The very tip will get eventually immersed when the steam knob is fully turned on (and hence no one should be splashed with milk), but there will be an overlap between immersing it and the naturally-gradual "turning on" of the steam. That is, you do not immerse the tip completely, turn the steam on, and then raise the tip gradually until you start breaking the surface for the sake of initiating the process (which is the common procedure), but rather turn the steam on as you immerse the tip, in a sort of a skilful movement, which should allow initiating the process without the need to break the surface later on. The tip will then remain very close to, but should not lead into breaking the surface for the rest of the steaming time. This, if done correctly, will lead into the milk extending in size slightly (even though no explicit stretching is present), and you will have to raise the tip to follow the current level of the milk as you proceed. As you may have seen in Callaghan's video, the milk resulting from this method is too liquid compared to the milk obtained the other way, but is thoroughly creamy.

After reading the thread, I recently modified my technique. I have been getting a consistently nice sweet creamy steamed milk for my cappuccinos, but my latte art has remained pretty non-existent, which I attributed to having a new machine for less than a year and making less than a hundred milk drinks a day.

However, after thinking about it for a while, as the new machine has a four-hole steam wand tip, I changed the direction of my steam wand. I had previously pointed it down fairly straight, perhaps slightly outward. I changed that to having the wand closer to hugging the side of the pitcher, pointing perhaps slightly inward.

This results in a terrific whirlpool effect, rapid volume buildup of foam, and homogeneous, sweet microfoam which develops quickly while the milk is still tepid-to-warm, and a nice rosette today. The whirlpool effect now looks very much like you are beating eggs or batter in a bowl.

Anyone who has been getting nice sweet microfoam, but finds it a bit hot, quick to separate, and bad for making latte art, ought to consider the angle of their wand in the pitcher!

Of course, I still use cold milk, keep the wand just below the surface to get the "sucking/ripping" noise, and do everything else you are supposed to do. Just remember, the wand/whirlpool is important as well.

well done on the improvement in your steaming, im using a Gaggia steamer so its only a one hole tip. need to get a new one.
So today i went down from Aberdeen to the city of Dundee to see a friend of mine and supplier of all my espresso equipment, he was the one that gave me the lessons that got me into the barista scene so it was great to go catch up, but when i came home i decided to try something new so i went for a heart wave latte pour. First attempt and i have to say i am very happy with the results!
(phone camera so the color isnt shown too well and the lighting is bad)
But what do you all think?

bubbles, it had been sitting out a while

Fantastic...results from a Gaggia Classic? There's hope for me yet!

Here's a photo of my morning latte.

I would like to participate with two rosettas that I have made this week . The latter of which was the prettiest I ever produced (too bad that my father barely looks before consuming the drink ). The first shot was in sun light which is why it looks alive and vivid, whereas the second was shot in neon light in the evening. However, the first was mediocre compared to the second.

orwa,
Well, you certainly have improved! I thought you insisted it couldn't be done.
Yours were much better than my decaf capp this morning:


Do you have chocolate in yours?

drdna wrote:After reading the thread, I recently modified my technique. I have been getting a consistently nice sweet creamy steamed milk for my cappuccinos, but my latte art has remained pretty non-existent, which I attributed to having a new machine for less than a year and making less than a hundred milk drinks a day.

That is a lot of drinks (100 x 365 = 36,500)!

trix wrote:orwa,
Well, you certainly have improved! I thought you insisted it couldn't be done.
Yours were much better than mine this morning:
...
Do you have chocolate in yours?

My problem is two-fold: (1) I claim that it's impossible to achieve similar results using the original wide-dispersion-angle 3-hole tip and (2) even when I use an acorn-nut 3-hole tip that I made I still suffer from my inability to reliably reproduce the same results. Even with the ugly tip I made, I still occasionally encounter long times of failure which time after time makes me feel "insecure" about my ability to produce decent milk reliably. There must be factors that I still don't understand and fail to control, which is something I am willing to resolve. One possible (and easy) explanation could be that the milk quality in Saudi Arabia is inconsistent throughout the year, which could be the cause of these long times of failure I usually encounter. However, I like to believe that there is yet something that I can understand and fix, which makes me feel better as to the amount of understanding (and control) someone can have in this regard.

I do have chocolate in them, yes (chocolate powder sprinkled on top before pouring as usual).

I would love to say that the art is amazing, but I find myself obliged to tell you that the steaming is not correct (I have never done better with the original tip, so it's not your fault ).