Very nice...you have made great progress! BTW, what is the story behind the move back to the 2 hole tip as you said earlier? Are you still using that tip? What is your positioning of it relative to the pitcher?
glcoffee Senior Member Joined: 15 Feb 2012 Posts: 67 Location: Los Angeles, CA & Taiwan Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Izzo Alex II Grinder: Vario Drip: Hario V60
Posted Fri Nov 30, 2012, 12:43am Subject: Re: Taking the first steps, feedback?
TriHard Said:
Very nice...you have made great progress! BTW, what is the story behind the move back to the 2 hole tip as you said earlier? Are you still using that tip? What is your positioning of it relative to the pitcher?
Thank you. I started with the 4 hole tip first and almost always over frothed/scaled the milk. Then I found it was a lot easier to use the 2 hole tip as it somehow allowed more room for errors. Since then, I have made a few changes to my equipment: using a smaller pitcher (12oz as oppose to 20oz) and am now using the 4 hole tip. I fill the milk to about 5-6oz and position the wand at a slight angle into the pitcher. The cup is a 8oz latte cup.
When pouring, I have the cup in my left hand at a slight tilt and start from the top to bottom.
Still have lots of room for improvement and any tips would really help.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” C.S. Lewis, The World's Last Night ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ I am Taiwanese.
Crosshatch Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Cardiff Expertise: Pro Barista
Posted Fri Dec 28, 2012, 2:06pm Subject: Re: Taking the first steps, feedback?
It seems you are almost there :)
From your last picture you have nice 'waves' at the start and I think the only flaw was from when you pulled down to create the stem? (Might be wrong)
A couple of the guys at the shop are at this stage and they are improving by letting the waves settle a tad (maybe a second wait, not much) before pushing down to create the stem. This settling makes it harder for the waves to be pulled down together (which before created a bit of a blob at the top). Also worth trying to tilt the pitcher at a slightly higher angle as to not let as much milk/foam pour over your waves and pull them together.
Hope this helps, you've improved a lot, once you get the perfect couple of leafs it gets a lot easier... Becomes muscle memory rather than a thought out process :)
RussK Senior Member Joined: 6 Jan 2013 Posts: 12 Location: Mississippi Delta Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Alex II Grinder: Mazzer Mini Type B Drip: Bunn DV TC / Melitta / Hario... Roaster: Homebuilt
Posted Sun Jan 6, 2013, 7:30pm Subject: Re: Taking the first steps, feedback?
Since then, I have made a few changes to my equipment: using a smaller pitcher (12oz as oppose to 20oz) and am now using the 4 hole tip. I fill the milk to about 5-6oz and position the wand at a slight angle into the pitcher. The cup is a 8oz latte cup
Hi, I am using exactly the same setup as this and am having some struggles getting the results that I would like. Could you tell me how long it takes you to froth 5 or 6 oz in the 12oz pitcher. BTW I wish my drinks looked as good as yours. I am about ready to pull my hair out! Thanks
Coffeenoobie Senior Member Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 2,314 Location: PNW Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: N S Oscar Grinder: Vario W
Posted Mon Jan 7, 2013, 2:52pm Subject: Re: Taking the first steps, feedback?
It takes me 20 seconds or so to froth 4 oz in 12 oz pitcher. I sink when my digital thermometer hits 40 which is 5 degrees up from the start and about as many seconds and then stop at 100 and it coasts up to 140 +
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
Pourista Senior Member Joined: 20 Dec 2012 Posts: 15 Location: Davis, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Mishka's Medium Roast
Posted Tue Jan 8, 2013, 11:53am Subject: Re: Taking the first steps, feedback?
I agree with Helen. 5 seconds or so of adding air in the beginning is all you need. As the steaming continues, the milk continues to expand until you're done. The more time you have for the milk and foam to roll and heat up, the better. That's why having a cold pitcher is best. Common mistakes are usually adding too much air at the beginning and then not having enough time to roll the milk and foam together. It is a bit of touch and go with the amount of air added to the amount of milk in the pitcher. The more milk you have, the more air you need to add and 5 seconds probably won't be enough for say 12oz+ of milk.
