Hi all, hope someone can help.

I am the new and proud owner of a 2nd hand classic Pavoni. I *think* it's an old Europiccola but am not entirely sure.

Photo attached, distinguishing features are:

- 2 switches
- No pressure gauge
- No logo on front
- Grooved rather than smooth black plastic handle on lever
- Fixed wand
- Metal cover on drip tray
- Small portafilter
- Small tank (I think).

I'm really hoping someone with this exact machine can help as I'm wondering whether this specific machine is simply not very good at creating microfoam?

I've read tonnes of stuff online and watched countless clips of 'perfect latte' production. The machine seems to be in very good condition, I have a decent size metal pitcher, a thermometer, am starting with pre-chilled jug and milk and am following every instruction to the letter.. but no matter what I do, I end up with hot milk and foam on top and no hope in hell of any latte art! I seem to be able to get a decent amount of fairly dense foam, but the texturising achieves nothing other than heating the milk. I'm wondering whether there simply isn't enough pressure built up with the small boiler, or whether the fixed wand and nozzle with 3 holes makes it hard to get the right angle, both for good enough stretching and also for creating any kind of vortex in order to mix things up to texturise.

I've also tried some pretty intensive swilling, banging on the counter and even folding with a spoon after the fact, but no improvement.

Any help much appreciated, I'm starting to resent each cup of mediocre coffee I ruefully drink!

Of course, it's probably just my poor technique - bad workmen and all that - but before I pay through the nose on a barista course it would be good to know if my machine is capable of the holy grail!

Thanks,
Steve

provided you have enough pressure, blocking 2 of the steam holes and steaming with a single jet is a usual solution for this. BTW your style of Pav uses the safety valve as a steam vent (ie, has no pressure stat etc) as a result if the spring in the safety valve is tired it will have less pressure/heat in the boiler. REad up on your pav by searching for pavoni info in this site, all the answers are here.

Thanks Zubinpatrick, much appreciated.

I did do a fair bit of trawling before posting but it would help if you, or someone else, could confirm exactly what it is that I have?

is it a 'pre millennium la pavoni europiccola'?

Blocked one hole with a section of paper clip and rotated tip so the remaining two holes are level and face forwards.. some definite improvement so will try blocking another hole.

Thanks
Steve

With the 2 switch model you need to have both elements on to produce a useful amount of steam. You also mentioned you are using a "decent sized metal pitcher". If "decent" translates into "large" I would try steaming a smaller amount of milk in a smaller jug first (ie 6oz of milk in a 12oz jug). The smaller container makes it easier to get the vortex going.

There is also lots of great advice in the FAQ's & Favorites section of this site under the Latte Art heading.

esteebie wrote:Thanks Zubinpatrick, much appreciated.

I did do a fair bit of trawling before posting but it would help if you, or someone else, could confirm exactly what it is that I have?

is it a 'pre millennium la pavoni europiccola'?


Thanks
Steve

I'm not too good with the nomenclature....OE site has i.d. help.

Definitely looks like a La Pavoni Pre-millenium Europiccola model. Portafilter is probably 49 mm vs. 51. I have a 2 switch model as well and is a 90's model. I picked up a new single hole steam tip from Orphan Espresso for about 5 $. Made a world of difference in steam quality. Beautiful machine enjoy....

esteebie wrote:is it a 'pre millennium la pavoni europiccola'?

That's correct. It should have a 49mm portafilter basket and a two stage switch which controls a 1000W heating element and also a 200W heating element.

Looks like the same machine I have. I have a bunch of videos of it here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ray5961?feature=mhum#g/u

Based on the information I have on my machine, I would guess your machine is from maybe the mid 1970's or some place around there maybe. It's a very well made, good machine, but the learning curve can be pretty steep. Temperature control is also a problem on that machine (in my experience).

As far as a single hole steam tip, check ebay or OE. They sell a single hole steaming tip on there for about $6 as I recall. I have it on my machine and it helps quite a bit.

With regard to steaming milk for latte art, the machine should do it no problem. It's more technique than anything else. I can maybe make a video about how to do it (although, frankly, I'm still learning myself). Here are a few tips:

First, chill the pitcher in the freezer. I keep all my frothing pitchers in the freeze 24/7. Also, use whole milk.

