Sam,

You are too kind. The machine deserves all the credit.

On cranking up your pressure, you can tell within reason if you are in the vicinity of the right boiler pressure by the color of your shots. If you flush water through the group to heat the portafilter and the grouphead, pull a shot, and get a tan color espresso crema, your temp is too low. If it's dark brown, it's too hot. If you look at the video I posted you'll see flecking all over, which is pretty much bang on.

Any chance you have scale build-up in your machine that could be restricting flow at the steam wand? If it's been a while since you de-scaled, I'd give that a shot. Once up to temp, run some of the solution through the valve/wand. After it cools down and you rinse it thoroughly, try steaming again to see if it improved.

Good luck.

Hmm, I made two cappas this morning. I did a short flush and pulled the shot. The crema didn't have dark rings around the rim(not too tan either), it's probably a sign that the temperature is still within the range. The same goes with the second shot. As for frothing, it definitely got better. But the milk still had some small bubbles in them (not too much as compared to previously). Though, the second attempt in frothing resulted in soap bubbles. More practice needed I guess.

I suspect the previous owner descaled it before shipping because I found some metal flakes and big scale bits in the boiler when I first got it. I will get to descaling some time soon but as for now, I don't think I needed it, yet.

Anyway, Merle, thank you so much for your help and guidance! I will try to take it on from here. Hopefully the next time I post here will be good news.

uscfroadie wrote:Sam,

Here is a video I just shot. Definitely not my best effort, but you can get an idea of what steaming should be like. I steamed 6 ounces, which was more than I needed for the cappuccino, so 4 ounces should have been even faster.

Thank you, excellent capture of your technique. And thanks, too, for your more recent post comparing tan to dark brown crema.

samuellaw178 wrote:Hmm, I made two cappas this morning. I did a short flush and pulled the shot. The crema didn't have dark rings around the rim(not too tan either), it's probably a sign that the temperature is still within the range. The same goes with the second shot. As for frothing, it definitely got better. But the milk still had some small bubbles in them (not too much as compared to previously).........

Hi Sam,

Did you solve the problem of having the small bubbles? I have a Maximatic and am having the same issue. I used to own an Elektra Semiauto and it's so easy to forth milk properly with silky and excellent microfoam result. Since Maximatic is usually put in the same class as Elektra Semiauto, I thought it would be the same easy... unfortunately... not my case...

Please let us know how it goes with you. Any new tip? Thank you.

Kuo,

I did solve the problem of small bubbles, sort of. The final method that I am settled with, is to block 3 of the 4 holes of the old Cremina steamwand. The pressure is set to cycle between 0.9-1.1 bar. This gives me the best microfoam I could get and good 2-3 shots espresso per session which is more than enough. It takes about 30-45 seconds(vs 15-20 seconds of 4 holes) to steam the milk, but the result is unparalleled.

Another reason is that because I steam a small amount of milk, ie 3-5 oz mostly and 6.5oz max, I realize the 4 holes isn't the best for me. To utilize the 4 holes, you need a very high pressure setting and steam a bigger volume of milk. Technique could improve the result but it would take almost impossible amount of practice with super tight margin of error. I recon I am a fast learner but I totally give up on the 4 holes after endless hours of training.

I actually even spent about $70 to get the new 2011 steam wand with 4 holes, and even Espro pitcher. But there's no way the result could even touch the microfoam from old steam wand 1 hole. (maybe I am just dumb ) Note that the 2011 steamwand has 0.9mm holes and 67 steamwand has ~1.0-1.2mm holes. For single hole usage, the 2011 hole was too small and creates too little steam velocity. The '67 steamwand is perfect for using as 1 hole steam tips.

Anyway, for your maximatic, I would suggest crank up the pressurestat (to maybe 1.2 or higher?) and use a bigger volume of milk. It would require more flushing but it might be worth it for the result. Or block the holes as I did.

Even for microfoam without visible bubbles, there're actually different levels of mouthfeel. I am not looking for art pouring but the best mouthfeel. So, to get that, single hole with old Cremina steamwand seems to be the best answer I've reached.

Hi Sam,

Many thanks for your reply. Glad to learn that you have found a way to solve it. I completely understand the frustration which I am going through now as it's just so so so easy to get the excellent silky milk done with both of Elektra Semiauto (sold) and A3 (my current go-to machine).

I will try to get the a pressure gauge in order to adjust the boiler pressure higher and precisely and give it a shot. I truly hope that a higher pressure would solve the issue. From many reviews on new Maximatic, the factory setting of the boiler pressure is 1.3. Now I guess this might be a good reason for this unusual setting. (though I am not sure what the factory setting was for the older machine which I have - a 90' one) With the steaming power of my A3, I am used to get the job done within 10 seconds and thus I think I will be fine with the short window time. However, I would hate to destroy the joy of ease of pulling great espresso from Maximatic.

By the way, do you use a steam wand pressure gauge or a cap pressure gauge? Any difference in terms of precision and usability?

Thank you and I will keep you posted.

Yen-Chen

Yen-Chen,

Yes, it is frustrating instead!

In my opinion, both the steam wand pressure gauge and cap pressure gauge are equally good. I don't need to look at the pressure gauge every time so the steam wand is good enough for me to just check the boiler pressure occasionally. Plus it's cheaper. Precision wise, I would say both of them are the same.

If you want to look at the pressure gauge all the time and are willing to spend a little more, then the cap is better. Keep in mind it might take away from the look though. Hope it works out for you!

I don't think higher pressurestat would make it harder to pull a shot. It's just that you have to waste slightly more water by doing longer cooling flush. But I have no experience using a Maximatic so that's just my speculation.

Hi Sam,

Thanks again. This is very helpful and keeps my hope. I would hate to let it go for not being able to make the frothing milk work.

One more dummy question - Do I just apply the steam wand pressure gauge to the steam wand with tip on and then turn the steam all the way to its maximum? Thank you.

Yen-Chen

I readjusted my Cremina pressurestat the other day with the steam wand pressure gauge and had a thought, could you fit a new steam tip at the end of some flexible tubing and connect it to the existing wand? As long as the steam flow is less in the new tip (I'm thinking a single hole tip), it should work?

Hi Roger - thanks for your suggestion. Making the steam power weaker means taking longer time to get the frothing job done which might not be the best for my current usage. However, it's an interesting thought! Thanks.