Hi All, Thanks for this Forum.

My heading probably seems like a common topic and you might feel that I did not read other forum answers, but I have a different problem.

I live in Africa where we are decimalised and no longer use ounces, and so I do not quite understand the pitcher sizes when ordering pitchers on Amazon. My I be so bold as to ask the most basic of questions:

1. When a jug (Pitcher) says it is 12 Oz, is that the "Full" quantity, or is that the amount of milk that it would ideally be loaded with to make a single cappuccino? When ordering on Amazon, all the pitcher look the same size and when they arrive in Africa, they are never what I expected.

2. So then, what size jug, in ounces, would one use for a single cappuccino, and what size for two?

3. I am a home user, but bought an overkill machine (Cimballi M39 Dosatron) because now and again I entertain, but to be honest, I just love the look of the machine. Most times I make single cappuccinos for myself. If I use a small jug, and a small quantity of milk, I find that when the automated "Turbo Wand" injects air into the milk, it blasts it to smitherines. I am therefore forced to use a bigger jug with more milk, resulting in wastage. I am now experimenting with the non automated wands, and with a thermometer. Is there a specific "Timespan" by which the milk should reach its temperature? If I put the want on too fast, it just boils the milk with no micro-bubbles?

4. Lastly, I am visiting La Verne, in North Los Angeles in June, where could I shop for "Quality" coffee items such as jugs, tampers and so on? Everytime I order on Amazon I get wrong stuff.

I just bought a Javameister 12-ounce Stainless Steel Latte Milk pitcher on Amozon. It is small and great for home use. The pitcher is 12 oz. total, but when making a cappuccino I fill it to just above the 3 oz. mark. It is great having the lines.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/9 ... L1500_.jpg

Actually, I don't see this question get asked much at all...though I spend quite a lot more time on CoffeeGeek than this site.

Anyhow, the nominal pitcher size is it's full capacity. You would never put that much milk in it though. To help me answer your questions, I just grabbed one of my Motta Europa 35cL pitchers and measured the optimal milk volume and it's full capacity (though for obvious reasons, I used water). Filling the pitcher to about 3/8" or so from the bottom of the pouring spout (which is where you want to be when you froth), I then poured the water into a Pyrex measuring cup and the volume was about 150mL (about 4oz). Frothing that, you can expect it to increase in volume at least to 200mL, probably more, depending on how frothy you like your foam. I've read a lot of posts where people want to double the volume (which is too much if you're looking for true microfoam). Consider your cup sizes, figure for a cappuccino, you want about 1/3 espresso to 2/3 milk+foam. So, if you're making a single, your cup is going to be 5 ounces capacity, perhaps not fully filled. The smallest Motta Europa pitcher (which is 25cL) is going to be about right for you. It's the one I use for my single cappas. Both Chris' Coffee Service and 1st-line carry them. Obviously, you don't have to get Europas. They are very expensive, but at the same time, they are excellent quality, and come in sizes you more easily understand. They are made in Italy, so I'd hope you can source then from your home, rather than having to buy then in LA and drag them back.

Anyhow, 1 fluid ounce is about 30mL (29.57...). Figure on filling the pitcher about half way before you start frothing. Calculate an increase in milk volume by about 50% and you should have enough room to froth without the milk flowing out of the pitcher. If it's sputtering all over the place, I'd suggest that's "user malfunction"...ie., related to your wand and pitcher orientations.

The nominal size is the total volume of the pitcher, not a recommendation for how much milk you should use. Since you're a latte guy, you probably don't want to go any smaller than 500ml (16oz) for your pitcher -- if you're only buying one. If you entertain, and/or occasionally steam very small quantities, you might want to use two or even three pitchers.

As long as your steam wand is long enough, a pitcher which is a little too large is better than one which is too small. You don't want the fully stretched milk to end up anywhere near the rim, because banging the pitcher on the counter is an essential part of making "chrome."

Amazon is fine for pitchers; but stick with big name brand, stainless pitchers like Cafelat, Espro, Motta, Rattleware and Rocket. Motta and Rocket are the industry standards, but very expensive. Cafelat and Rattleware are well made and reasonably priced. The Espro has a special, "toroid" shape that makes producing micro foam a little easier.

