# Cappuccino not hot enough!



## justinsaid (Jun 28, 2015)

So I recently got myself a classic as my first home machine. Making espressos seems to be going OK so far, obviously there is a lot of room for improvement but I was fortunate enough to be shown the ropes by the previous enthusiastic owner (which helped massively!)

The only problem I have is by the time I have made a cappuccino it seems to be warm rather than hot. The method Im using is to warm an espresso cup and the cappuccino mug, make my espresso into the espresso cup, steam the milk as soon as the wand is ready and pour in as soon as milk is up to temperature.

I am using a PID for espresso shots set at 104 and I steam my milk to about 150 on my thermometer. Based on all this, I can't quite work out where I am going wrong. Any ideas?


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Take the milk to about 165 - or better still use a TempTag which will give you the right temp every time without the lag of the thermometer


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

I use a naked portafilter and have a cup just the right size for my cappa/latte so I pull the shot into that. Saves pouring from cup to cup and on the washing up.


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## justinsaid (Jun 28, 2015)

Might try steaming the milk a bit more, will see if that helps enough.

As for the cup size, I first pour into the smaller cup to try and keep the coffee temp as high as possible. I could go directly into the cappuccino cup but think that more air getting to the cup would cool

the shot quickly


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Warming your cups first will help. That said, drinking coffee at high temp mutes the flavours.


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

I find heating the milk to 165 as Glenn suggested after pulling the shot into a warmed cappa cup works well for me. Pouring from one cup to another will also cool the shot as it passes through the air, I can't see it making that much difference. Try it, you may be surprised.


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## justinsaid (Jun 28, 2015)

Will give that a go, thanks Obsy


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

No problem. Let us know how you get on


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

I always make sure my cups are thoroughly warmed up by filling them with hot water first, they never feel as hot if just left on the top of the machine. You could boil some water in a kettle to do this: I fill only one cup with hot water and pour it into the next cup when im ready to pull the shot, I always make 2 cups at the same time and this save water and electricity (im extraordinarily tight)

Also I pour the espresso directly into the end cup and never into a espresso cup and then decant.


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## justinsaid (Jun 28, 2015)

I think the issue was that I was not steaming the milk hot enough.

I am now steaming the milk to a higher temperature and that seems to have done the trick


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## theaaron123 (Aug 30, 2015)

I steam the milk first and then flush through to cool down to espresso temp into a cup which warms that. Find this more efficient than waiting for the the steam to heat up after.


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

I swear by the Temptags as Glenn suggested. I have one for semi skimmed milk and one for soya milk (we switch between the two depending on how we are feeling) on the side of my pitcher. Such an easy thing to use.


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