Milk Steaming Tips

[@flosthebos]

This video was handy to know how to use a standard espresso machine(under $200 for the home, single person use). I always see videos on someone doing latte art with a $2000 machine for coffee bars, and of course they have the perfect steamer, but for me and I'm sure 90% of people out there, the latter half of this video was more informative. Nice video guys, appreciate the help :)

[@JamesUKE92]

At last! A video about milk steaming which actually explains the relevant points to getting a good microfoam. I was failing badly, but the first attempt after watching this video was rather good! Thanks!

[@markferwerda7968]

But this video does not show good micro foam -- bad technique!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

New Videos Every Day! Subscribe ▸ goo.gl/hRKEhR Visit Us Online: www.seattlecoffeegear.com Seattle Coffee Gear fans are the best! Thanks for watching all our videos!

[@sangcouvreleciel]

Great video ladies! I used to work at a coffee shop in college and was taught to steam the milk way too hot like 185-200 range. Didn't know about cold pitcher/milk! All the technique tips are, from my experience, excellent!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Subscribe to our channel if you love coffee as much as we do! Thanks for watching! goo.gl/hRKEhR

[@pheythglumm]

i am taking barista course and i'm having a hard time when it comes to steaming milk, especially in creating milk froth. you are the best gail. i enjoyed your humor and most importantly, i learned a lot! =) salamat!

[@scottkinner9776]

Of course, some of us WANT an espresso based milk drink, not a milk based espresso drink (i.e. a cappuccino instead of a latte). So I was very thankful for Gail's "mistake" - because that's the "mistake" I wanted to learn! Thanks!.

[@Mxoderberg]

I just moved the small red o-ring on the panarello on my Gaggia Classic one step down to block the air intake, and it worked really good. This makes just as easy to clean and maintain as it was in the first place. The Saecos has exactly the same panarello as the Gaggias as it's owned by the same company.

[@mariaverina]

This is probably the best steam milk tutorial that I have seen. I will def remember these tips next time I go to work to my cafe...

[@DejanBogdanovic]

Finally made a decent creamy foam instead of dishwashing foam, thanks to your video. many thanks!

[@NeelaMorgan]

Nice!! super easy to understand. Thank you. I'm just one month old as a barista. I'm trying to learn as fast as I can and do my best. Thanks alot.

[@Johnnychi123]

Aloha how is it that KZbin knows that I have a new espresso machine and I have no idea how froth milk? Damn it I love you guys!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

haha. Be sure to check out this playlist then: kzbin.info/aero/PLxsjzGY0Fi2TxZLOavZ6SuzX8BXkXrO10

[@dfdepina]

You are the best teacher I can find on net. To the point and admit when you made a cappuccino foam.

[@haldorjay]

i love to have coffee & hang out with these Guys! Cheers from the Philippines!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

I haven't used the Cafe Venezia in a really long time - the discontinued them in the US quite awhile ago. I suspect it probably performs better on Australian power grid than what we experienced here. If it's a newer manufacturing, I'd go with that over the DeLonghi. - Kat

[@winelover215]

Another great way to practice milk texturing is by using water with a drop of dish soap in it. It's amazing how it mimics the expansion almost exactly as milk.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@StormTrek If you go to around 140F then you have latte art temp (up until around 150F); most people go higher than that in the US - 160F - 170F. At around 180F your milk will scald - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Yeah; it is often that they are roasted quite awhile ago ... if you can get fresher or if you can grind yourself, all the better. It's not a coffee specific thing, it's more about how fresh it is from the roast. Crema is the leftover post-roast gas emulsifying the oil in the coffee under pressure from the machine. So the more gas and the more oils the coffee has, the better. - Kat

[@ausriusj]

Yep, I seem to be moving in the right direction with a larger amount of milk (but where does the remainder go now?). This is all like walking on your hands - looks impossible until you do it. Fun, really. And a HUGE thanks for answering so quickly - I wish every business was so responsive.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Same as other traditional steam wands, but your thermoblock is going to slow things down a bit ... you'll have more time to work the milk but it will also be wetter steam, so keep that in mind. - Kat

[@Phewy]

This explains a lot! I thought I had to bring the milk up to temp than add the volume! THANKS!

[@puretoon]

That was SO good and interesting- a big thank you Gail and co-love you Seattle Coffee Crew!! Think I now know where I"ve been going wrong.....I didn't know about the syphoning back to the machine either, so thank goodness I always wipe and steam after use

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@nevans104 Since it's using a thermoblock, anything that will fit will do! You don't have to worry about burning out a boiler. But I'd probably stick with something 25 oz or smaller - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Depends on the machine; I think that the smaller machines can do an okay job with smaller pitchers as it gives you more time to work the milk that a powerful, large boiler machine would. - Kat

[@ancamg]

Ok! I finally understood! Thanks a lot! I thought all wands, traditional or not, have some kind of air intake...and it didn't make sense, as without the panarello sleeve, the wand in my machine has no apparent holes for the air. Thanks and all the best!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

You're welcome! Glad you found it helpful - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@PlanetGemini Yes, we learned that from Louie during our training; higher than that, the protein stretching breaks down and you start to have totally different texture - Kat

[@TimeTravelTaless]

Gail & Kat- FYI, I was able to get a very good microfoam underneath the meringue like foam using a "Toroid" 20 oz. frothing pitcher using a Saeco Via Venezia recently purchased from you. I was surprised how this frothing pitcher really helps to get that microfoam consistency for pouring latte art. Just in case you guys might want to try it out.

