I have just received my Counter Culture and while I was dialing in the grind (which was DRASTICALLY different than the grind I was using for a locally roasted coffee), I decided to try and work on my microfoaming skills that I had stopped in frustration. I searched the archives, read what I could find (even went over to coffeegeek and read there), and found this video of proper foaming:

<embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DwAAAAG7ggqAHSiJjpW0D3w4aYTWxF6ZLCrxhowK2MjYy426ji2d8tEWjB4lRQYUyflAsxAdYfS2OR_dNixVNTE9eu9mlXBXv1gXOlKw0POx-05mFCUXc8pcqOAYKSzqcjwoSePQWmUCyNYEl5_6QFvO32Usp4UCsdNnQBOxTTW9Nfdin9cT4e_4MbWDYQjgbzXqoPkveZ78WxqVFkQcpdvAzBUTgzup9d54pJMR_CtxrxRoWfy9WmibGJNcXpST_ODCi7KGl7eiy32HRz_QrqbadZDg%26sigh%3DeR1ha8dbnN6P5qru3y3TprHmdgE%26begin%3D0%26len%3D66366%26docid%3D-8149500945906031398&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer%3Fapp%3Dvss%26contentid%3D44447bb59ef3691b%26second%3D5%26itag%3Dw320%26urlcreated%3D1149294720%26sigh%3D4g5ra5e1VUU8yf09OHovP4fJ-BE&playerId=-8149500945906031398" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="best" bgcolor="#ffffff" scale="noScale" wmode="window" salign="TL" FlashVars="playerMode=embedded"> </embed><br>
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8149500945906031398


One thing I noticed about my microfoaming is that I am not getting the noises he is. The note added to the video says the 'pff' sound is indicative of the milk stretching, and I get no 'pff' at all. On CG they suggested using Organic Whole milk, and I may pick up some this evening to use. Anyone else find the Organic milk helpful?

Could my lack of the stretching noise be related to my 2% milk? Could it be lack of steaming power? I am having trouble getting anything but warm milk (ie. there is no point in using the steam wand when I could just heat it up in a sauce pan).

Thanks for any tips,
Matt

Matt, stay with it, it's all down to technique and patience.

Since scrapping the Krups I had for years, I started with milk from scratch on my first Gaggia. It was slow and weak but day by day I learned exactly what to do and where to keep the tip of the single-hole nozzle. I got damned good with it learning that minute movements were key. I had the Gaggia for six months.

When I switched to a more powerful, 3-hole steam wand on my Pavoni it took me 61 days, yes 61 days solid, day after day of tipping flat, hot milk down the sink or drinking flat but tasty coffee until I cracked it. Totally different technique in terms of the tip, the angles, the speed of adjustment etc. I used the Pavoni for 6 months.

I have been using my Expobar Brewtus II now for nearly two weeks. Right from the start this was back to the slow accurate technique I learned first albeit there's instant and abundant power in reserve but this is a doddle. Only due to going through the pain of much failure in previous months though!

Some thoughts (and encouragement!):

- first of all, I have only ever used semi-skimmed milk as we call it in the UK.

- One pro said to me there's no such thing as bad milk, if you can froth you can froth with anything

- Another said one of the hardest parts is to stop stretching long before you think you need to.

- You should purge any wand first with a few blasts to remove water.

- You should be as fast as possible in plunging the wand and raising the tip to the surface to get the ch-ch-ch sound. Too high and you get big bubbles, too low and you're heating and not stretching, you do need minute adjustments and, to my mind, what takes time is the development of our motor skills required to make incredibly fine adjustments and also our experience to recognise signs of what is happening.

- Try placing the wand in different positions, try leaning against adjacent objects to ensure you are rock-solid steady

- Relax, practise and practise.

I see absolutely no reason to think you will be any worse at microfoaming than the next person and you will get there. If you had someone beside you who can do it that picture would paint a thousand words. Try and locate someone in your area if nothing else whom you can visit. I did not have this and persevered but there are different was of getting the knowledge you need to get going.

I have a 3 hole tip (bought the Expobar used, and the single had been replaced) on mine. I think that having the 3 hole tip and having to angle it (by necessity, from the Pulser's straight wand) is a detriment, but I don't think it should be this hindering. I bought some Whole Organic, and am going to try to get the 'pff' sound, that is my first goal.

I tried following the direction on the WholeLatteLove site, even though it seemed slightly contradictory to what I had heard elsewhere. They plunge the tip to the bottom until the milk reaches about 100, then raise the tip. I had always heard opposite (keep tip near top until 100 and then plunge/whirlpool), but the WLL method did not help any. Still got warm milk.

