After years of trying to microfoam and pour latte art with a millennium europiccola, here are my observations, problems, etc:

Very simply, if I keep the tip completely submerged -- even if it's only just barely completely covered in the milk -- I wind up with hot milk. No microfoam. (It seems to me, most of the europiccola frothing videos I've seen keep the tip fairly well submerged, yet somehow wind up with mf. Hmm.)

Of course, if I go the other way, and try to surf, I often wind up with bubbles.

What I've taken to doing is living with the bubbles that sometimes come with surfing, and with the encouragement of the whirlpool effect, and then sinking the tip quickly -- sooner than I used to -- and hoping the bubbles dissipate before the milk gets too thick for art, which is another problem.

Sometimes, I get good results, but the resulting "art" is almost never completely bubble free. Some mornings are better than others...

Now, I've read all the threads, looked at all the videos. I've tried the tip in the center of the pitcher -- where I usually leave it these days -- but I've also tried it against the edge.

Clearly with more powerful machines, microfoam frothing is probably easier. But I know it can be done. You've all said so! What am I missing? (I haven't tried plugging up a hole, 'cause I'd like to see if mf is possible without doing so...)

Pouring the actual art is another matter... But please help me consistently achieve "perfect" mf, if you can.

Couple other questions. When I raise the lever and hold it in the up position for the preinfusion, sometimes droplets of water leak from where the piston is exposed by the lever raising, and onto the top of the grouphead -- usually more onto the left side of the gf, but sometimes onto both left and right -- and I wind up repeatedly drying the dripping before pulling the shot. Curiously, this doesn't happen when I pull a blank shot. Ideas?

Often, during the pull, a lot of steam escapes from where the gf is attached to the boiler. I place my left hand on the boiler cap to stabilize the machine, so I often get a mild scalding during the pull. Not so bad as to stop me from doing it, but I'd rather it didn't happen. Never used to. Am I pulling too hard?

Thanks so much for your thoughts on any or all!

I always had the best luck doing it like here:

Note that I had the best luck bending the wand out to help with a whirlpool

you can check out the rest of the set (the first half of it is making espresso (a cappuccino) with a La Pavoni. I always found that I had the best luck with a good bit of swirl and tapping.

wow, nice work! And you've kept your machine spotless. Mine looks good too, but the metal to the right of the steam knob is a little patina-y...

By the way, with regard to the questions I asked at the bottom of my post, it is not my girlfriend who is attached to the boiler -- I typed gf, but meant, gh, my shorthand for, grouphead.

If you have a leak on the piston in the grouphead, you need to replace your gaskets on the machine.

pavman wrote:After years of trying...
... But I know it can be done. You've all said so!

But please help me consistently achieve "perfect" mf, if you can.

I suggest that you don't trust what other people say as much, and to trust your years of experience a little more. No one said it can be done, I tell you, it can't... !

The reason why people say they got to it could be as simple as that what they consider perfect microfoam is simply too thick for you. With the Pavoni's, the problem is twofold, and getting perfect microfoam from the thing is at best difficult (sometimes impossible).

I did always have issues with large bubbles that the whirlpool couldn't pop. The La Pavoni, I find, needs a lot more swirl and tap attention than, say, my Vetrano. Moreover, I consider it something more of a challenge than Vetrano, to some degree.

Still, if your results don't compare with my own humble creations, which I think clearly demonstrate that perfect latté art COULD be poured by someone with a steadier hand, then you ought to know that you're missing something.





Microfoam is just a word for bubbles, and it doesn't have a specified "thickness". The "thickness" will be determined by a ratio of liquid to bubbles and a degree to which the two are mixed together. Since microfoam is a measure of the size of the bubbles that you produce--they are supposed to be too small to look like bubbles to the naked eye--if you have issues with excessive thickness, don't froth for as long as you do, and spend more time with the all-important whirlpool.

I can barely even get a whirlpool going with my vintage Europiccola, so I wonder if the Millennium model has better steaming action. I get the pitcher of hot milk no matter what I try...good to see some can get microfoam, though. Might just need more practice.

The Millennium--maybe. I do have a Pre-Millennium Professional, which does have double the boiler capacity. It is possible, even probable, that this makes things a lot easier.

I also have a pre-millennium La Pavoni Professional. I have no problem getting the whirlpool going. I do have a piece of toothpick plugging up the hole closest to the boiler. I do have to stop before the milk gets frothed too thick for latte art. I was frothing too long and thick most of the time before....(I can make some nice designs with chocolate syrup to sit on top of the thick cappa foam .)

I think I am getting close because I stop before it is too thick and I swirl and tap the cup enough to blend but haven't really gotten the pour technique down yet. I poured half of a deer antler yesterday. I am not yet sure what to do with my hand movement and how much it has to do with pour speed...the combination of the two?. Any hints would be appreciated. I've watched lots of videos but when I am actually doing it...well, it is different.

Lucy, I know what you mean about watching the videos and thinking you got it, and then it not working out at all. When I was first learning "the basics," it took me a good while. I'd like to share a compilation of highlights from some of my early attempts, for your amusement.


An early attempt on my Gaggia Espresso.

I was so excited to get that nice top part. It was kind of funny how it appeared after the total botching of the first half...


Unintentional apple.

This is about the best thing that ever happened to me with way over-foamed milk. Again, the Gaggia Espresso.


Shockwaves of a bullet just before passing through a wall.

Apparently I forgot how to wiggle the pitcher! I don't even remember how I did this, but that is with Silvia. Note that there's real espresso there, and it was properly foamed! Those were big steps for me.

Anyway, when I got down to learning how to do a rosetta pour, I would spend a good long time at the sink. I would pour about 2 oz. of water into the cup, and fill the pitcher halfway with water, and would practice, practice, practice wiggling the pitcher smoothly, and cutting it just right. What eventually worked for me was just watching the best latté art videos, trying it, and then watching them again the next day or something. There's so much that goes on in them that you don't notice until you really try it, repeatedly. You have to keep at it, until it clicks. It's a process of developing muscle memory and fine-tuning it, like learning to ride a bicycle--expect to fall of many times before you get it right, eh?

Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck.