Gold Pro 2 Hole Steam Wand Tip

[framey]

I'm a recent inductee into the world of HX coffee machines. One of the main reasons I made the leap from my single boiler Gaggia was the promise of abundant and instantaneous steam. Now that I've gotten what I wished for I've been working on producing microfoam. It looked easy enough, I read the milk frothing guide and milk texturing basics, it should be a piece of cake...

The OEM steam tip that comes with the Diadema Jnr (La Valentina) isn't bad at all, but perhaps more suited to larger volumes of milk than I commonly use. After doing a little online research I came to the conclusion that I needed the Gold Pro 2 Hole Steam Wand Tip (GP2). The tip arrived in the mail yesterday. It really does make a difference. I'm still new to HX steam power but steaming with the GP2 is like steaming in slow motion. The standard two hole tip, as previously mentioned, is a bit overwhelming with smaller volumes of milk. It has a kind of violence to its action, whereas the GP2 is smooth and you feel as though you can take your time stretching the milk and finding an optimum wand position.

The second time I used it I managed to produce my glossiest milk ever. MMM shiney . It looked like 'white chrome' rather than beaten egg whites, and whilst my milk pouring skills are still in their embryonic stages, I did manage one of my best rosettas to date.

I had a little trouble fitting the tip to the wand. It didn't want to screw completely on, and was leaking some steam at the juncture of the tip and the wand. I bought some plumbers tape tonight and that seems to have done the trick.

At this stage (early) I'd think about putting the OEM tip back on if I wanted to steam more than about 250mls just to get a stronger whirlpool, but I haven't steamed enough milk yet to know for sure. The other variable has been the different milks I've been trying. Give me a week or so with the new tip and I'll have a better understanding of it's nuances.

I wouldn't have thought such an easy and inexpensive accessory could make such a difference to my coffee making experience. I'm glad I was wrong.

[HB]

Thanks Stephen for the quick review. Getting the right velocity and volume for a given serving size makes a big difference in the ease with which you produce a good result. And ever the experimenter, I've tried quite a few steam tips. Below is a sample from a photo I took awhile back:



Since this photo was taken, I also bought the one from espressoparts.com:



(Image courtesy of EPNW)

The Chris' two-hole steam tip (link) has been my longtime favorite for Valentina, with the EPNW two-hole a close second. While I don't advocate chasing after steam tips -- I advise getting your technique down with just about any reasonable steam tip -- I'll make an exception to that advice for the GP2. I like it just a little more than the C2HST.

I talked with Jim at 1st-line and complimented him on a nice improvement on a small but important part of the cappuccino making experience. Later I cajoled him into letting me pass a few of these wonders onto the HB readership. HB is about sharing the love.

Well, they arrived today. Anyone who wants one, send me a private message. I'll update this post when they're gone. In return, please post your impressions, whether they be positive or negative.

PS: This is a photo of the GP2 next to the stock tip for Valentina.

[HB]

Updated: All GP2's are spoken for! Look for them in the next few days, and thanks for your feedback.

[framey]

Hi Dan

Is the 'New Std' the tip that now comes OEM with the La Valentina?

If so, are they readily available?

This bit of tip info had slipped by me.

[HB]

Sorry, that's a photo from quite awhile ago; "new std" refers to the Isomac line. To the best of my knowledge, stock Valentinas come with the leftmost tip, i.e., "old std." You could probably acquire the knurled steam tip from a parts supplier for Isomac. If I recall correctly, it steams like the EPNW two-hole steam tip.

[framey]

A local roaster and general coffee supplies retailer had mentioned that Ala di Vittoria were shipping the Valentinas with smaller gauge holes due to consumer feedback. Not something I can confirm, but no reason not to believe it.

[shadowfax]

Hey dan, What do you think of a 4 hole tip on La Valentina?

I'd kinda like to try out a steam tip that will put every bit of her steam at my fingertips, that would give me the fastest possible steaming time and the most difficult learning curve, either as something to take the time and learn or as something to compare to the GP2HST. Any idea where I could get something like that? you don't happen to have a spare one lying around, do you?