I usually pour the milk into the pitcher, then keep it in the freezer for a couple of minutes until it's time to froth the milk.

Steam on the high setting of course. It should take about 30 to 45 seconds to come up to where you can steam (from when you switch from I to II). Clear the steam wand of any water, then put it about 1/2 an inch under the surface of the milk and turn it on full blast.

Use a thermometer in the milk as you steam. I usually steam to about 130 to 135 and turn off the steam, which causes the milk temperature to coast up to just above 140 degrees F.

Start by steaming with the tip about 1/2" under the surface. Then angle the jet (in my case, from the single tip) towards the side wall of the pitcher. This should create quite a spin in the milk. The important thing to remember, however is this: if you spin the milk, it tends to destroy the micro foam. On the other hand, if you shoot the jet of steam straight down into the milk (less of a whirl pool), then you can end up making too much foam. The result will be that you can't do latte art, because instead of having micro foam, you just have a lot of foam that sort of blops out at the end.

It's a fine line between thick foam, micro foam and no foam. You gotta play around with it. If you spin the milk the whole time, you'll end up with just thin milk and not much foam. If you steam the milk without much of a swirling action, then you'll produce too much foam and it won't be micro foam for doing latte art.

What I usually do is this: start by stretching the milk (put the tip under the surface and get things rolling). Then angle towards the side and spin up the milk and surf the tip a bit near the surface (so that it draws air down into the milk). Then near the end of the steaming, kill the swirling a bit and slow the milk down (steam more down than at the side); you'll see the speed of the whirl pool slow way down. This will tend to produce micro foam more so than spinning the milk around.

So to recap.. I start by spinning the milk and surfing the tip near the surface to pull air down into the milk. Then I back off and slow the whirl pool down (so I can generate some additional foam). If I feel like I have made too much foam, I will swirl the milk a bit to break down some of the foam and pull it back into the milk.

Right now, I'm still fine tuning things. I'll usually still end up with a touch too much foam and not "micro enough". I can almost get latte art, but it's not quite as defined as I would like (I think I'm still over doing it on the foam). It's a very fine line. I'm to the point where I can almost get latte art, but I need to work on my drawing technique a bit further. Also, as you pour the milk into the coffee, you have to pay attention to what you are doing, because if you get things moving around too much in the cup, then it will off balance the pour and you won't be able to fan out the fern (or whatever you are trying to draw).

I'm hoping to get to the point where I can start making some videos soon here.

Also, you need a large, wide mouth cup (at least until you get good). Something which will allow you to pour all the milk you steam without filling up the cup too soon.

Anyway, your La Pavoni (with a single tip) should steam milk with the best of them (so long as your 1000W heating element is in good repair and working okay).

When I first got my machine, I had a heck of a time steaming milk. It wasn't the machine, it was me. Work on your technique and search youtube for videos. You can also use soapy water to practice with, although I have never tried that myself.

Ray

jarviscochrane wrote:With the 2 switch model you need to have both elements on to produce a useful amount of steam.

Unless you are planning on re-wiring your machine, you're never going to have both heating elements on at the same time. The low setting turns on the 200W heating element and the high setting turns on the 1000W element.

The machine should produce plenty of steam using only the high setting (and thus only the 1000W heating element).

Ray

I'm sure you've figured this out from the previous posts, but I'll reiterate because it wasn't intuitive to me when I bought my Europiccola. Open the valve 9 or 10 turns. Make sure you're getting all of the steam!

Ray, that's an awesome description! I've been getting pretty good, but I'm definitely going to tweak my technique a little after reading your post.

edit: I have the same problem you do, too. Good foam, but not quite "micro" enough for good art.

Although it is quite long of a video, I start steaming my milk around the 7:12 mark and pour a heart:

RayJohns wrote:Steam on the high setting of course. It should take about 30 to 45 seconds to come up to where you can steam (from when you switch from I to II). Clear the steam wand of any water, then put it about 1/2 an inch under the surface of the milk and turn it on full blast.

This is one place where my routine defers from Rays - I put the tip right at the surface from the get-go and only open up the wand with maybe 1 1/2 - 2 turns.

Here is a video showing how to make microfoam with soap and water:



I'd say I learnt the most though from this video: