damonbowe wrote:This is how the pro baristas do it, if they do it consecutively. Steam then pull shot.

i'd say this is very much a generalization.

i personally will start the shot first and then steam and end around the same time.

I think that with the steaming time being so long, I would do that first and then pull the espresso. If you prep the portafilter before steaming, I don't think you would find a considerable difference in flavor or temp by pulling the espresso after your milk is done. So your bar flow would be prep cold milk in pitcher > grind, dose, tamp espresso > Steam milk > lock portafilter and pull espresso while grooming/reincorporating milk > pour.

jessebgordon wrote:I think that with the steaming time being so long...

I'm not sure what the Expobar Brewtus steaming times are like, but a cappuccino/latte foam should steam in under 15 seconds shouldn't it? My Oscar and Strega machines are about 10-12 seconds. Not sure how that can be "so long", but different machines have different operation times.

DanoM wrote:I'm not sure what the Expobar Brewtus steaming times are like, but a cappuccino/latte foam should steam in under 15 seconds shouldn't it? My Oscar and Strega machines are about 10-12 seconds.

From my (albeit limited) experience with home machines, the steam time for 5-6oz of milk can be about twice that of a commercial machine. For example, Dan brought the ECM Technika that he reviewed to Counter Culture HQ for me to experiment with. Comparing the two, it can take around 25-30 seconds to steam that much milk on the Technika as opposed to the 10-12 seconds it takes on our Linea PB in the lab.

Again, as you said, different machines obviously perform differently.

Wow! That's kinda slow. On my 1984 La Pavoni I can steam 5oz of milk for a latte in about 30 seconds. I consider that slow. (It yields a beautifully textured milk, so it's worth the wait. My Oscar's milk can't compare, but the Strega yields an equally beautiful milk in about 10 seconds.)

Personally, since I'm mostly using the Strega now I pull the shot, and while the lever finishes with the tail of the pull I steam the milk. By the time steaming is done I'm ready to pour immediately, knock out the puck and move on to the next drink.

When I use the Oscar I start the shot, then start the milk, end the milk, end the shot, pour the milk.

On my La Pavoni I pull the shot and once finished I steam the milk and pour. At that point the PF is probably ready to remove without danger of PF puck explosion.

As long as it's good in the cup!

Would it be accurate to say that a shot degrades over time faster than steamed milk? How long can a shot stay "good" for, knowing that most of the crema usually burns off in a minute or so?

On a professional machine, it's "easy" to get both out around the same time. Home machines mean sacrificing one or the other so I think it depends on what you are steaming milk for and if you care about latte art. In my opinion, for a flat white, it's easier to deal with a partially oxidized shot than it is with separated milk. And to be fair, the winner of the WBC last year put a shot over ice and let it chill before serving it to the judges. Apparently he did something right.