[@StankLip]

I love your videos. Informative and entertaining. I've gone from months of not enough foam to many months of wet paint to fluffy foam recently so I'm back to watch this video again. I lost my touch and fell into a habit of slurping too much air on the Rocket. Hopefully, after this refresher, I'll nail latte art quality foam again this morning. "Hold me closer tiny boiler..." "milk nasties" LOL, worth watching your videos again just for the laughs.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

I haven't used that machine in a long time so can't recall if it has a panarello or not. If it does, you'll need to submerge the air intake hole earlier on in the process in order to limit the production of foam for your latte. - Kat

[@slippyg]

Woah, that took ages. My Fracino does it in like 20 secs. It's real hard to tame though. It has 4x1.5mm holes. Real rowdy but powerful as hell! :) Great vid guys :) Rocket is beautiful.

[@EvanDSays]

Great video, very informative! I am ready to ditch my pannarello wand on my Gaggia Classic and retrofit one of the Rancilio wands. I hope I will get more control over the bubbles.

[@Accesserised]

Great vid! It's interesting to see how the 2 different steam wands work, and Gail seems lovely ^^

[@vivian9842112]

Absolutely love this video.i understand more about latte art now, can't wait to try it at work today.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Most home machines have panarellos, so you can't get the kind of milk texture that you can on a machine with a standard/traditional wand, unfortunately. We don't sell any models under $500 without that enhancer, although there is a new Breville version coming out that will be panarello-free. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Great to hear! Glad it was helpful for you - Kat

[@vincenzobianco8529]

Love your vids i am only 12 but love to make coffee! Just recently bought a rocket and i love it please post more videos!!

[@broodjewout]

I knew everything allready and still it's very great to watch this :) Thanks!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Hmmmmm -- Have you tried steaming larger amounts? With some machines, this can happen when you've got a crazy boiler and not enough room/time to work with the milk you have. Also slowing down the steam is a good idea by not opening the valve fully. It is tricky to steam on these larger machines, so really is just practice getting the milk stretched before it heats up too quickly. Most commercial machines steam up in that time frame. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Wonderful!! That's really great to hear :) Happy to be of service - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Glad it was helpful! Maybe you needs mittens for your paws? ;) I personally start full blast and then manage the milk through technique, but I think some people prefer a ramp up. I think you'll need to experiment to see which feels right to you and produces the best foam. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Yeah, we notice a difference not only between commercial/home but also the different power grids :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Awesome! Glad you're finding the videos helpful :) - Kat

[@yentld]

thanks for uploading :) very useful! and she is so patient and nice that everything seems so easy to get!

[@Richie-rich86]

Great video, I have the Gaggia version of the little machine you made milk on. Thanks!

[@brandishwar]

On the machines without a powerful boiler (i.e. DeLonghi EC155 and the like), when you are about done aerating the milk, *tilt the pitcher* to get the milk swirling around and getting the foam you've built incorporated into the milk. These machines don't have the steam power necessary to swirl the milk just on steam power alone, so you need to tilt the pitcher to get it swirling around. You should get much better results doing this.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@TimPotteraKYC We have had a super warm winter so far! Just a couple of days below freezing, really. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Depends on the machine; some of them have adapters that can be modified to function like a traditional wand, others don't. For your particular machine, you'll want to look at where the air intake hole(s) are and see if you can block them somehow. If you're taping them, you'll need to remove that tape and clean regularly, otherwise you'll start to build up rancid milk residue :( - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@selmerakt Yes, that is a common adaptation for most folks, if you can get that little nozzle down into the pitcher juuuuuuust right :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Theoretically, yes, since it's is constantly pulling water through the system and you don't risk boiler burn out - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@markpianoman I would think yours would be hotter actually; in our experience, the 220v machines have had drier steam than their 110 counterparts. How does the steam feel to the touch? There is going to be some moisture as these boilers are still relatively small compared to a commercial machine, but should be fairly dry. Could you post a video? - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

We found it did froth the best of all the milks we used; you could try it and see - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

That sleeve leaves a little gap and that incorporates air and steam without you stretching the milk. Without it, it performs like a traditional steam wand - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Tilting the pitcher is a good idea in general - I tend to do it on all machines just to get the right whirl goin' :D - Kat

[@Chisel55]

Didn't know about the siphoning back to the boiler part!! Gonna go check my coffee maker now. Thx.

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@joe4ska If it doesn't have a panarello, then follow the tips for the Rocket, not the Via Venezia - Kat

[@JohnyTechReview]

Gale you are amazing! Thank you for the tips!!!

