Endo wrote:Here's a photo of what I'm talking about. Right photos is after 30 seconds (bubbles just starting), left photo is after 3 minutes (yuk)

Three minutes is a long time for a drink to sit, but I have seen macro bubbles like the photo on the right. I agree with Chris, you're overstretching.

Here's an easy test: Get a big pitcher (say 32 ounces) ice cold from the freezer and steam with 12 ounces of milk. That will give you tons of time to finesse the stretching and texturizing. Stretch the volume by 25%. Let the milk sit for around 20-30 seconds, then thunk and swirl it high up the sides of the pitcher (the "inverted cone" should be at least 3" deep). It helps to put the pitcher on the countertop and move it in a circular pattern to reduce the risk of spilling due to nervousness. Try Bronwen's trick, i.e., pour a little into the cup, swirl and thunk the cup just like the pitcher, then pour the rest.

While it's a long shot, another possibility is the crema is degassing. In that case, grind the coffee and let it sit a few minutes. I know it goes against the principle that ground coffee stales in seconds, but it does flatten out the crema of uber fresh coffees.

My pitcher cleaning routine: I mix a bit of joe glo with warm water in a soap dispenser next to the sink by my machine. I don't recall the exact concentration, but it's pretty high without making the foam overflow as it mixes. I put a couple of pumps in my pitcher after rinsing out the milk, and purge water from the steam boiler into the pitcher, and swish that around. I pour that down the machine's drip tray, and it helps resist the buildup of nasty crap in the tray/tube. It's about as difficult as rinsing thoroughly, but has added benefits. Of course you have to rinse the pitcher out with cold water after, or you get a really hot pitcher. Seems to keep the nasty stuff out, and seems preferable to using a scented dish soap.

It's well known that everything about an espresso is fast. It extracts quicker than any other method, and extracts as a wonderful mixture of bubbles and liquid. It begins to separate even as it the extraction continues, and it's so delicate that even transferring it from one cup to another diminishes its body severely.

The same is true of even perfectly textured milk. Give it a few minutes and the foam (microfoam though it is) will rise to the top and stiffen. Of course, swirling and tapping actually works (at least to some extent) for foamed milk, hence Chris' 'controversial' mantra, "milk can wait for espresso; espresso cannot wait for milk" (I've been schooled before ).

Of course, having a machine that can steam 3-5 oz of milk in ~20 s and brew a shot at the same time allows you to avoid that dilemma altogether, and Endo is blessed to have such a machine. In general pouring a cappuccino extends the life of the crema atop the foam by somewhat more than it would be as a straight shot, but... a cappuccino is still a time-sensitive drink if you want to experience it at its finest (On the other hand, some may prefer to let the milk sit for a few seconds before pouring a milk drink, particularly a cappuccino).

Which isn't to say that Endo doesn't have a real problem that ought to be solved, however. Endo, as I mentioned before, I suspect your milk steaming is good enough--at least not the cause of the problem you're dealing with, IMO. I'm pulling shots of Mike Phillip's USBC blend, Bolivia Anjilanaka, this week (really, really nice cup, straight and in a short cappuccino), and it started acting up as you've photographed above on Wednesday (when steaming during the shot and finishing a few seconds after it ends). I tried a few of the suggestions on here (including Chris' to steam first and swirl aggressively, cleaning all my equipment thoroughly, steaming cooler than usual AND hotter than usual, and letting the milk sit for 5 minutes and checking for macro bubbles). None of those helped; the thing that did it for me was swirling and tapping the shot right after pulling it to settle the crema well. Of course, Bronwen (mentioned in the first reply, IIRC) would pour a little dollop of milk in before doing this, but I didn't find that necessary. You might try it without the dollop. Or maybe your problem only seems similar to what's happening on my setup, and it will be something entirely different. Stand back, everyone! Endo has to try SCIENCE!

...and remember, you can always just drink faster as Dave has reminded.