RussK Senior Member Joined: 6 Jan 2013 Posts: 12 Location: Mississippi Delta Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Alex II Grinder: Mazzer Mini Type B Drip: Bunn DV TC / Melitta / Hario... Roaster: Homebuilt
Posted Tue Jan 8, 2013, 12:15pm Subject: Re: Taking the first steps, feedback?
Thanks for the replies. I believe that overstretching is indeed my problem. I get a head of thick, fairly dense foam with almost no bubbles but pours out in a blob at the end of the pour. Certainly not anything considered art quality. Practice makes perfect I guess. :)
glcoffee Senior Member Joined: 15 Feb 2012 Posts: 67 Location: Los Angeles, CA & Taiwan Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Izzo Alex II Grinder: Vario Drip: Hario V60
Posted Wed Feb 13, 2013, 3:06am Subject: Re: Taking the first steps, feedback?
Crosshatch Said:
It seems you are almost there :)
From your last picture you have nice 'waves' at the start and I think the only flaw was from when you pulled down to create the stem? (Might be wrong)
A couple of the guys at the shop are at this stage and they are improving by letting the waves settle a tad (maybe a second wait, not much) before pushing down to create the stem. This settling makes it harder for the waves to be pulled down together (which before created a bit of a blob at the top). Also worth trying to tilt the pitcher at a slightly higher angle as to not let as much milk/foam pour over your waves and pull them together.
Hope this helps, you've improved a lot, once you get the perfect couple of leafs it gets a lot easier... Becomes muscle memory rather than a thought out process :)
Thanks for the encouragement. All of my pours are in 6oz cups. I have notice characteristics of a cup becomes a huger factor in terms of pace and proximity of your pour. For cups with wider openings, I tend to be a lot closer and much slower.
glcoffee Said:
Since then, I have made a few changes to my equipment: using a smaller pitcher (12oz as oppose to 20oz) and am now using the 4 hole tip. I fill the milk to about 5-6oz and position the wand at a slight angle into the pitcher. The cup is a 8oz latte cup
Hi, I am using exactly the same setup as this and am having some struggles getting the results that I would like. Could you tell me how long it takes you to froth 5 or 6 oz in the 12oz pitcher. BTW I wish my drinks looked as good as yours. I am about ready to pull my hair out! Thanks
I normally fill the milk to about one finger below the bottom of the spout. Letting the milk sit a bit almost helps for lower powered machines. Time is not really a variable as other factors your should consider are milk temp, steam pressure, steam head, and if you are going for a latte or cap. I used whole milk, briefly stretch the milk and spent most of the time warming it (hot to hold, but not to touch).
Coffeenoobie Said:
It takes me 20 seconds or so to froth 4 oz in 12 oz pitcher. I sink when my digital thermometer hits 40 which is 5 degrees up from the start and about as many seconds and then stop at 100 and it coasts up to 140 +
I'm really not a fan of saying X seconds since you should really be going about it by sound and touch.
Pourista Said:
I agree with Helen. 5 seconds or so of adding air in the beginning is all you need. As the steaming continues, the milk continues to expand until you're done. The more time you have for the milk and foam to roll and heat up, the better. That's why having a cold pitcher is best. Common mistakes are usually adding too much air at the beginning and then not having enough time to roll the milk and foam together. It is a bit of touch and go with the amount of air added to the amount of milk in the pitcher. The more milk you have, the more air you need to add and 5 seconds probably won't be enough for say 12oz+ of milk.
The variance for me is really the temperature of the milk and what type of steam pressure I have to work with.
RussK Said:
Thanks for the replies. I believe that overstretching is indeed my problem. I get a head of thick, fairly dense foam with almost no bubbles but pours out in a blob at the end of the pour. Certainly not anything considered art quality. Practice makes perfect I guess. :)
I had this issue at first. When it is overstretched, try to give your pitcher a few good swirls or even dump some out from the top. What you want is a paint like density.
I think the tail could have been a little cleaner on my part.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” C.S. Lewis, The World's Last Night ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ I am Taiwanese.
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 