Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

... Pull cooling shot into the cup ...
Click to expand...
mine would spray the rim of the cup here, w/o pf.

Steaming - Tried Sainsbury's Organiic blue top , which, interestingly, has, quasi, the same protein as both skimmed @3.5g/100ml, and blue Cravendale (which I didn't try yet)
still no success, 12oz krups stainless frothing 'pitcher'

Do folks typically steam with valve partially open ? just timed , and, boiled 200ml 15c tap water in about 15s fully opened , so, maybe partially, or more controlled opening maybe the key
... or, another stratgey I've seen epoxying some of the 4 holes in the current nozzle.
 
Fully open valve, more pressure the better (unless milk starts vacating the jug I guess :) )

There's a very narrow sweet spot to keep the wand tip in, at a very particulat angle. It's about 1/3 from the center, at about 15degrees and at ~1cm depth. This causes a "rolling vortex" so you've got the milk both swirling around the jug as well as tumbling over so the milk is mixing with air. You know you've got a good spot when you can hear what sounds like someone slowly tearing paper.
 
What goes wrong with your milk? Is it too thick and airy at top? Or are you not getting the air in at all? Are continuing to swirl and knock out a couple of larger bubbles before you pour?

When I first started I’d get my milk sorted, pull my shot and expect it to have stayed perfect, but it’s a lot more forgiving if you manually swirl whilst pulling your shot so the foam doesn’t separate with milk then froth
 
A couple of boiling milk photos ... where is the error ?

testing steam at full volume

'steaming' ~200ml milk at about half power .... it would be thrown out of pitcher at higher volume.
 
Couple of things

1) I think you’re steaming too long and expect your finished milk is too hot which is going to affect your flavour and also probably split a bit more to thick foam and watery milk separated. If you take too hot it has a sort of baby sick taste. A thermometer is useful whilst you learn, but eventually you’ll probably just have your hand round jug and judge heat that way

2) start with the tip just a bit below the surface for a few seconds to get a good bit of air in and then bury the head deeper.

3) you sort of do a dipping in/out move on the video, but once you bury the head you’ll likely keep the wand quite still and just small movement of angle until you see the swirl which will be very obvious. Hold it where it is when swirling and simply wait to get to temperature

4) when finished steaming swirl jug whilst knocking out larger bubbles by banging on the work surface. The swirling is really important to get consistent microfoam through out when you pour

It takes a while to crack it and then you’ll get mad that you can’t get your pour perfect as your next annoyance.
 
Thanks,
1. yes seems I need to turn it on full, and aim for 20-30s, like I now see Gale doing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2dE8kvDLfk
2. Tip was just beneath surface, but that G video shows it virtually against edge of pitcher, maybe that will help with rolling/vortexing milk, in smaller pitcher.
3. I'll stop dipping, it was an attempt to heat it uniformly, and avoid it heating too much.
 
jpaul said:
Thanks,
1. yes seems I need to turn it on full, and aim for 20-30s, like I now see Gale doing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2dE8kvDLfk
2. Tip was just beneath surface, but that G video shows it virtually against edge of pitcher, maybe that will help with rolling/vortexing milk, in smaller pitcher.
3. I'll stop dipping, it was an attempt to heat it uniformly, and avoid it heating too much.
Click to expand...

I've found just putting the jug on the drip tray and letting it steam hands free works fine. Certainly improves your consistency, just move it towards you a little as it builds volume to keep the air going on, then leave it to churn.
 
:eek:

0c0mvdn.png
 
if you tell us where you live we'll drop off a note to divert the delivery ... hope you have a straight forward delivery, without complications.

... milk foaming classes continue - 1 attempt per day .. should have been my lock-down challenge
 
on tenterhooks ... is it a girl or a boy ?

- Rocky & Audrey, were together for about 15 years, before the no-fault divorce, Rocky now has a Bezzyera mate.
 
Do you mean if it's white or black version?

I am hoping they sent me the correct voltage one tbh! lol

Am I the 2nd person got one here? I know one other person has one. It's funny that today's James Hoffmann video he used the Niche to benchmark against 6 machines under £100. It's essentially what my set up will be, except mine is a little more at the Gaggia Classic level.
 
jpaul said:
if you tell us where you live we'll drop off a note to divert the delivery ... hope you have a straight forward delivery, without complications.

... milk foaming classes continue - 1 attempt per day .. should have been my lock-down challenge
Click to expand...

One time, before this lock down, I went to Rave Coffee at their physical location to buy some beans. Their premises has a cafe at the front with a little shop, but the wall separating the cafe to the warehouse is just all glass so you can see inside where they store, roast and bag their beans/orders.

That occasion there were 2 guys standing in front of a machine, with a few litres of milk, a bucket on the floor. One guy was training the other person how to make latte art. The bucket? “Used” coffee.

I was thinking…that’s a waste. Surely better to warn the customer or offer them half price that day or only make them for take away cups where the lid goes on it anyway.
 
It’s great. It looks and feels great. Really quiet to use and really easy to change the grind settings. I like the little pot to tip in portafiller. It’s not completely zero residual as sometimes there is a little bit falls through later or with a brush out which I notice as I tend to leave the pot on my scale, but It’s so small that I really don’t think it matters. It’s just fantastic for single dosing really.
 
Yep I'm in the Bianca with Niche club. The Bianca is a beautiful solid machine, I have mine plumbed in with a Claris Ultra filter. The Niche is great, I love the single dosing workflow and it's so easy to clean. It's a great combination.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom