I've been satisfied making good microfoam with my Anita's stock steam tip, but I decided to try the Pasquini 4-hole steam tip anyway. I wasn't anticipating it would make much of a difference.

But I was wrong. I cannot believe what a difference it makes. It takes about 10 seconds to steam milk for my cappas now (instead of 30-45 seconds with the stock tip), and the steamed milk is so much lighter (if that makes any sense). The Pasquini steam tip produces more microfoam making latte art so much easier.

Thanks Chris!

Thanks for the info. Are you able to get a good whirlpool with it?

Cool! I haven't checked out the Pasquini tip yet.

I switched from the stock tip and wand to the La Spaziale wand and four hole tip, and noticed a big difference. It steams about twice as fast as the stock tip, and microfoam is now very easy (after I spent about a week relearning how to steam milk). Sounds like the Pasquini tip is even faster. Good stuff.

bigdog002 wrote:Are you able to get a good whirlpool with it?

There isn't quite as much whirlpool action, but I'm still experimenting with trying to find the sweet spot. Tomorrow, I will experiment with the depth of the wand in the milk. With the stock top, I kept the tip right near the surface of the milk (without stretching, of course). Schomer suggests in his book that the 4-hole tip should be lowered significantly to create the whirlpool.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has experience creating monster whirlpools with a 4-hole tip.

My Spaziale four-hole tip seems to have no problem getting a good whirlpool going near the surface. I hold the tip toward the lower right hand side (around the five o'clock position in the pitcher) just below the surface and it whips up the milk very nicely. Tilting the pitcher away from me a bit seems to help too. One of these days I'll post a video...

I'd be interested in your technique. I purchased an Anita two weeks ago, and getting the espresso down was the easy part.

There seems to be plenty of advice on frothing milk, but general agreement that the bigger machines are difficult to use (at least for the uninitiated). My original Anita steam tip heated milk (skim, full, whatever) very quickly no matter what the depth and angle, and produced a few pathetic bubbles. I ordered the Pasquini 4 hole tip and the Isomac 2 Hole Steam Tip ... I've been experimenting with the 4-hole -- it both heats faster, and now leaves it truly bubble free. I may try a range of techniques and then move on to the Isomac 2-hole, with the smaller holes.

I've been using my little Nespresso whirly milk whipper, which does a pretty good job, but somehow would like to see a video of the Anita in action. Any suggestions? Does anyone know of videos that would show 1-hole operation as discussed here?

Here's a video of me steaming with the La Spaziale four hole tip on my Anita.



Sorry for the lack of lighting, but you can at least see the position of the steam wand in the pitcher, which I've found is crucial.

Thanks for the video ... I notice that you fill the pitcher up to the brim almost, and there is almost no change in volume. I'm getting the hang after some experimentation. I constructed a different tip by running a paperclip through the two holes on a tip ... I'm not sure I prefer this to the two hole.

Unfortunately, I'm getting to dislike milk based drinks (not the effort, but the taste) -- the flavor transformations in the milk don't complement the coffee flavor (or perhaps in general they are just not nice)f. I'm thinking about frothing pure cream, which I think should be easy, with a nicer flavor than milk.

Any thoughts on cream based espresso drinks?

Beezer wrote:Here's a video of me steaming with the La Spaziale four hole tip on my Anita.

....

Do you have the the .9 mm holes on that tip? (ref: http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/home/repairpartssection3/new4holesteamtip )

Do you also know if this La Spaziale 4-hole tip can go on the Anita (newer version) ? or do I need to get the whole La Spaz arm to get the La Spaz tip ?

Thanks.

Yes, it's the tip with the .9mm holes. I also tried the tip with the larger holes, but it lets out pressure too fast for the boiler to keep up, so it really doesn't work very well for Anita. The smaller holes are perfect for making smooth microfoam and still let out enough steam to get the whirlpool going and steam the milk fairly quickly.

Unfortunately you do need to replace the whole steam arm and not just the tip. The Spaziale tips have male threads, whereas the stock Anita steam arm uses a tip with female threads. So it's sort of an expensive fix, but very satisfying. Alternately, you could try the Pasquini four-hole tip, which apparently screws onto the stock Anita steam arm.

I too had been wanting to get a 4-hole steam tip. Originally I had a lot of trouble with the stock tip, so I "cheated" and bought the Expobar single hole tip. ITs a cinch to use, but the microfoam isn't AWESOME, its just good.. And surprisngly easy to over-stretch with the single hole because things happen so slowly. So, I switched back to the 2-hole stock tip, and the results were smoother, creamier, better.

So on my last order from EPNW I ordered This 4-hole Tip. Anita can't keep up at all, and Im running hot.. Max reading is 1.35 at the P-stat. Even If i "surf" and start steaming when at the top of the cycle, it drains the boiler right back down. I was upset to say the least.

So, I guess Ill be ordering the Pasquini tip.. Good to know it works well!

Heres a question. I have been wanting to get the No-Burn wand upgrade, but mainly because I wanted a longer steam arm. Which wand do you think would be better? The S5 arm or the No-burn? AFAIK, Id have to use the adaptor on either arm if I wanted to use the stock tip, the pasquini or the Expobar, right? Is the no burn longer? I think it is. I dont really care about the no-burn feature, tho it would be nice.. the main reason I want it is for the length.

10 seconds? How much milk are you steaming?

JmanEspresso wrote:I have been wanting to get the No-Burn wand upgrade, but mainly because I wanted a longer steam arm. Which wand do you think would be better? The S5 arm or the No-burn?

I own every wand and tip combination available for the Vivaldi (and many custom versions as well).

Bottom line is: stock 4 hole 0.9mm and long S5 arm works best.

Although I once briefly owned a Anita, I didn't try the Vivaldi tips on it. But I would bet anything a 3 hole 0.9mm tip on the longer S5 arm would be the best combo for this boiler and heater size and would provide good balance. Unfortunately, this is a custom tip, so you'll have to make due with the 4 hole 0.9mm. You could block one of the 4 holes with mighty putty, but I really don't like the hole pattern this gives.

The no-burn wand comes with a 2 hole tip but the large size of the holes and angle would no work well on the Anita.

If you felt the need to block a hole of a four hole tip I could suggest you try blocking the one that made the least effect on the swirl. Either the one pointing to the side, or the most rearward pointing one.

I find that a good convective swirl is most useful in mixing and spinning a good foam. But that is my style, you may find a back jet with more sinking force could be better for you.

As with most things with this sport, YMMV. And what pleases your taste is what you need to find.