Hi guys,

There's a few threads out there about steaming with the Rocket. We've discussed adjusting pstat settings, checking water level probes and plugging some holes with toothpicks. That all been fun but i'm just looking to change things up with new tip for my machine. As i understand it, the Rocket still comes with the infamous 2 hole (big holes) no burn tip that a lot of people seem to dislike.

I've gotten used to it and can produce some good foam. Heck, i can even make a decent rosetta However, it takes some attention and other users in the house may not have my patience or perseverance...

I see a 4 hole (.9mm) tip on Chris Coffee's site and i've also been looking at Rocket's 4 steam tip set. I don't recall seeing any conclusive feedback in older threads about these alternate tips. Now that's it been a while, any suggestions from Rocket owners or early adopters of the no burn arm?

I like Chris's tip but getting it shipped to Canada is going to cost (i have to rack up 50$ worth of goodies and then there's shipping costs)

You may want to consider the following offering from Seattle Coffee Gear:

http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/Rocket-Espresso-Accessory-Steam-Tips-Set-of-Four-p/scg10294-77.htm

It's four different tips by Rocket for less than $25.

I ordered the set of 4 tips. The only one that's somewhat useful is the smaller 2 hole tip and even then I still have better luck just plugging one of the holes in the original tip. :/ Trying to recall where I ordered from but shipping to Canada wasn't bad. Came from New York iirc.

Don't get too discouraged. This is a difficult machine to stream with, period. I was playing around with a friend's new Breville double boiler last weekend and my very first attempt at steaming resulted in some of the nicest and longest lasting microfoam I've ever had, cafe's included.

EDIT: It was Whole Latte Love. Had some issues with their ordering. It wouldn't work properly from the website given that I'm in Canada. You may have to call them directly. Even then they somehow misplaced my order until I called weeks later wondering where my tips were. They were courteous enough wherever I spoke to them but something definitely fell apart in their order system.

nixter wrote: Don't get too discouraged. This is a difficult machine to stream with, period.

I know you've had issues getting good results with the Rocket. But, I wouldn't generalize. I've had an Evoluzione for a month and have consistently been getting good results with steaming. In fact, steaming has been really easy. Others have posted good results, too.

The Rocket tips offer a good alternative for those that want to try different options. Why try other tips if the manufacturer makes a set for their machines? For more info, check out the videos at Seattle Coffee Gear.

Ok let me clarify. It's a difficult machine to steam small amounts of milk on. I can steam milk for 2 drinks quite easily. I'm well aware of the SCG videos. They are definitely videos, I'll give them that.

I regularly steam 6 oz. of milk with no problem. I switched to a 16 oz. Motta pitcher to reduce the amount of air being added to the milk. I have no problems controlling the steam and getting good microfoam.

Well then I don't know. I'll concede that I do get good results every now and then such as this morning. It's just that last weekend I produced some really amazingly silky microfoam on the lowly BDB and thus my bar is raised again. The combination of steam volume/velocity/tip pattern/tip size all contribute in such a way that every machine is different I suppose.

An idea that comes to mind is to check the pressure control for the boiler. When it was checked with a Scace, I know mine was set a little high (about 9.5 bar), and I turned it down to just below 9. It helped the taste of my espresso, but made steaming slower and more challenging.

Do you mean pump pressure? Pump pressure should be around 9bar-ish. Boiler pressure control (Pstat) should be around 1 to 1.2 bar-ish. Pump pressure has no effect on steaming though.

Thanks for the correction Nixter. I remember fiddling with both of these pressures.