[@00_runner]

Sweet tips, glad she handled the venezia

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Great tip! - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@tsaibertha You can go up to 25 if you want, but I generally recommend 20 or below. Really depends on how much milk you want to make - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Oh no!!! So sorry to hear about this. But thank you for sharing with other owners - Kat

[@jjarvis904]

Great video. You mentioned cappuccino and machiato drinks being different milk froth,canyou elaborate on the difference between latte, capucino,machiato?

[@BlueEarthSliverMoon]

Great tips! Practice practice practice for me in the weeks ahead!!! Thanks for sharing!!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Glad you found it helpful :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

A traditional wand doesn't have an air intake, no panarello or 'assistance' with the foaming. If you're not using the 'barista tube' as you put it, then you're likely using the wand as a traditional style. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@jjarvis904 It's just the consistency of the foam -- lattes have more milk, less foam. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Difficult on superautos because they don't have great steam pressure and the steam is on the moister side ... Really just try working it in after the fact -- on some of these machines, you have to do that - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@Higgins2001 Haha -- I think we've covered all we're going to on that subject with our training video with Louie :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Glad to help! :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

We have done a test and 2% does work a bit better; however, with skill, you can get nice micro foam with any milk fat. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Thank you! Glad we could help :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Yeah - we looked into them but can't import 'em, sadly. They look cool! :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@joe4ska Great to hear!!!!! I will pass this along to Gail :D - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Practice, really. You can start by using a thermometer but after awhile you'll have the sense of touch to know where it's at temp-wise. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Ah - got it :) Yeah, traditional wands do not, which is why you need to stretch the milk and have some technique in order to create froth with them :) - Kat

[@1061shrink1061]

you should show folks a video with the water and washing up liquid practice method. E.g. a pitcher of water with one drop of washing up liquid in it. Mimmicks milk almost perfectly, and costs a heck of a lot less!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Hahahaha - awesome!!! Sounds like you are enjoying your new gear :D - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Are you interested in a specific model? These are espresso machines that also steam but we do have standalone frothers ...? - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Thank you!!! Glad you're diggin' em - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Yay! :) Glad we could help - Kat

[@MrAlligam]

I start with my finger over the stainless steel pinhole on my Via Venezia. The only time i take my finger off is to shut the steam valve. I get very good results (no foam like in the video) but my latte art is still in the "finger painting stage".

[@Dude78368]

Gail you are awesome!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

As I responded before, I'm not clear on how what you're calling the Prfi Frother is different than the stock steam wand on the C5 .... we don't have anything other than the stock steam wand on there, so if that's what you're referencing let me know and I can see if there are any other tricks to share with you other than the basic techniques we've already demo'd and shared. Thanks! - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

How fresh is your coffee? What kind of coffee are you using? We have a video called What is Crema? that explains how it's actually produced that might give you some general tips. Crema is all about the coffee, very little (if anything) to do with the machine. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@thePowerPlant Yep - been that way for awhile now :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@winelover215 Yes! I saw that video years ago - great idea :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Yay!!! Glad we have been helpful and entertaining ;) - Kat

[@L.A.G.-]

BEST VIDEO BY FARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Thank you! Glad we were helpful :) - Kat

[@technoalah]

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Got it; yeah, I don't have access to the other type of wand attachment that you're talking about, just the stock wand here in the US ... so I don't know if I can give you any guidance :( - Kat

[@dragos240alt]

A few questions. I have a DeLonghi EC330 machine, it has the latter tip. However upon removal, it has a small tip that almost resembles the former, you can remove that as well, and it's just a tube under that. Do you think it would make any difference if I kept the wand in its tip form? Also, my pitcher is VERY small, it's 4 oz in volume. To practice, I'm using water and a tab of liquid hand soap in order to preserve milk. Is my pitcher too small for this to work? Many thanks.

[@ericvong4053]

The steamer pressure of the coffee machine I am using is different from the one in the video, so it takes bit longer time to steam the milk. Quite challenging to make different times of drinks sometimes but getting good flavor coffee everyday and I store my coffee afterwards in a Thermal carafe like this www.amazon.com/dp/B0728KV47H/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_au5RzbBVBSYTR to keep it hot all day long.

[@marijkevkruistum4352]

Thank you for explaining things greetings from the netherlands

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it :) - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Could be angle; you might want to try playing around with position and also submerging the wand more or less, etc. - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@MrAlligam Yay!!!!! I wish y'all would post more videos :) We're going to do a huge site revamp and hoping to implement a video submission element on the products so that you guys can share your awesome skillz more :D - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Cool! - Kat

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

Not really; but you should try using it without the panarello sleeve - the tip will be a lot shorter but you'll be able to produce better milk - Kat

[@cjny84]

gail is so awesome!

[@SeattleCoffeeGear]

@TimPotteraKYC We do some accessories internationally; you can check out what we offer in the International Customers section of our site. We will be expanding that to cover more products this year, we hope! - Kat