I'm not sure if I am the only one with this problem, but I'm getting milk that just gets progressively more aerated as I keep the Bellman steamer tip in.

I use room temperature filtered water, and heat on an induction burner, which takes probably about 5 minutes until the pressure relief valve is going off, and that is when I will start steaming my milk.

I purge the tip, wipe, and then put into my milk, slightly below the surface so that it makes the ch ch ch sound for only 1-2 seconds. I then submerge the tip, and I have played with a variety of heights here, and I haven not figured out any rhyme or reason, as almost every time, even though I'll submerge with about a level of milk that I'm happy with, while I'm waiting for it to come to temperature, it seems to just keep aerating, so that is almost always ends up reaching close to, if not, to the top of the frothing pitcher.

I'm fairly new to latte milk in general, so this is the only device I've used. I have had really good microfoam probably one time, where it was that texture that resembled wet paint, but I have never been able to replicate it since.

Even if I end up with the milk not too high, it always seems over-aerated with lots of small, but visible bubbles, rather than that silky thick texture of proper microfoam.

Because I've achieved it, I know it is possible, but I don't really know where I'm going wrong, or how I can improve my technique. Any advice?

(I'll add that I have removed foam from the top and swirled around for up to a minute, and this decreases the bubbles, but still leaves some small, but visible bubbles).

I've have had the same problems you describe. my issue with the bellman is it took a solid 10 min to get to pressure (gas stove) and it over aerates. I ended up starting with the tip completely submerged until it reached temp and it still was getting too much foam. I've experimented with it a bit, thinking if I had more milk and a larger jug then it would balance it more, but then I would run out of pressure too often before it was up to temp. So I would run it while on the stove to maintain the pressure but even then I wasn't getting the results I wanted. I did find that using warmer milk worked better since the bellman was only tasked with giving the milk texture not getting it up to temp but in the end, I shelved it and I heat milk on the stove and then froth it in a french press which gives me more consistent results than the bellman even did. I also didn't have the cap on tight enough one day and the whole thing burst open with hot water everywhere... a little bit of a scary thing (perhaps another reason why I shelved it)

To get rid of the bubbles (at least with the french press) I don't stir, I swirl and thump the base on the counter and do this until the bubbles are gone.

James Hoffman does a video review on some home DIY style milk frothing options and he looks over the Bellman (starting at 14:47). He basically says that in theory you can get good results but he just wasn't that comfortable with it but he admitted you probably figure it out better with a lot of practice which might be simply where you are.

It sounds like what you're seeing is due to the residual air in the boiler. As the water heats up and steam is generated, the air will still remain 'trapped' in the boiler. Steam is the vaporised form of water, so it will condense into water once it cools down in temperature (in the milk). However, air will remain air (even after cooling) and that will contribute to your milk aeration.

Do you find that doing a second jug of milk gives you less overaeration? If so, doing a longer steam purge or filling up the boiler with a little more water will help (if you're currently underfilling).

Major Bellman stovetop steamer breakthrough!

So far, so good!

-including consistent 5 minute heatup times using only 1" of pre-boiled water.

samuellaw178 wrote:It sounds like what you're seeing is due to the residual air in the boiler.

This seems to be the most plausible theory. The other is that the steam wand becomes superheated as it is directly connected to the boiler. Submeging the wand completely in cold water while opening the valve appears to both purge the boiler of air while cooling the steam wand.

Welcome to the forums writecrazy. Have you read the thread in the Tips and Techniques forum before you posted yours, titled Major Bellman Stovetop Steamer Breakthrough? It outlines a new technique DaveB and others are using to deal with the core issue that gives rise to the symptom you're dealing with. FWIW, that thread developed out of discussion in this other thread here.

You can read through those threads to get a clearer idea of symptoms people have run into and how their new technique addresses it. Nonetheless, Sam's explanation above describes the issue that causes the various symptoms people deal with trying to get good textured milk on the Bellman:

samuellaw178 wrote:...what you're seeing is due to the residual air in the boiler. As the water heats up and steam is generated, the air will still remain 'trapped' in the boiler.

To get good texture (and plenty of steaming power that won't run out while you're steaming) using the Bellman, you have to rid it of that residual air one way or another. If you don't, it will come out of the wand and get in your milk jug no matter how deep the tip is. This typically will result in more texture than you want, and inconsistency between every time you try to steam... (and the occasional success will be all the more frustrating when it happens because you can't reproduce it).

The technique I use to rid the Bellman of its residual air is simple: when you heat the Bellman, leave the valve fully open. The water will heat and begin to boil. At a steady boil, steam will begin to be produced and push itself (along with all that residual, and unhelpful, air) out of the open steam wand.

Once there's a steady stream of steam coming out from the wand, I simply close the valve and then wait for the pressure valve to go off. This will probably result in a longer total heat up time, but what it guarantees is that once the Bellman is fully pressurized, it's only pressurized with steam (water vapor), and not residual air. This results in powerful steam, and plenty of it. No need to go crazy with special techniques at this point, you can use the Bellman as you would a commercial steam wand, aerating as much as desired, then lowering the tip to integrate and get silky, smooth textures.

EDIT: looks like Dave beat me to replying by 10 minutes!

I find filling the Bellman to the max (a little below the overpressure valve) is important -- perhaps this is because there is less air trapped.

DaveB wrote:Major Bellman stovetop steamer breakthrough!

So far, so good!

-including consistent 5 minute heatup times using only 1" of pre-boiled water.


This seems to be the most plausible theory. The other is that the steam wand becomes superheated as it is directly connected to the boiler. Submeging the wand completely in cold water while opening the valve appears to both purge the boiler of air while cooling the steam wand.

Thanks for that link. I will admit I have given up on my bellman, it might be time however to take it off the shelf.

I used to have the same problem you describe, but I noticed it was always only on my first drink (I make two, one for me and one for the lady).

I eventually fixed the problem by purging a LOT before making my first drink, like 10-20 seconds. I thought the issue had something to do with the wand not being preheated or something, but the other comments about getting the air out make sense.

Whatever the reason, a long purge (and letting it get back up to pressure) has completely solved the issue for me.

Fwiw, I tend not to fill it very full, because it already takes forever to heat up on my gas burner (I'm very envious of your 5 minutes heat up time) but despite that, I still don't have the issue you describe anymore as long as I remember to do the long purge.

Hi all, and thank you all so much for your replies.

I have read through that other thread, and while it gave a method, it didn't really give me an idea of where I might be going wrong, so I appreciate all the information you all have given to me.

I do tend to have a lot of water in it, so filling it up higher will be what I try tonight. I will also try the heating up process leaving the valve open and let you all know how it goes!

Edited to add: Just wanted to mention as well, the wand doesn't ever feel hot to me, so I'll probably wait to try the putting in cool water. I think it is part of heating it on an induction heater rather than a gas or something else - there is not really any excess heat let out with this.

It is definitely much different with this method. It was definitely not over-aerated, and partway through I thought it would be under-aerated, so went for a bit more aeration (which explains why the bubbles are too big in the picture), but I think it was probably a bit late, so not the ideal timing.

I think next time I will heat it up with this method, but once it has purged for a fair bit, close it off until it is venting at the release, so that it has extra power. (This one took a rather long time for the steam to heat up the milk).

I definitely feel like this method is something that I can work with, and will be able to improve my texture. Thank you all for your advice. Perhaps in another month or so, I'll be able to come back and report with something very good!