Thanks. Definitely, by far, the best rosetta I've done. I got lucky that I caught it on camera. I made another latte this afternoon, filled the cup too far before starting the design, and ended up with basically nothing. Practice practice practice...

Great work! That rosetta looked really good.

Strange, I didn't see much of a whirlpool or other turbulence in the milk while you were steaming, but you still got nice microfoam when you were done, so maybe the shape of the pitcher does help. Intriguing.

The shape of the toroid is kind of hard to see in the video. The best pitcher angle for the camera wasn't the best angle for the toroid, unfortunately. That's why I was moving it around so much near the end - moving the toroid around to collapse the bubbles that formed earlier on. Unlike a whirlpool, the toroid doesn't give you a lot to look at from the surface. We're left to assume that the action is all down below.

I made another clip that gives a better view of the turbulence:

GC7 wrote:Nice review

I may need to get one of those pitchers because I can't seem to get good results with a standard pitcher and my Anita. I can get foam and I can get hot milk below but I can't seem to incorporate the two and I've been working at allbeit not very hard for longer then you. .

As a former Anita owner (the older model) I can attest that it is an excellent machine for beautiful espresso shots, but I also had trouble get good microfoam with several differing pitchers. Not so with my Cremina.
I couldn't seem to open Jims link for a peek, but the Toroid (love the name) would have to be small, as the space between the wand and the machine's body is way small.

This past Friday I brought in the Toroid for our usual get-together at Counter Culture. They have a three group La Marzocco so we could easily prepare side-by-side cappuccinos. For comparison, I grabbed the smallest pitcher in the cooler, which turned out to be a Motta 16 ounce pitcher.

I prepared the milk while David simultaneously pulled two espressos. Needless to say, the La Marzocco has tons of steaming power, so it was easy to pour two cappuccinos within seconds of each other. I was skeptical of Espro's claim of improving the steam action by enhancing the shape of the vortex, but the milk did roll very well and expanded more than the Motto pitcher. That said, the tasters preferred the milk steamed in the Motto all three rounds because it was sweeter and creamier. For this taste panel and this equipment, the Toroid's enhanced air injection wasn't an improvement.

HB wrote:This past Friday I brought in the Toroid for our usual get-together at Counter Culture. They have a three group La Marzocco so we could easily prepare side-by-side cappuccinos. For comparison, I grabbed the smallest pitcher in the cooler, which turned out to be a Motta 16 ounce pitcher.

I prepared the milk while David simultaneously pulled two espressos. Needless to say, the La Marzocco has tons of steaming power, so it was easy to pour two cappuccinos within seconds of each other. I was skeptical of Espro's claim of improving the steam action by enhancing the shape of the vortex, but the milk did roll very well and expanded more than the Motto pitcher. That said, the tasters preferred the milk steamed in the Motto all three rounds because it was sweeter and creamier. For this taste panel and this equipment, the Toroid's enhanced air injection wasn't an improvement.

Thanks for doing the comparison. It does raise one question in my mind. You noted that the Espro milk expanded more. Was your steaming technique the same for the two jugs? Assuming you actively stretched for the same amount of time in both, I would be curious if stretching less in the Toroid would improve its taste and texture. I'm going to do an experiment this morning and see how much expansion I get by skipping stretching completely.

IMAWriter wrote:As a former Anita owner (the older model) I can attest that it is an excellent machine for beautiful espresso shots, but I also had trouble get good microfoam with several differing pitchers. Not so with my Cremina.
I couldn't seem to open Jims link for a peek, but the Toroid (love the name) would have to be small, as the space between the wand and the machine's body is way small.

One thing that this thread has done to help my incorporation of foam and milk is that diagram of the espro pitcher and the steam wand straight down the length of the pitcher.

I've found that I get better stretching of the milk and foam in the first part of the process when the tip is at an angle. I can see the whirlpooling of the milk that way and the sound is what I think is right. I have been sinking the wand at the same angle without seeing a whirlpool and I've been getting poor results. When I use the position shown in the Toroid pitcher diagram the whirlpooling is much more visible. I still need practice pouring but its better then it was. Still, Rob I tend to agree that Anita does not have that dynamic steaming seen on most videos.

IMAWriter wrote:As a former Anita owner (the older model) I can attest that it is an excellent machine for beautiful espresso shots, but I also had trouble get good microfoam with several differing pitchers. Not so with my Cremina.

I don't think Anita and her steam power is a limiting factor, I accomplished good micro foam in my first week with her, with stock tip and a generic pitcher. I am unfamiliar with the Cremina, just curious why it is so superior in this category?

Rybolt wrote:I don't think Anita and her steam power is a limiting factor, I accomplished good micro foam in my first week with her, with stock tip and a generic pitcher. I am unfamiliar with the Cremina, just curious why it is so superior in this category?

Well. aren't YOU special!
Antonio, I had much better success with an optional tip from Chris Coffee.
The Cremina is a powerhouse. 6oz of whole milk done in around 18 seconds or so. Lush micro-
foam.
I loved my Anita, terrific shots, and solid as a rock. I had the older one, before the new steam and hot water wands were added.

IMAWriter wrote:Well. aren't YOU special!

No I am not, I didn't mean it like that. I am just saying, regardless of steam tip and fancy pitchers, I think the Anita is relatively easy to get good micro foam. I did go through almost 2 gallons of milk, but that's the only way to learn.

For me the amount of seconds to get micro foam is not important, so stock tip is fine for me for now.

It sounded like you were saying Anita is good for espresso, but not acquiring micro foam, and I think she is great for both.