Gaggia Classic - Metal Panarello - Tips Anyone?

zazoo

Hi All!

I recently replaced the crappy black plastic panarello on my Gaggia Classic with a metal one.  However, it has completely change the dynamics of how I prepare my milk.  It appears to work a heap faster and (strangely) with more pressure,less noise and no dripping around the seal.

My problem is I am getting soooo much froth it's not funny!!  I prefer my milk to be nicely thickened all the way through and I had this down pat with my crappy old plastic panarello.  I would usualy place the nozel just below the surface of the milk and as the texture builds drop the jug - this worked fine but with the new metal attachment it all seems to be over in about 1/3 of the time and I've got a heap of froth.

For the time being I am giving the jug a bit of a swirl and maybe bang or two on the bench before pouring and this goes some way to getting back to the way I like my milk.

Anyone else got some tips to share?

coldlatte

I've had a gaggia classic for about 18 months now (great budget machine). I spent the first week or so desperatly trying to use the 'froth enhancer' on the steam wand, I found it very good at turning milk into something like frothy dishwashing water! And did I mention froth? Lots & lots of froth, no matter how little milk I put in the jug it always over flow'd and rarely had a chance to heat up properly! Gave-up in the end and pulled the plastic bit off and have been using just the bare metal end of the steam wand and getting very good results. Froth is quite fine & tight, much, much better! Only problem is the wand is a little short, solved this a month or two down the track by taking the wand off and gently straighting it, so took the two 90 degree angles and squashed then out to about 110 - 120 degrees each, made it much easier to use & gave it greater 'range' into the jug throw away the froth enhancer (but don't bend anything just yet!) give it a try zazoo

joe

I agree. The first thing I did when I got my Classic was to throw out that piece of plastic at the end of the steam wand. My Baby Gaggia before this machine didn't have one, so I couldn't see the point of using this so-called 'enhancer'. My Classic's been going for 9 years and still pulls a good cappuccino - enhancer-less!

FreshCoffee2

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Guess it depends on the type of "panarello" supplied with your machine. There are atleast 2 common types: a) the older type where you could remove the outer tube and continue happily ad infinitum with the perfectly adequate single holed inner tube AND b) the new type where if you remove the outer tube you end up with an unusuable "stub" that does need to be replaced with something else that is usable. In addition, it is well accepted that when you change one steam tube for another with different design characteristics, you have to learn the whole steaming / frothing technique for the machine all over again. There is little to add really because in terms of steaming / frothing with different tips, nozzles, pipes and quantities of milk in varying sizes of milk jug, perseverence & practice is the key. If the only real problem is that you are getting *too much* froth, then you need to stop frothing sooner. That is, when you have reached the point where you have enough froth BUT the temp of the milk may still be too low, just "plunge" the tip down into the milk so it stops frothing but still heats.....and stop at the required temperature. Simple as that! Regardz, FC.

mattyj

yeah, but it seems like these panarello thingmybobs are designed for maximum froth. Just look at the gaggia ads, the pictures of cappuccino's, topped with a mini mt everest of foam. an interesting little experiment would be to steam a jug of milk, with one of these panarello's on, with no 'frothing' time ie: just do the heating phase, from cold milk, up to 65^o or whatever. How much air do these thingies suck into the milk? What kind of foam do they create? I've got no experience with using a gaggia, I've only heard from friends who have them ... but I wonder, are some designs based on a certain way of thinking (ie: about frothing milk), that just won't create silky smooth microfoam? Some of those super-auto machines that do the milk for you seem to just spit out milk foam that resembles soap bubbles ... at least that's what it looks like in the ads.

zazoo

I must say that with my Gaggia Classic I have never had to sufffer the "soap bubbles" froth - I've always managed to create a fairly dense froth. Good tip from Fresh Coffee (we must have a psychic link as this is exactly what I tried and it worked quite well!).  It is perseverance as you say and I am fiddling around all over again with holding the jug at different angles, varying how much I turn the steam on etc. All fun though! Thanks Guys!