[HB]

I doubt you would be pleased with the performance of a four-hole steam tip for Valentina -- the pressure and steam velocity would likely plummet, resulting in lots of soap bubbles. The steaming performance section of the Cimbali Junior buyer's guide explains the conundrum:

The ease of frothing isn't related to a single physical metric like boiler size or heating element wattage. The balanced combination of steam volume, velocity, and the steam tip dispersion pattern tells more about how easily the machine froths and dictates the techniques that will work best. Very often new owners who are frustrated by their recently upgraded espresso machine actually suffer from continuing the habits they learned on their previous less powerful machine.

In any case, you've not even received your new Levetta, have you? The stock one works pretty well for a 20 ounce pitcher and the GP2 works great for small amounts. Give both a try. To make the tip easy to swap out for experimentation, use a small O-ring to get a good seal and only finger tighten.

[shadowfax]

I doubt you would be pleased with the performance of a four-hole steam tip for Valentina -- the pressure and steam velocity would likely plummet, resulting in lots of soap bubbles. The steaming performance section of the Cimbali Junior buyer's guide explains the conundrum:
...
In any case, you've not even received your new Levetta, have you? The stock one works pretty well for a 20 ounce pitcher and the GP2 works great for small amounts. Give both a try. To make the tip easy to swap out for experimentation, use a small O-ring to get a good seal and only finger tighten.

I suppose a better question might be to ask, do you think that the power of the boiler is optimally used by the stock/GP2 tips? I was under the impression that a lot of these harness the steaming power to slow things down.

In any event, I certainly haven't had a chance to play around with the stock or gold pro tip; I just thought it might be interesting to test out a bigger tip and compare; I suppose I probably will have enough to work with just with the stock and gold pro.

[HB]

Yes, the stock tip and GP2 cover the capacity of Valentina's boiler well. For example, if you could put the four-hole tip of the Cimbali Junior on Valentina, the boiler pressure would fall like a stone. If you tried to compensate by choking down the steam valve, the velocity would be as anemic as blowing milk bubbles through a straw. Not enough pressure = no microfoam. It is hard to steam below 0.8 bar and approaching impossible at 0.6 bar.

PS: Now you got me wondering how bad it would really be. Fortunately Junior and Val aren't thread compatible...

[puffinjk]

Now we can do some serious micro foaming, outstanding product, thanks 1st-line, livia really likes this one.

See ya, Jim.

[cannonfodder]

I told Dan that I would do a little revue of the new two-hole steam tip he sent out to a lucky few.

I am using a Isomac millennium with the p-stat set to 1.3, 1.1 at the bottom end. I have to start by saying that I am new the espresso world. I have owned my own machine for about seven months now. I have gone through four to date, two are gone and two remain, my Gaggia Factory lever and my new Millennium. I make no pretenses to be an expert with it; I have only had the millennium for about three weeks now.


I decided to test the heat time between the (new style) factory tip and the new gold tip Dan sent. I did not want to waste a gallon of milk so I did my testing using plain old water. I needed to be able to maintain a constant set of variables for both the new and OEM tip. Not having a dozen of the same size frothing pitchers, I used a dozen heavy walled 12oz coffee cups. The cups had been in the freezer so each was at the same temp and the water was in a pitcher in the fridge.

After an hour warm up I did a quick steam line purge and started. I have to say that everything was very uniform. With the OEM tip, container from the freezer and 8oz of 40f water I constantly hit 140f in 48 seconds. The sample would carryover to 150f in another couple of seconds.

I changed to the new gold two-hole tip and started the process again using the exact same set of variables; the gold tip ran the test sample to 140f in 46 seconds. I had expected the new tip to heat slower but it averaged a couple of seconds quicker on my test.

I also did froth a couple of pitchers of milk using both tips. Doing my best to keep all of the variables as close as possible and trying to stretch the milk to the same temp (80f), then bury the tip and continue steaming to 140 which would carryover to 150f. Once again I kept to a measured 8oz 40f sample of 2% milk in a stainless steel pitcher fresh from the freezer.

