www.greatinfusions.com: espresso cups and barista gear, showroom in Santa Cruz

Skip to content

Weight of milk before and after steaming

Beginner or pro barista, all are invited to share.

Link to "Weight of milk before and after steaming"by Jacob on Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:20 am

What is the weight of your milk before and after steaming?

I get around 10% (+ leftovers on the steam wand) increase in weight! Could this be a sign of 'wet steam'?
User avatar
Jacob
 
Posts: 267
Joined: May 15, 2006
Location: Copenhagen
Top

Link to "Weight of milk before and after steaming"by RapidCoffee on Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:51 am

That's similar to what I got (10% increase in weight after steaming 4oz of milk) when I tried this on my Spaz S1 several months ago. (I also did not weigh the crud on the steam wand... :roll: )
John
User avatar
RapidCoffee
 
Posts: 1928
Joined: Dec 11, 2005
Location: Rapid City, SD
Top

Link to "Weight of milk before and after steaming"by another_jim on Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:48 pm

Latent heat of vaporization is 542 cal/gm; add 55 calories bringing the steam down from 120 to 65, and you get 597 cal/gm. You are heating the milk from roughly 2C to 65C, or 63 cal/gram.

Are you sure you weren't adding 10.6% ? :wink:
User avatar
another_jim
 
Posts: 4525
Joined: May 05, 2005
Location: Chicago
Top

Link to "Weight of milk before and after steaming"by Jacob on Mon Jun 08, 2009 3:38 pm

Amazing, thanks!

Guess I have to find another scapegoat then :mrgreen:
User avatar
Jacob
 
Posts: 267
Joined: May 15, 2006
Location: Copenhagen
Top

Link to "Weight of milk before and after steaming"by shadowfax on Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:32 pm

How about trapped air in microfoam?
Nicholas Lundgaard
User avatar
shadowfax
 
Posts: 2196
Joined: May 04, 2005
Location: Houston, TX
Top

Link to "Weight of milk before and after steaming"by cannonfodder on Tue Jun 09, 2009 1:11 pm

You forgot moon phases and time of day. Have to compensate for those pesky swings in gravity. Sun spots, that is what did it, blame everything that goes wrong today on sun spots.
Dave Stephens
User avatar
cannonfodder
 
Posts: 4989
Joined: May 23, 2005
Location: Downingtown PA
Top

Link to "Weight of milk before and after steaming"by r-gordon-7 on Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:24 pm

shadowfax wrote:How about trapped air in microfoam?


Trapped hot air - it rises (think hot air balloon), so therefore, the microfoam w/all that trapped hot air should weigh less than the milk - might even lift the pitcher right off the scale... (right...?) :idea: :shock: :wink:
r-gordon-7
LMWDP #188
User avatar
r-gordon-7
 
Posts: 215
Joined: Jan 23, 2008
Location: Seattle, WA
Top

Return to Tips and Techniques

ContactContact Us

Legal disclaimer and copyright: This content and all its parts are copyrighted, all rights reserved. Content including all text and images in part or in whole may not be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission. Home-Barista, Home-Barista.com and related logos are trademarks of Home-Barista.com, LLC. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. By accessing this site, you agree to the terms of service.

Overall speed: fast, current page: 0.3s, avg: 0.5s, max: 2.3s