Just to add to the thread, it is VERY, VERY obvious if milk is bad when you steam it. I once steamed a pitcher of milk that smelled all right, but all the protein and other solids coagulated and formed a solid layer on the top. Absolutely revolting!

That sounds pretttttty gross.

When I bought Anita, in the included instructions, Chris mentions that some milk just won't froth, mainly, "Crowley" brand milk. It mentions, if you're having trouble, try a different brand, and that if you still have trouble, Parmalat works well for them. So, I just went ahead ahead and bought some Parmalat Whole Milk, and Ive used it for capps ever since. I can also drink Parmalat straight, but I rarely do. I find that, compared to the other brands available to me, Parmalat is sweeter, creamier and richer. Those are three things that go well with making a good capp. Parmalat is all I will use.. Mainly because it froths very well, but also because it tastes the best to me. And, another plus about parmalat, is that, unopened, its got a 6-month shelf life, NON-refriged. During any given week, unless friends come over, Ill make maybe 4-5 capps. I rarely drink them, those 4 or 5 are my Father. So, I can keep a good amount of it on hand, but don't have to worry about it turning if I don't use it up right away.

The milk from my local Giant never foams well. Trader Joe's works great ant it is cheaper so that's where I buy now. Not that your issue has any thing to do with this but I went through 3 different pitchers before I found the right size and shape that works for my machine and I.

Edit to mention that after I got the third pitcher I noticed that the orientation of the three hole tip does make a difference.

bill wrote:..., but Organic Valley hardly foams at all. Last week my wife bought a couple gallons of Whole Foods store brand organic and it's the worst of all. No matter what I do the foam comes out as large sea bubbles which collapse immediately.

Same experience with normal Organic Valley and most of Whole Foods milk here. I normally used Lactaid till two weeks ago I decided to give Organic Valley Omega 3 milk another shot. It works beautifully!! Very silky, smooth, fine microform. More importantly, the flavor from the steamed milk is just right and well-balanced with the espresso for cappuccino. Personally I do feel that though Lactaid whole milk tastes great, it can overpower the espresso after milk is steamed. (PS: I make 5-6 oz cappuccino sometime with one shot, sometime with double.)

Another thing I found at least from Organic Valley and Lactaid is that ultra pasteurized milk works better than pasteurized milk. I do not know if it's the same for other brands or applied for all milk.

The worst results I've ever had trying to steam milk was with raw milk straight from the farm. I was really looking forward to trying a cappa with it since I usually don't do anything bigger then a machiatto, and this milk is delicious. But I couldn't get more then a little microfoam to form, I thought it would be easier with the higher fat content, but I'm guessing it was the lack of homoginization that caused the problems.

First thing I'd recommend in troubleshooting, is to clean/soak the steam wand in Cafiza (or something of that sort) and clean the holes really well. Even if then milk does not foam, then look for problems elsewhere.