk consistency with soap and water. It's actually pretty neat!
Beezer Senior Member Joined: 17 Oct 2006 Posts: 418 Location: Fresno, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Quickmill Anita Grinder: La Cimbali Max Hybrid
Posted Fri Oct 9, 2009, 2:25pm Subject: Re: Latte Art on the gs/3
I second the comments made above. Also, on my machine (not a GS3, but it does have a four-hole steam tip), it helps to hold the wand to the side of the pitcher during the entire process. This makes a whirlpool even when you're stretching the milk, and the whirlpool is what makes the microfoam.
Here's my video of steaming with a four-hole tip on my Anita. Note how the tip is near the side of the pitcher, and the pitcher is angled slightly toward me. The wand is also pulled almost straight out from the machine, which seems to help for some reason.
Above all, keep practicing. The water and soap trick is nice because you can practice a lot without wasting milk. Whether you use water or milk, make sure to experiment with different things like the angle of the pitcher and the location of the steam wand in the pitcher until you find something that works for you.
Posted Sat Oct 10, 2009, 4:22am Subject: Re: Latte Art on the gs/3
Very nice video. Thanks for posting.
I was experimenting last night with the soap and water and then with whole milk. Good news, I think I figured out why I couldn't whirlpool. After watching the video with the soap a number of times, I found out that you keep the steam wand at a slight angle. For me,the steaming pipe is almost like a J. If you keep the top part of the wand completely horizontal, the steam wand bends out a touch...enough for the slight angle in the pitcher. If you keep the pitcher completely level, that helps tremendously.
If you then press the tip against the side of the pitcher, it seems like you get the whirlpool going big time. Once there, you can tilt or adjust the pitcher so that you increase the whirlpool.
I'm still needing some help with the latte art, but I think that now I figured out the whirlpool thing, the next step is the latte art part. I have the 'no-burn' wand and it seems like there's a number of larger (not huge, maybe pea-size) bubbles. I think with teh improvement of my technique, I will get this. :)
rbh1515 Senior Member Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 1,155 Location: Milwaukee Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: LM GS3 Grinder: Mazzer Vac Pot: have one Drip: no Roaster: never use it
Posted Sun Oct 11, 2009, 5:05am Subject: Re: Latte Art on the gs/3
I've been pouring latte art for a number of years now. When I got my GS3 last year I had a very hard time getting perfect milk for microfoam with the no-burn wand. After install the burn wand it was piece of cake. Rob
dms Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2009 Posts: 104 Location: PNW Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Mon Oct 12, 2009, 7:51pm Subject: Re: Latte Art on the gs/3
I started out with the same problems that you list. My milk was "foam on top and liquid on the bottom". I ended up taking some barista training locally and overcame the problem. Here's what I do with my gs3 (with the stock steam wand):
Bleed it 'til only steam is coming out and the boiler is on (look at the display). This is probably 2-3 seconds for me.
Start the espresso shot now!
Put the tip in the milk, turn on the steam full, raise the tip 'til I get the cha-cha-cha (as you say), and stretch the milk until it is just warm to the touch. The milk probably stretches about 75% larger. My earlier mistake was over-stretching in this phase.
Here's the most important stage for me: sink the tip to near the bottom, perhaps near a side, but get that whirlpool going. This is the texturing phase, which is all about making the whole pitcher uniform with microfoam.
When the pitcher is just "too hot to hold for >1s", stop, tap pitcher to break up any large bubbles, and swirl to get things agitated. When the shot finishes in the cup, immediately start your pour.
The training fixed the following for me: I was over-stretching the milk in step 3, I was under-texturing the milk in step 4 by not sinking the tip to near the bottom, and I would pull the shot after I finished texturing, allowing too much time for the milk to further separate.
I ended up practicing with about 5oz cold water and 1 drop of dish soap in it. Instead of pouring into a cup at the end, pour into a clear glass and make sure that the soapy water is all microfoam. It'll be obvious if you've under-textured.
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