Hi,

i am considering to buy a Cremina 67 from 74 in a fantastic shape and want to ask if there is experience with foaming milk with these old models having a soldered steam knob. Is it possible get some microfoam milk out of these old steam wands?




Thanks
Michael

Absolutely the wand froths really well with a full enough boiler. A little slower than a commercial grade machine but my '67s steam is dry and froths good micro foam.

A down side to a single boiler that doesn't refill is a drop in steaming power with a drop in boiler water level. It's not that bad from my experience but I don't usually go past half full with my Cremina at any one time.

I thought I read "fantastic price" so was going to reply "Buy it!".. But now I see it says fantastic shape.. What's the price in USD? If it is reasonable, I'd buy it! Here is my 74 which I just got a month ago and fixed up. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpyYbC5O ... _copy_link

I already bought it and the Cremina should arrive next week.
Nice to hear with the steam, time is not a problem, cause I'm used to froth slowly with my Silvano Thermoblock and a one whole steam tip.
Thought it might be difficult with the Cremina because of its 3 whole steamtip.
Creminas in a good shape costs are around 1615$ (1500€) in Germany.

I have no experience with the Silvano, but I did come from a thermoblock, 1-hole steam tip machine (Breville Express, by all accounts a pedestrian steamer) to the Cremina, and it was a huge difference that required practice to fully control. Steam on the Cremina is much drier and more powerful. You should be pleasantly surprised, but expect a learning curve.

Congratulations on a solid machine.

Frothing takes practice. It's not too bad. My pre millennium La Pavoni Europiccola is harder to froth with. Up side is once you get good with it you can froth with any machine.

bigmic63 wrote:I already bought it and the Cremina should arrive next week.

Sounds great. I think it's a fair price as some seem to be going over $2k recently. I like the steam tip on the 74 better than that of the 81 I have. First, the teardrop shape is easier to clean after steaming and the 3 holes might be smaller and I seem to have better frothing results. For cappuccino I'm using a cup that holds about 200 ml (7.3oz) so I steam about 150 ml of milk usually in a 350 ml (11.8oz) Motta pitcher. I just steamed milk and it was really very good. I have the wand at a slight angle to the left and position it on the left of the pitcher with a counterclockwise swirl. I try to have the air intro as subtle as possible, but do about 6 quick jets, then position for max squirl to reduce bubble size. I like the steam knob better too on the 74 as there are actual raised nubs that really are helpful to turn the knob easily. Another thing good about the 74 over 81 is the drip tray is brazed at the front visible joint. On the 81 the joint is butted together and (I just looked) the back has a small piece of metal across the gap with tack welds. Up until the new models in 2002, which I can't really compare too, it seems the older first gen 67 Creminas have slightly better quality as one can see the shortcuts as time progressed. Enjoy!

mrgnomer wrote: My pre millennium La Pavoni Europiccola is harder to froth with.

Totally agree on this. I got a 1.7 fairly recently and I really can't control steaming with it. If I keep the 1.7 I'll change the tip for sure. At least they had removable tip. I see some people having success with the long tips with kind of a slit. Might be fun to try something like that.

The wand on my Europiccola is really thin, has 4 sand blasting pressure holes and it doesn't stay down if you push up on it, it arcs up. It's like trying to tie your shoes while your moving on a rolling skate board. You have to get a feel for the center balance, learn a really light touch and move ever so slightly. Shaolin monk training. "Froth well with this machine and you will have mastered all machines"

mrgnomer wrote:Shaolin monk training. "Froth well with this machine and you will have mastered all machines"

If the monks had this class, I'd take it!

A Pavoni Professional I owned some month ago was the reason why I was concerned about frothing, because I wasn't able to get some nearly acceptable foam with the original steam tip and I had to change to a selfmade one whole tip.
Even the Silvano had a 2 whole tip originally and Ihad to change it to a one whole
So, @kalo925 that sounds great and makes me confident to get some creamy foam out of it.