The new gold tip appeared to give me more control and definitely produce more volume of microfoam than the OEM tip. The amount of turbulence I got in a smaller pitcher was better. I could position the pitcher to develop a very turbulent whirlpool, which incorporated the foam with the milk much better. I suspect that is by design, the steam holes are closer together and appear to have a much steeper angle than the OEM. I believe this allows fore more directional control of the jet in a small pitcher.

The OEM works better in a large pitcher using double the 8oz volume of milk. In that situation the OEM allowed for more turbulence in the pitcher due to the separation of the steam jets.

I have continued to use the gold tip for the past week. I can definitely produce better foam than the OEM tip. I even managed to pour my first latte art in a 10oz cup.

If you want nice foam using a small pitcher, frothing for one drink at a time, the new gold tip is an improvement.

P.S. I do have some photos but I don't have a public http to link them to, maybe Dan in put them in if I email them to him??

think I have it....

(edit, crash and burn)

[framey]

Nice one.

If you want to post some pictures check out Posting Images on HB in the News & Suggestion Box.

[cannonfodder]

Lets try it again...

[cannonfodder]

Worked that time, next time I will down size the photos.

[JonR10]

OK - mine came in yesterday's mail (THANKS DAN!!!) so this morning was my first chance to check it out. My first impressions:

1. Wow - I was impressed by how clean my OLD tip was inside....
2. Wow - I was impressed by the craftsmanship of the GP2 tip
3. Wow - I did not have to adjust anything for proper orientation

Sorry.

I do like this tip a lot. It doesn't feel like a case of newness=fondness at all because I kinda wish it was stainless or chromed to match my steam wand.

Interestingly, although it seems to slow the steam a little I have not noticed that it takes longer to froth. Also, it may just be my impression but I think my froth is a little more dense and smooth. I'm going to need more practice with this for sure!

I once measured frothing time for 10 ounces on my Relax at almost exactly one minute (until I was done - no temp measurement). That was for someone else's benefit because I typically steam 4-6 ounces of milk for a single drink and I don't ever measure time or temperature.

Bottom line (after one day) is that I'm looking forward to more practice with this tip. My drinks today seemed extra-rich and creamy. My former favorite was the EPNW tip just edging out the CC2HT but now I think the GP2 will be a new fave.

[thomas_cho]

I have been using the GP2 tip for about a week now.

Spent the first two days getting used to the tip. Once I got used to it, and changed my technique a bit, I was able to get nicely textured milk for exactly one latte.

Previously with the stock tip, the milk would be literally blasted out of the jug. I probably had just 10 seconds, before the milk temperature hit 70 degrees celcius.

I still have yet to produce any rosetta, but have produced a heart.

It's a good tip to use for the home where smaller quantities of milk are required.

On another topic, I used plumbers teflon to seal the threads, anyone know if this reacts with steam to produce are harmful effects?

Cheers

[JonR10]

On another topic, I used plumbers teflon to seal the threads, anyone know if this reacts with steam ....?

Teflon is safe for foodservice use, and does not react with steam. It is stable at very high temperatures and most harsh chemicals don't touch it.

Remember that teflon (PTFE) is also used as a lining for pots and pans.

[cannonfodder]

If you get the Teflon tape too hot it will fuse into something resembling a chunk of plastic. I had some left on the threads of a pipe when I brazed it. The leftover tape turned into a hard plastic like mass that was a pain to get off. There are also studies showing that the Teflon will break down and emit a toxic gas at extreme temperatures, i.e. leaving a pan on the stove, on high for 10 min. or heating it red hot while brazing (dough! ).

I would have to search for the article, but for an espresso machine, you will never get that hot.

[BobY]

On another topic, I used plumbers teflon to seal the threads, anyone know if this reacts with steam to produce are harmful effects?

Teflon tape, if it's PTFE Teflon (most is), is one of the most inert thermoplastic/thermoset materials. It will not react to water unless you can get the temperature up over 200 deg C (about 400 deg F)!!

Not to worry!

BobY