Prior to this, I have posted a topic regarding steaming on Cremina '83Steaming milk with 4-hole tip on '83 Olympia Cremina?. Did get some advises but it didn't work out as well as I expected. I ended up plugging 3 out of 4 holes and get good microfoam. But it was too slow in comparison.

Then, today, the topic on Strega's steaming (with or without air injection) has prompted me to remove the toothpicks and to try the 4 holes again. This is like the 4th time I've removed the toothpick and getting disappointed, again and again. With air injection and without air injection, both proved no help. I cranked the pressurestat to 1.1 bar to help steaming. But it doesn't seem to help at all. I even used the Espro 12-oz pitcher with 4-5oz(below the spout) and am getting the good Toroid roll. The problem is that, the roll was good aesthetically but is TOTALLY useless(it probably was me that is useless). The milk came out with plenty of macro-foam (like sand grain all over the surface).

Any help/tips where I might've done wrong? The bubbles normally doesn't appear at the surface right after steaming, but rather it 'came up' after I tap the pitcher, indicating most of them are hidden under the surface.

Sam,

The good news is your machine is functioning beautifully. The bad news is your technique needs help.

- Start with the tip a little higher to "stretch" the milk. On my Cremina with the 4-hole tip I do this for 4-5 seconds.
- Then drop the tip a full inch lower than what you used to stretch (a bit lower than what you are showing in the video)
- Steaming should take a bit longer than the 11-12 seconds in your video. For the same amount of milk I'm closer to 20 seconds total time.

What % milk are you using? I generally use 2% because of taste, but 4% makes fantastic microfoam. Skim works, too, but is harder and doesn't provide the same result.

Hi Sam,

You may want to start your process with the tip much closer to the surface, until you get a brief sucking sound (half second or so). Then start the plunge.

Nice video!

Marty

Good advice from Merle- start higher, end lower.
Try a different brand of milk. They can vary seasonally based on the feed.
I have a two-hole and use the Torid. I am planning on getting another wand tip and filling the two holes and drilling a single. Why? because I can, and I think that a single hole would work better with the Toroid. If it happens I will share it here on HB.

Merle,

Thank you again for your help! Unfortunately, I actually have tried that and still get the same result. =( I am using whole milk (4%) and about 3-5 oz most of the time. I stopped by feeling- when the pitcher is kinda too hot to touch for 3 seconds. Last I check, it was about 145-155 F.

Here's another video, still with the small grainy 'macrofoam'. This is with pressurestat stopping at 0.95 bar and overshoot slightly to 1.0 bar.



Edit: Deleted the video, look at the later one in the next two posts.

Randy G. wrote:Good advice from Merle- start higher, end lower.
Try a different brand of milk. They can vary seasonally based on the feed.
I have a two-hole and use the Torid. I am planning on getting another wand tip and filling the two holes and drilling a single. Why? because I can, and I think that a single hole would work better with the Toroid. If it happens I will share it here on HB.

Randy,
The thing is, I tried foaming with single hole and the same milk turned out to be very creamy. Theoretically, I should be able to get the same result with the same milk, no? With the four holes, I think I have never achieved anything close to creamy. The best I've got is something like small grainy foam that resembles microfoam but it isn't.


Marty,
Thank you!

Sam, some of the best instructional videos around are from Metropolis in Chicago, providing just a treasure trove of topics and how-to's. In fact, Metropolis provides separate videos on steaming, with one for lattes and another specialized technique for cappuccino. Check them out and you'll see in action what the good folks above are suggesting.

Steaming for lattes: http://www.metropoliscoffee.com/university/training/#/latte-milk-steaming-standard

Steaming for cappuccino: http://www.metropoliscoffee.com/university/training/#/cappuccino-milk-steaming-standard

Video Menu (scroll down from top): http://www.metropoliscoffee.com/university/training/#/

Hope these help. +1 on your own video quality BTW - i wish most instructional were done as well.

I am not sure if people actually watched all my videos because I uploaded so many. Anyhow, I refilled the boiler because I noticed the steaming power was lacking on the last video.

I started higher and plunge lower(Was it too low?) Anyhow, it is still grainy. Am I expecting too much?Because the one from single hole was very creamy to begin with. I expect the 4 hole should be able to achieve it at least once, throughout my so many attempts. Luckily those milk can still be drank after cooled down. It's not noticable with cereal.




Anthony,
I really appreciate your help in diagnosing my noob technique. Actually, I did watch their videos long time ago. It was really informative!(good to revisit them again) I don't wish to come off as arrogant or ignorant; but I do think I did almost everything possible (I think I know how a tearing sound should be etc) and still just can't make at least one good foam on this 4 hole. I did went through almost any searchable microfoam guide previously and tried'em. But to no avail even until now. =( I would suspect it's my tips problem but Merle did get good foam from the same type of tips.

Alright, I swear this is my last video for the night. Just to show what I meant by creamy.

It wasn't my best microfoam in this video. It's done kinda sloppily with the 'temporary' toothpicks sticking out and the thermometer awkwardly in the way. The milk, I was even using the already-steamed milk, at 68+(!) Fahrenheit. Still, it came out a lot nicer than the best I've got on the 4 holes. There's probably some micro-grain on the spoon, but as compared to the 4-hole, I wouldn't have mind this being served in a Latte.



Snapshot for comparison:

I've found it impossible to replicate the smooth texture that I can get on my Pavoni (with one hole tip) with my cremina. Now that all of you have revived the issue. With renewed energy, I'm gonna try again. I'd like to think it is the machine, but others seem to get great results.