Posted Sun Jun 10, 2012, 12:02pm Subject: old write up - really helped me with microfoam
I don't make a lot of milk drinks - but whenever I do try, the milk steaming has had me bamboozled. I do "OK" but nothing I could begin to try and get any latte art with. I always find a bit too much thick stuff on top (not big bubbles, they are small - but thick in consistency like whipped cream) and the milk underneath seems watery rather than the wet paint consistency I'm after.
This may already be posted somewhere here (maybe it is a sticky?) but I couldn't find it with a quick search of this site so I thought I'd post the link here. It is dated 1995 ... but reading this is the first time I've started to "get it" about how to steam milk. Maybe it'll help someone else like it helped me. (once I get solid with steaming milk - then the real challenge of figuring out how to make art with it)
fox2000 Senior Member Joined: 18 May 2012 Posts: 46 Location: WA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Millenium I Grinder: Mazzer S.J. Auto & MDX
Posted Sun Jun 10, 2012, 3:00pm Subject: Re: old write up - really helped me with microfoam
WOW thank you Andy I have watched several videos and read a ton of how tos and still couldn't get it right. I ended up with your results plenty of thick foam no real large bubbles but when I poured it the foam was thick and the milk was barely textured. It gets confusing watching others steam because its so fast and techniques seem to vary. This was so simplified and detailed I was able to make pretty good texture throughout on my first try. Thanks again!
They vary so widely because machines vary so widely. 4 hole, 3 hole, or even 5 hole? What direction is the steam purged from the wand? Do they jet to the sides or straight down?
These are the questions that need to be asked in order to determine pitcher position for the whirlpool effect (a.k.a. "spinning" milk). The spin itself is the key to the wet paint texture.
Posted Fri Jun 15, 2012, 8:43pm Subject: Re: old write up - really helped me with microfoam
great link! i have a problem with watching some of the videos as well. It's great to see a drawing of what it looks like submerged in the milk and how deep instead of watching it whirlpool on a video and have no idea how deep the wand is. I will give this a shot tomorrow and see where it goes.
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