UPDATE: I tried it with the whole milk, and still got warm milk. Nothing more. Not even the hint of a 'pff'. Not even soap bubbles (I could have forced some by playing the tip above the milk, but that wouldn't have helped). I am wondering if it is because of low steam pressure/volume. I don't have a pressure gauge for the steam wand, but may try bypassing my pump gauge and plugging it up to the wand to see what it reads. The three hole tip may be an issue, but I am wondering if it is something more.

EDIT: I also know that it takes the Expobar a while to heat up milk, but it took about 2.5 minutes to bring 9 oz. or so up to temp. That seemed a little long...

Dan,
It looks like I do have the S24 tip. I may have to bite the $10 bullet and get a 2 hole.

I searched to try and find instructions on how to change steam pressure, but could not find anything. Does the fact my machine has a PID (installed by previous owner) make a difference on steam pressure? I thought it controlled the boiler pressure, but I don't know if that effects steam pressure. I have added a pic of the internals of my machine, if it helps. It seems that I would need to turn something on the large brass thing that connects to the steam wand line, but I may be wrong.



This, like most of my threads, should now be in a different area of the forum.

Steam pressure and boiler temp are relational. The hotter the boiler, the more steam you get. What temperature is you PID set at?

I knew help would arrive Matt and you're in good hands.

I am using the stock centred 1-hole on the Brewtus by the way and have no complaints. I don't time my milk preparation but I'm using a 12oz jug with 6oz milk and this tip is perfect. Sure it's not fast but it's not 2.5 minutes so something sounds awry. I should time it but haven't so I can only say that it's no more than a minute and in reality probably half that.

If I move to a bigger jug at some point then I'll no doubt find a 2-hole preferable but for the volume of milk I use each time I just don't need that extra speed. It's worth thinking about what what your needs really are.

When I moved to the 3-hole Pavoni was when my trouble started. The speed, the inability to place the tip of the wand where I had done with a 1-hole Gaggia, the need to use different angles, different plunge and stretch adjustments. On the surface (sic), the two techniques were the same but the more I learned the more I realised how different they were to the casual eye.

It's times like this that I recall my old martial arts Master's tale (a true one) about the master that would only teach a wannabe student one punch and kick. That's it, of the vast World he could have taught him. However, that student mastered these basics of course and infinite variations and tangents himself and won an ancient Chinese tradition called the battle of the ribbons. I suppose microfoaming is a bit of a passage of rites!

I would still say, change nothing. You will get to grips with it, master it and then change the tip. It will probably throw you off course and you'll relearn but in the process you'll become very accomplished. I know, I know, all you want is a cup of coffee, not a zen workout or a tea ceremony!...

Matt,

I've have had my Pulser for about a month. I found producing good microfoam difficult with the original steam tip (old standard in Dan's pic) and had seen multiple recommendations for a 2 hole tip (available at multiple vendors). I switched to this tip and haven't looked back.

I haven't checked my boiler pressure yet (gonna make the cheap gauge Dan described, saw pics of it at CG) but I'm almost positive I'm running hot (long flushes needed, ramps back up to temp very fast) and I had pretty powerful steam with the old tip. The new tips seems to control steam flow better--takes me less than a minute for 6 oz.--and I'm now getting great microfoam. Minor dilemma now is finding ideal point to plunge the wand in order to get best consistency.

Here's what I do to get that phfft phfft sound. Lower wand into milk, start steam flow, then raise tip just out of milk at surface. I then quickly and ever so slightly lower the tip into milk and voila, phfft phfft. Then just surf the tip at the surface, slightly lowering the pitcher as the milk is stretched. You may get a soap bubble or two but they quickly disappear during the rest of the process. I'm steaming exclusively for cappas so right now, I seem to get best texture buy plunging the tip into milk at about 85-90 degrees F, but it goes quick with small amounts of milk and if I goes longer, I get stiffer foam. Shut off the steam around 150 degrees F, swirl and tap on counter and I'm good to go. Now using that nice microfoam to create anything resembling art is a different story.

A couple other minor tips that help me:

- I steam using a 12 oz. pitcher with a pointed spout. I rest the steam wand in the spout and angle it towards the center of the pitcher as needed.

- My new tip produces 2 streams that shoot outward (guessing it creates roughly a 75-90 degree angle with tip?) I get best results (nice whirlpooling) by orienting these streams perpendicular to the spout (i.e. if spout points E, streams go N and S, when looking down into the pitcher)

Hope some part of my brief experience helps.

Russ