common milk problems?

kahvia

I'm having trouble in reliably getting consistent microfoam which runs throughout the whole jug. Sometimes I nail it but most often there is good foam on top, enough for one piccolo latte, but then underneath the milk is thin.

So i'm wondering what are the common causes of this scenario? I thought it was steam too wet, milk too old, milk not cold but have tried to hold all these constant yet stilll get some good cups some bad.

I'd love to hear any tips (or point me to old posts perhaps) as my partner typically get the good coffee while i get the dud! :-[


btw my machine is a Lelit/Nemox combi

askthecoffeeguy

try and vary the milk you are using to see if you get a better result from a different product also, purge the steam wand (let off some steam) both before and after heating the milk often there is a build up of moisture in the steam wand which, unless purged prior to heating, can make the milk unnecessarily 'wet' also, try and find the point of most resistance in the milk jug when heating, and keep the tip if the steam wand here, just below the surface of the milk, for the entire time you are heating, and turn off the steam before the jug gets too hot to hold i like to 'aim' the steam wand for the bottom corner of the jug so that the jet of steam hits the rounded edge of the jug, forms a whirlpool, and shoots back up again if you can build a constant whirlpool motion while you are steaming, with only a gentle 'hissing' sound throughout - you are on the right money cheers, pat  

kahvia

thanks pat, i'll give this approach a go. The machine is new and i used to be able ot get realible and quality foam out of my stovetop atomic and little krups machine so i do wonder what's the trick with this new unit.

kahvia

i "think" i've sorted my issue. I was letting off too much steam at the start . I've three in a row whic hhave been much much better...let's hope i can keep it up