It's sort of meaningless, but Rocket is the "official" World Barista Championship.

If it takes "too much" milk to make good foam for your latte, than that amount of milk is not "too much," it's (repeat after me) "perfect." Making lousy foam on purpose when you know how to make good foam for a few pennies more and not much extra wear and tear on the cow doesn't make sense.

However, you should be able to do much better (with some practice) than the Cimbali's autofrother.

One of the biggest hurdles in learning to foam with a machine as powerful as yours is that the process goes so fast. With the stock tip, a single latte's worth of milk should come together in something well under 10sec. My M21 -- which might not be as powerful as your machine -- stretches and textures 200ml into 260ml - 300ml (standard for a double latte) in around 8sec. While "faster is better" for the milk itself, practicing the the moves with so little time is challenging. You might want to contact Chris Coffee and ask about their three-hole tips for Cimbalis. They add about 30% to steaming time, and are still very fast.

Tampers are a very strange subject in that people go through a lot of tampers before finding one or two that are "perfect," and become passionately attached to them; but as long as they're the right size and comfortable in the hand, it doesn't make a lot of difference.

But here goes:

• I think Coffee Complements (which is also known as "precision tamper" on ebay) are excellent and extremely well priced for what they are. Of my three favorite tampers, two are Coffee Complements (I have big hands, and the round, low eight ball and brass handle tampers fit me perfectly);
• Concept Art are elegant, and well priced, but not available in the slightly oversized diameter you want for IMS, Strada and VST baskets;
• Rattleware tampers aren't what you'd call elegant, but are very high quality for the price, and what I think of first for someone who wants a quality tamper but doesn't want to waste money. Unfortunately, like Concept Art, they only come in the standard diameters -- which are a little too small for "precision" baskets; and
• You can't go wrong with Reg Barber tampers.

While you're in La Verne drive over to Klatch in San Dimas (San Dimas is next door to La Verne). They're one of the best espresso shops in the US. I'm not sure if they sell pitchers or not; but probably not. As I recall, most of their accessories are brew oriented. But it wouldn't hurt to ask and at least you could get a decent cop o' joe.

We live in Monrovia, a few minutes from La Verne, and I buy most of my accessories on line -- after factoring the time and gas for driving to wherever, plus California sales tax, it's a lot less expensive plus the selection is so much better. The only two places I can think of in the the SGV (San Gabriel Valley) are Intelligentsia's coffee shop in Pasadena, and Williams Sonoma (in malls everywhere) for Espro; but that's not to say there aren't other places out here. Further west, you might take a look at Barsita Lab (El Segundo near LAX and the beach) and Pasquini (near downtown).

Good luck,
Rich

Thank you to all three of you for your replies. Just what I needed to know. I will certainly take a drive to San Dimas whilst I am over, and if I cant find the Motta pitchers in the shops, I will order them with overnight delivery whilst I am there.

I am defin itly keen to move away from the "Automated" turbosteam wand, because it injects too much air into the mixture and spoils the bubbles.

I was under the impression that milk had to roll for a longer period in order to create the micro bubbles. I was suprised to read that you do it so fast. I keep boiling my milk with no foam at all. I suppose I need to slow down the steam and improve on my jug technique to filter some air into the mix.

Is there a place where I could do like a short training session whislt I am over there?

brenjack wrote:Is there a place where I could do like a short training session whilst I am over there?

One of the best investments in espresso you can make (but it's not cheap) is a barista lesson with Heather Perry at the Klatch roastery in Upland. This blurb includes the contact information.

Rich

I'll second that! If you can train with Heather, it'll be money and time well spent. I took her one day course several years ago. She is a fantastic teacher of this art/craft!

I like the Rattleware pitchers, they work great for pouring latte art. I have a 12oz, and a bigger 20oz.. haven't used the 20oz in months for milk, but it does work as a good device for pouring water over coffee for the chemed. I've used motta pitchers, they're nice.. but I prefer the rattle ware, mostly because of the price.

+1 fpr BDL and emradguy advice. I'm saving my pennies to afford a class with Heather but it will be awhile.