change your coffee machine! actually there are several thing you can do depending upon the machine you can try lowering the water level in the boiler (if your machine will allow this) to provide more room for the steam to expand. You can also check to see if all of the heating elements in the boiler are active, as, in some instances, the manufacture and / or distributor disconnects an element on the basis that "we generally don't do enough volume in Australia to warrant having them all active" - as I was once told for an older style 3 group machine (this is less likely to be the case with a two group or newer machine) As i mentioned earlier its a good idea to run a blast of steam through the steam wand both before and after heating the milk to both: a) remove any built up pressure caused by deposits of milk solids b) to purge the steam wand of any water residue that may have collected along its length since last usage You can also try changing steam wands and or tips to see if this makes a difference but really, if wet steam is a problem this is something you ought to be able to identify for yourself - then you would either fix the problem by adjusting you technique, adjusting your machine, or by getting a new machine Having said all of the above I would still put hot and watery milk down to the following: a) using crap mass-produced milk which does not have enough inherent protein present to allow for volume expansion b) a problem with technique If the reason for same is a) I would look at experimenting with a number of different milks for different results If the problem is b) I would look at adjusting my technique and maybe contact Pioneer Roaster from this site to get their "Latte Art" DVD which looks extensively at 'proper' milk texturing Cheers, Pat
