Hi folks,
Have had our Gaggia Classic for a few years now and while we love it I always struggle when it comes to texturising the milk for capuccinos. It had come to the point where we use soya milk now as that is very easy to foam and leaves a lovely glossy finish. I do use the supplied paranello frother, but don't know if this could be part of the problem as it has the tiny air intake at the top where it sucks extra air in which in turn could end up causing the milk to foam up like washing up bubbles.
Thanks for any hints or tips
Malc

Two suggestions: First just take that frother off and learn to steam with just the plain steam wand. Do all of your steaming with the tip in that place where the top of the milk meets the air. The bubbles will start out large and get progressively smaller and smaller until you have as close as you can get to microfoam with that oem tip.

Second: once you have that down (or before if you must) invest in a Silvia steam wand. Although I had no complaints about my lattes for 5 years, I was stunned by the improvement that that Silvia wand made in the fineness of the microfoam that it can produce. It is worth it's minor $30 or so cost. If you buy it from Espressoparts, it is the cheapest I have found and they ship parts for free.

Or you could just skip the first step and get a Silvia wand right away. It makes a big difference.

I was never able to get anything approaching microfoam with the stock Gaggia wand, since it's just too short (sans frother attachment) for good forthing. Once I switched to the Silvia wand, I was immediately getting microfoam and starting to pour some (admittedly mediocre) latte art.

The Silvia wand is cheap and easy to install, so it's pretty much a no-brainer.

It is short, it's true, but not so short that you can't tip the pitcher and still reach well enough to make decent foam. I'm a bit bullish on this, I know, and I agree that the Silvia is an upgrade, but I always like it when people learn how to get the very best out of the equipment that they already have before they cast it off and go to something that makes it easier. Learning how to do it without the Silvia just makes it even more satisfying when you actually get one.....))

+1 on just buying the silvia wand. If you want to make proper microfoam you will need to ditch the panarello for sure, might as well just make the jump and go forward. I replaced mine as soon as I got the machine and learned using the silvia wand. There are enough videos and information on this site alone that you should be able to get the hang of it fairly quickly.

http://www.espressoparts.com/R_1054 - this is the wand you want. There is typically a code that allows parts to ship free.

Well, I see that I am outvoted by the "do-it-now" crowd, but they are absolutely right that you can't go wrong.

Susan

I always like it when people learn how to get the very best out of the equipment that they already have before they cast it off and go to something that makes it easier.

No offense, but I don't see the point of intentionally avoiding the best solution to a problem in favor of learning to do it the hard way, especially if you're eventually going to adopt the better solution anyway. This is a bit like the people who argue that you should learn to make espresso on a Silvia first, then upgrade to a prosumer machine later, because you'll learn some mysterious skills or discover things about coffee that you wouldn't otherwise. I can see using a machine like Silvia if you can't afford to get something better, but I don't buy that it teaches you any unique skills that will transfer over to other, better machines. At the end of the day, most of the temp surfing and other techniques needed for Silvia just aren't necessary when you upgrade, and are best forgotten.

This is even more true with something like upgrading a steam wand, since it's such a cheap and easy fix. It's only $25 or so, so why not do it right away? Why force yourself to suffer through the frustration of the stock Gaggia wand?

no offense taken ))