Hi guys,

I've had my LM Micra for a few months now and it's so hit and miss for milk texturing. The main issue I'm finding is I'm just not getting the silkiness in the milk. The base is constantly opening up when I pour the main part of the art. Whether I over aerate or not. Even when I try and over do it I just get more bubbles yet the milk is thin in texture. Tried on 1, 2 and 3 and just not really making much difference. Here's a video showing the problem.

I'm far from a latte art expert, but that pour didn't look well incorporated from the get-go, so the base was just untextured milk. The final pour was much thicker. I would use the steam to mix more and then spin/incorporate more once the steam was off, just to make certain the milk had a uniform, paint-like texture.

Here's an example of a recent cappuccino and it's not bad looking. It tasted excellent with wonderful mouthfeel and taste balance. The milk has a little more foam than ideal for latte art; if that was my focus, I would have given more time for mixing and less time for stretching.

Another thing to consider is the milk itself. Last month I was serving at a cars and coffee event; same equipment as a before, and yet the cappuccinos were consistently below par. Nobody complained, but I think it was the milk (it was a store brand organic that I had never tried before).

Your milk seemed a little thin.
What type of milk (%-fat) are you using? Do you use a milk steaming thermometer?

jimbobrey wrote:Hi guys,

I've had my LM Micra for a few months now and it's so hit and miss for milk texturing. The main issue I'm finding is I'm just not getting the silkiness in the milk. The base is constantly opening up when I pour the main part of the art. Whether I over aerate or not. Even when I try and over do it I just get more bubbles yet the milk is thin in texture. Tried on 1, 2 and 3 and just not really making much difference. Here's a video showing the problem.

video

Hay James (Jimbo?),

Welcome to HB!

To me, along with what others have said, you just have way too much base. You are waiting to pour your design after you have poured an awful lot of milk into your base. Try swirling the milk in the pitcher vigorously to incorporate the foam into the milk and then pour only as much milk into the base as you have espresso to start with. I.E. if you start with 60 ml espresso, add no more than 60 ml milk to it.

Then, roll the cup to the side and bring your pitcher spout down till its almost touching the base and pour from there. You should have most of your milk coming in the pour. Not just the last little bit.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

- Jake

Here's a tip that helped me to make a breakthrough in my latte art. Hold the pitcher in your hand so that you can feel how warm it is. Stretch the milk with the steam tip partly immersed until the pitcher starts to feel warm, then move the tip deeper and make sure the milk is rolling or swirling. Stop steaming when it starts to feel hot. The easiest error here is to let it get too hot.

I have never tried a Linea Micra but find that this works with my other machines.

Place the steam wand like this and let the vortex go counter clockwise

I'm having similar issues to the OP with milk texture. I've had mine for about a month and just can't seem to nail consistent microfoam.

Is anybody willing to post a video of them steaming a normal amount of milk to make a cappuccino using the La marzocco steam pitcher that came with the machine? I'm very interested in seeing close up of wand placement and depth using the OEM pitcher. I've been able to get consistent microfoam on several other machines both prosumer and full on commercial but am struggling with this one for some reason. Partly due to the power - milk is up to temp before I have time to really get good aeration and integration, and partly due to the short wand. It seems like I'm either blowing out of control bubbles or just making hot milk. I'm getting a little frustrated especially after reading many reviews of users having an easy time with making great microfoam. I'm certain it's user error and probably a simple correction and a demo video might really help.

Hi all, me again! I just can't nail this issue with the base breaking part when I pour. I've slowed the pour speed down, over aerated, under aired but still getting this issue each time. Please help!!!

You milk looks really close to perfect.

You still are pouring too much into your base. Pour a little less base and give yourself more room in the cup for your design. The beginning of your pour looks good, you just run out of room before you get it finished.

Also work on aggressively incorporating your foam into the pitcher before pouring so you don't run out of microfoam before you're finished pouring.

It's really looking much better!

Cheers!

- Jake