The Coffeehouse.... Baristi, Barista, Bariste

[struth]

WahLah

[User211]

Nope.

Have some nice bread instead

[struth]

Pattern and crema staying all they way down too. A classic attempt. Lol

[Marco]

Lol - awesome! That's what you call BREAD!! Trouble is, it probably costs a fortune because it'll be considered as 'artisan'...

When we're in France, we can't get over just how cheap great bread is in your average boulangerie. Try buying similar from an 'artisan' bakery here!

Great bread *should* be the norm in the UK, and priced accordingly, just as it pretty much is anywhere else in Europe.

Marco [waging the war against mass-produced sliced shite].

[Marco]

WahLah

Fantabulous, matey!!

Now *that* is something to get excited about, not that rather insipid pish in a plastic cup Justers was getting a hard-on about....

Marco.

[struth]

Fantabulous, matey!!

Now *that* is something to get excited about, not that rather insipid pish in a plastic cup Justers was getting a hard-on about....

Marco.

cheers... yup it was a good un; didnt develop as much microfoam as i would have wanted but the quality of it was bang on.. bubbles were really small..

[Svend N]

Okies, baby... When you feel suitably motivated, perhaps you could expand on your reasoning?

Marco.

Shall I give a go? And take contrary position without starting a spat about frothing? Getting good foam is really not that hard to do at home, but you need a few things aligned to get it right: (1) horsepower (i.e. good-sized boiler with enough pressure and steam at a high-enough temperature); (2) the right nozzle (our ECM/Rocket has a twin-holer, works great, but I'm sure others work great too); (3) the right milk (full fat is easiest to foam up); (4) the right beaker (we have ones with sloped sides, narrowing to the top); and the right technique(!)(this is most important; I use my ears to listen for when I've hit the sweet spot with the nozzle).

Given all of the above, and lots of practice, getting froth like in the pic is easy-peasy. Do it daily and it becomes routine, as easy as making a cup of tea - you can do it with your eyes closed.

Big caveat is that it's usually the higher-end semi-pro machines that have enough steaming power. The cheaper units and virtually all the full-auto machines use small boilers that can't sustain the pressure long enough once you crack the valve open, or they are thermoblock machines with anemic power.

Now to duck and hide for the rest of the day...

[User211]

Shall I give a go? And take contrary position without starting a spat about frothing? Getting good foam is really not that hard to do at home, but you need a few things aligned to get it right: (1) horsepower (i.e. good-sized boiler with enough pressure and steam at a high-enough temperature); (2) the right nozzle (our ECM/Rocket has a twin-holer, works great, but I'm sure others work great too); (3) the right milk (full fat is easiest to foam up); (4) the right beaker (we have ones with sloped sides, narrowing to the top); and the right technique(!)(this is most important; I use my ears to listen for when I've hit the sweet spot with the nozzle).

Given all of the above, and lots of practice, getting froth like in the pic is easy-peasy. Do it daily and it becomes routine, as easy as making a cup of tea - you can do it with your eyes closed.

Big caveat is that it's usually the higher-end semi-pro machines that have enough steaming power. The cheaper units and virtually all the full-auto machines use small boilers that can't sustain the pressure long enough once you crack the valve open, or they are thermoblock machines with anemic power.

Now to duck and hide for the rest of the day...

You are wrong

I have a Rocket. You cannot froth milk like that was done.

Period.

That's why I suspect a foaming agent.

[struth]

Shall I give a go? And take contrary position without starting a spat about frothing? Getting good foam is really not that hard to do at home, but you need a few things aligned to get it right: (1) horsepower (i.e. good-sized boiler with enough pressure and steam at a high-enough temperature); (2) the right nozzle (our ECM/Rocket has a twin-holer, works great, but I'm sure others work great too); (3) the right milk (full fat is easiest to foam up); (4) the right beaker (we have ones with sloped sides, narrowing to the top); and the right technique(!)(this is most important; I use my ears to listen for when I've hit the sweet spot with the nozzle).

Given all of the above, and lots of practice, getting froth like in the pic is easy-peasy. Do it daily and it becomes routine, as easy as making a cup of tea - you can do it with your eyes closed.

Big caveat is that it's usually the higher-end semi-pro machines that have enough steaming power. The cheaper units and virtually all the full-auto machines use small boilers that can't sustain the pressure long enough once you crack the valve open, or they are thermoblock machines with anemic power.

Now to duck and hide for the rest of the day...

there's a lot to get right, and that means for you to get there, its practice.. good equipment helps but even with adequate equipment its possible to get fairly close... milk types and even consistent quality does vary tho and this can be an issue. trick is to get so much air in but thern to stop and just steam it

[Svend N]

You are wrong

I have a Rocket. You cannot froth milk like that was done.

Period.

That's why I suspect a foaming agent.

Justin, with respect (not trying to start an argument here), there's more to it than just a powerful machine. The machine has to be set up right (boiler temp setting, nozzle type, etc.), and then there's all the rest of the things I noted.

In any case, this thread has seen a lot of head butting recently and I'm not going to get into another round. We can amicably agree to disagree. Time for shot of espresso

Best,
Svend