From microfoam to velvet

[zaphod]

So I think I've gotten pretty good at getting nice texture for sweetness in the cup and latte art. I can build a passable rosetta, heart, etc.

THEN I go to any one of my favorite Portland cafes and often get something wayyyy better. The foam is an entire category higher in quality. It's like velvet and the bubbles so tight that they're invisible. It's sweeter, creamier, and the art looks like it has been printed on a higher resolution printer while I wallow in the dot matrix world. ((If you have no idea about that reference then be HAPPY... because you're young))

I have your standard hx machine with a single hole tip. I've tried different volumes of milk (always full fat... word) and different timing of the stretch versus heat, changed the angle and depth in every possible combination. And I always bang & spin which is just a brill technique.

So the question is whether there's a maximum attainable quality with a prosumer hx machine versus a 240volt big meaty commercial setup?

Usually inexperienced users blame their equipment in any activity, "If only I had better tires, I could have made that corner" so I'm guessing that I can continue to improve with the kit that I have.

[HB]

So the question is whether there's a maximum attainable quality with a prosumer hx machine versus a 240volt big meaty commercial setup?

If you choose a prosumer HX that has good steaming power and use an appropriate steam tip / milk volume, I think the difference in maximum attainable quality from a skilled barista would be negligible. Chris indirectly raised this point in his Mia writeup:

Switching to this tip was a dramatic improvement. Beyond what I'd expected or even hoped for. Suddenly I could make good milk with ease. It's still harder to texture great milk with the Mia than it is with most commercial machines, but that's really not a fair comparison... while it is possible to steam well with small amounts of milk (four to six ounces of cold milk in a twelve ounce pitcher), we found that it was difficult to steam any significant amount of milk without running into the same flavor issues. Getting both good texture and taste from more than twelve ounces of milk was seemingly impossible.

I've griped about "cheater tips" for the same reason, i.e., very easy to texture, but tastes less sweet. My "cure" was to spend time learning how to texture with more steam, and to steam each serving individually. The only problem is once you've spent significant time steaming with commercial equipment, the smaller boilers just seem less fun.

[shadowfax]

The only problem is once you've spent significant time steaming with commercial equipment, the smaller boilers just seem less fun.

I can imagine this. Just going from a standard tip to one of those low-volume 2-hole tips seems like a picture. I started steaming and it's like, hey, wow, stretching is so much more stable! Then you're done stretching, the milk is 55-60 degrees, and you bury the tip, tilt it at more of an angle, and you notice, crap, where's the whirlpool? Then it sort of materializes and spins up, but never with the violence and speed of that standard tip. The tip is like playing a first-person shooter in slow motion--your reaction time is boosted significantly by the fact that everything is going slower, which makes it easier, but not exactly any more fun. Stretching is sort of more fun, but then you have to steam and it's just like, wow, where's the fast-forward button on this guy?

It'd be totally awesome if you could get a steam tip whose holes dilated after being submerged in water for 10 seconds or so. That would get you the best of both worlds...

[roblumba]

I have an ECM Giotto and use a standard three hole tip and haven't been able to get any whirl action. There just isn't enough steam power. The best I can hope for is a little bit of turbulance that's barely visible under the foam.

[zaphod]

btw, i'm running a single hole tip that comes stock with my expobar office lever.

I tried a 3 hole and the boiler pressure couldn't be sustained because, I assume, the boiler element is too wimpy.

[Ozark_61]

robumbla -
Try a 2 hole tip. I have Chris' two hole tip and have no problem spinning 4-6oz of milk. I think you're losing some oomph with dividing the pressure by 3 vs 2.

Geoff

[roblumba]

I probably wouldn't have an issue spinning 4-6 ounces of milk. I usually doing two cappas at a time. So it's around 8-12 ounces of milk. But I plan on ordering the naked portafilter from Chris anyways, so I'll throw in an order for that two hole tip and give it a try. Thanx.

[laservet]

My Giotto came with a 2-hole tip, but it was too fast for me since I typically do 1/3 cup milk or less at a time. I went to a single hole tip and it works pretty well for me.

Gus