Skim milk is really hard to froth properly. It tends to just blow up into thick, hard foam. Using 2% works much better. Even 1% gives you some fat to improve the consistency. The flavor is better too.
If your milk is just turning hot without any texture, you need to suck some more air into it during the first phase. I think that video on the Chris Coffee site shows a bit of air being drawn in for the first phase, though it's very fast and hard to see. Powerful steamers like the Vivaldi don't need much air drawn in during the first phase, but they do need some. Once you've brought some air into the milk, make sure to get a good standing wave or whirlpool going to incorporate it.
After you're done steaming, tap and swirl the pitcher on the counter a few times to break any large bubbles and further incorporate the foam. You can also leave the pitcher sitting for 10 seconds or so if you want the foam to thicken a bit.
Also, make sure you purge all water out of the wand before starting, or the milk will come out too wet.
Good points. Have been at good purging wand prior to......and at creating a standing wave by tapping and swirling.
Next is practicing a quick suck of air and submerging like Chris. And one I have never heard of til now, letting sit for at least 10 seconds. Hmmm....well it does make sense to let the mass have time to settle.
Unlike Chris I do let my wand stay in the very middle since I use a 20oz Espro pitcher so it can take advantage of the bottom design.
Thanks for the tips. If anyone else reads would appreciate your thoughts.
You might want to try using a 12 ounce pitcher if you're making cappuccinos. Sometimes the big 20 ounce pitchers aren't ideal, especially if you're making a small drink. They're best for big 10 or 12 ounces lattes, which I don't like to drink anyway.
genecounts wrote:Would someone expound on this please. I am not able to get my creama thick enough. Should be the consistency of wet paint but mine is the consistency of thin wet paint. Need to go back to Latte Art 101.
I really enjoyed this thread. Lots of fantastic advice. I particularly enjoyed the two videos. Lots of improvement in technique from first to last. He really listened. Here is my personal puzzle when he states:
"The difference is that when I swirl the milk for about 10 seconds after steaming, the pour starts thick'....."
Am using La Spaz and Full Circle skim and a splash of Nestle skim creamer skim. Is the skim the prob or is it me? What is secret to thick foam? Have previewed Chris Coffee latte art technique. In this video Chris appears to sink his wand on the very edge of the pitcher and keeps it there during the duration of the steaming process. Can't see him raise the tip to get any air at any time. At the end the tip is covered with 2 1/2" long thick foam He appears to keep pitcher in contact with a tilted cup during the entire sequence. Help!
Glad to see others benefiting from this thread.
I don't think you'll have any problems producing microfoam capable of latte art. Hell, I've seen people make latte art with an aerolatte.
All you really need is for the milk to become thicker than normal, by fluffing it up with air. This makes the milk lighter, and therefore allows it sit on the surface.
What I'm trying to achieve however, is microfoam capable of surgical precision. Unfortunately with my current setup, I haven't figured it out.
You have a La Spaz, so it's clearly a better machine than mine. I don't see why you should have any problems. Just remember to stretch the milk first, however you want. Just incorporate air into your milk some way, somehow. There are millions of ways to do this.
Once you've stretched the milk some, sink the steam tip just below the surface and let it roll. Now you're in the texturing phase. Make sure your steam valve is on full blast during this phase. That way, the microfoam you collected on the surface, will become blended throughout the milk.
It doesn't matter if your milk is thin or thick. You can create latte art with thin and thick microfoam.
With the Silvia, I find that it helps to let it sit for about 10 seconds. I'll usually just swirl the milk around. This allows the milk to separate some and the thick froth to settle at the top. When I go to pour, it's the thick froth that enters the espresso first, and it helps thicken the surface. Now you've set the table to create latte art.
That said, this is just the case with the Silvia. I don't know if letting the milk sit around would benefit the machines that are higher class.
Here's a recent effort with my new technique of letting the milk sit for around 10 seconds. Notice the continental rifting is drastically reduced, if not nonexistent.
Here's another of me pouring a five heart tulip into a 5 oz cappuccino cup.
Problem for me is, I want microfoam that's thinner like the video below. My ideal microfoam consistency is the type this guy's working with... notice how his milk allows laser precision. He's using a Nuova Simonelli Appia, which is on another planet compared to my Silvia.
I can't make microfoam like this on the Silvia. If it's thin like his, I'll get the surface rifting again... so at this point, I just have to stick with thicker foam, which is what works best for the Silvia.
My advice is, find out what works best for you and your machine. But again, you can create latte art with just about any type of foam.
Sorry I haven't gotten back to you, been crazy busy the last few weeks.
Work on just pouring hearts... if you can pour a symmetrical and centered heart with good contrast, you'll be able to build on that and do just about anything.
Here's one of my better pours from yesterday:
Not perfect, but I was happy.
I'll let you know when I have some time to meet up.
by Beezer on Tue Dec 20, 2011 1:30 pm 
