spoon Senior Member Joined: 5 May 2006 Posts: 3 Location: UK Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri May 5, 2006, 1:06pm Subject: microfoam
Hi,
I'm not a pro, but i work somewhere where making a decent coffee goes a long way, and I'm absolutely determined to get the super-smooth microfoam. We have a pro machine which looks years old, and I have read the coffee geek guide to frothing and spent hours repeatedly trying in vain to get microfoam. I've got the jug as cold as poss. and used ice cold milk (semi skimmed from one of those commercial 24 pint boxes). I place the wand tip just below the surface (so that there is a periodic shhh noise about every 1-2 seconds) and froth it until it gets to hot to touch (we don't have a thermometer). The foam is always frustratingly disappointing, and now i feel like giving up (I wont) as I can't see what i am doing wrong.
spoon Senior Member Joined: 5 May 2006 Posts: 3 Location: UK Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri May 5, 2006, 2:42pm Subject: Re: microfoam
a thermometer is a good idea - i won't convince my work to invest in one though!
as for whole milk i don't have a choice there either! But i am sure I can still achieve the holy grail. I don't think it's getting too hot, as I can see that the foam isn't complete even when I can't touch the edge of the jug. I can achieve a fairly dense foam (not perfect by any means) but it always seems to be sitting on top of just hot milk, wheras I read the jug should be full of a mix of foam and steamed milk all mixed up. And i've had one or two coffees in my life with 100% perfect microfoam which has an ethereal mouth feel ,so i know what i'm after!!
Also, should the position of the tip be so that the steam holes are just below the surface? And is the ch-ch-ch noise a kind of chshhh ..... chshhh occuring every 1-2 seconds as the milk level goes below the steam jets momentarily as the milk is spinning around.
Sorry if i'm being too technical, but it's frustrating me that i can't do it :(
Psyd Senior Member Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 876 Location: MON AZ Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Sylvia and Astoria Argenta... Grinder: Rocky and Astoria (Mazzer)...
Posted Fri May 5, 2006, 3:44pm Subject: Re: microfoam
spoon Said:
Also, should the position of the tip be so that the steam holes are just below the surface? And is the ch-ch-ch noise a kind of chshhh ..... chshhh occuring every 1-2 seconds as the milk level goes below the steam jets momentarily as the milk is spinning around.
That's the stretching part. Do that to 'expand' the volume until the pitcher starts to feel warm, 80 deg F, or so. Then bury the wand and get the whole pitcher doing the whirlpool bit. Be careful not to introduce a lot more air at this point, because you'll interrupt that smooth thing that you're looking for. Do this until the pitcher becomess uncomfortable to hold. This incorporates the foam into the rest of the milk, giving you microfoam. And I can do this with anything from skim to half and half, with enough practice. Oh, and get your own thermometer. Get one that's decent, should cost you between $10 and $15 for a ncie one, and $4 - $10 for a cheezy one. Keep it on your person, and keep it clean. Smile if anyone else asks to borrow it. Then say 'No'.
sherpakid Senior Member Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 41 Location: Brooklyn, NY Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: FrancisFrancis X5 Grinder: Solis Vac Pot: none Drip: Bodum French Press Roaster: FreshRoast 8 plus
Posted Fri May 5, 2006, 5:42pm Subject: Re: microfoam
Psyd Said:
Oh, and get your own thermometer. Get one that's decent, should cost you between $10 and $15 for a ncie one, and $4 - $10 for a cheezy one. Keep it on your person, and keep it clean. Smile if anyone else asks to borrow it. Then say 'No'.
Ditto - Having a thermometer helped improve my microfoam considerably. It helped me achieve great microfoam with consistency and took the guess work out of when I should stop heating up the milk. Sometimes it was burned, other times i didn't heat it enough. Now all my house guests say, "Wow, this is the best cappuccino I've ever had!" A thermometer will help!
spoon Senior Member Joined: 5 May 2006 Posts: 3 Location: UK Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sat May 6, 2006, 6:30am Subject: Re: microfoam
Ah! Psyd, I think you may have hit the nail on the head! I didn't really bury the wand at the end - this explains why i sometimes get fairly decent foam but it's always on top of milk.
I'm at work now, so i'll give this a go in a bit and report back on the results.
Think nothing of it. All I did was parrot back really great advice I got right here on CG! Check out this thread to get it straight form the 'pro's', and this thread to see what the results were.
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