# Gaggia classic to HX.. and I cannot steam milk.



## nightslayer (May 29, 2016)

The latte art competition pushed me over the edge of upgradiditis and while I was getting half-decent art most of the time, I figured my 300ml boiler Gaggia classic, even with the PID pushing the steam temp up to 150deg, simply didn't have enough power to push out the sort of microfoam that I see in cafes all the time (somebody correct me if I'm wrong here!). Camped the bay for a while and scored an ex-cafe single group HX Little Gem (albeit one which is pushing a decade and a half..) for cheap, and am fast discovering I have gotten a lot more than what I bargained for..

So now I have a boiler with 10x the original's capacity (I kid you not - this monster has a 4L boiler), and a 4-hole steam wand which steams in about.. let's say a sixth of the time. Steaming took about 30s on the Gaggia, give or take, and now the jug is scalding my hands in about 5 seconds flat. I only steam milk for one drink at a time, but I have an appropriately-sized jug (the milk comes up to a bit more than a third of the jug). I have read threads about how people plug two holes of their wand or buy new tips.. but I swear I have seen baristi (and bariste) steam single-sized portions of milk in cafes and you don't see them sticking cocktail sticks up their steam wands. So I am wondering if anyone has any tips for steaming small-ish amounts of milk on extra-powerful HX machines?

I still get (well, 80% of the time or so..) milk decent enough to do recognizable tulips or even rosette, but without fail I will have semi-large bubbles in my milk which I will have to knock/spin away. The improvement over the Gaggia seems to be that the milk itself is generally more creamy and the bubbles better incorporated, but I now have a whole laundry list of other problems:

1. I oftentimes suck too much air into the drink, and

2. when I do, I can't for the life of me seem to incorporate (i.e. suck under the surface) any large bubbles I do accidentally create even with a whirlpool going full steam

3. And speaking of whirlpools, I have had the milk going so high it literally came up the jug

4. Back to the original issue, even where I control the initial incorporation of the air, then sink the tip after like every textbook tells you to, oftentimes the whirlpool gets so strong the surface of the milk gets driven under the wand tip..

Do people ever not-open the steam wand to the max?


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## L&R (Mar 8, 2018)

Gaggia Classic and similar have an 80ml boiler.

BR


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Congrats on your new machine! I reckon it takes a little while to get the hang of steaming with a new-to-you machine whatever it is so don't get disheartened. Can you post a vid to show us what is happening? Try to aim for far less air after that first couple of seconds by just slightly raising the jug. So, tip just and only just under the surface, turn steam on, 2 or 3 seconds of that then raise the jug just a tiny bit and do not move again until it's up to temp. Try that and report back - with a vid if possible


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## nightslayer (May 29, 2016)

L&R said:


> Gaggia Classic and similar have an 80ml boiler.
> 
> BR


Oops, mixed up 3oz with 300ml - so hm. I now have a boiler 40 times the original's size.. :S

@MildredM - thanks for the comments! In my experimentation so far I've managed to underfoam the milk as well though, so am wary of that at the same time. Will try to convince the flatmate to video my milk steaming and report back..


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

jug, cold water, one drop of washing up liquid is a very good sub to practice on

you can block a couple of the holes up with toothpicks and the like

you can buy a one or two hole tip

practice makes perfect.....I have a 3 litre boiler and can steam very small amounts of milk. I the early days I used very slim jugs so even small amounts of milk gave depth


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

In my experience, using the right size jug is key. Fill the jug just below from when spout starts. I jest all the air at the beginning. On a 4-hole tip, I found that, for me at, keeping the tip in the middle of the jug, no tilting, is the way to go.

I also went from a GC to a Pro-700. The technique is very different. Everything happens very, very fast.


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## joey24dirt (Jan 28, 2017)

It will come with practice. I went from a DTP (probably the slowest out there) to the Oscar and then up to the MAC2000. Similar to you it's a huge boiler upgrade, I think mine is 4-5L.

I use a small pitcher for single drinks and it's doable. My steam is on a lever so it's on and off pretty quick, I think sometimes that can make a difference.

I tend to have maybe 1-2 seconds of stretching, I'll tend to use feel and when I just feel the temp on the jug then sink the wand and roll. When rolling I'll not wait until it's too hot to hold, but cut it before I get to that point. Seems to give me lovely silky milk.

Obviously different milks perform differently when steaming, but if your sticking to one type you will get to know it quickly.

Practice practice practice and it will eventually just become natural.

Apologies if this is bumpf you already know  but hopefully it helped.


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## nightslayer (May 29, 2016)

Status update: so I'm still not completely up to scratch, but what I've found makes the biggest difference so far was wand angle - with four holes, angling it so it's more perpendicular to the base of the jug seems to control the amount of whirlpooling I get, as opposed to my pretty acute angle that I was using with my single hole tip to encourage whirlpooling!


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

nightslayer said:


> Status update: so I'm still not completely up to scratch, but what I've found makes the biggest difference so far was wand angle - with four holes, angling it so it's more perpendicular to the base of the jug seems to control the amount of whirlpooling I get, as opposed to my pretty acute angle that I was using with my single hole tip to encourage whirlpooling!


Sounds like progress! It's good when you find a way that works, and it probably feels strange that it was so different to your last machine.


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## nightslayer (May 29, 2016)

So I underfoamed today but got a dry cap anyway despite pretty much whirlpooling the entire time - what gives?

vimeo.com/298345935


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

A good attempt! You seem to have quite an angle there, at times a few spots of milk splattered the sides of the jug while steaming. I think we are agreed though you have to try and find the best spot that works for your jug and machine. On the pour get a good grip of your jug, slow the pour down - even the first part where you pour it in. Also, maybe strart higher for that part. Looking again you did well considering the foam looked quite difficult to work with. I can show you a tip to help combine the milk/foam. I'll do a vid in a minute









Well done though


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Here's my video. Not sure it will be much help.

A few bubbles soon got combined with a side to side shake (I will clip that and post it separately).

I don't know if anyone else does this but it helps me to take a small breath in and pour as I breathe out! I also have to make sure I feel balanced in my stance! Not sure how I will manage with a Zimmer frame


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## spoxehub (Oct 24, 2014)

Yep. Sorry to say what everyone else has already, but it is just practice.

I went from a Classic to my HX machine, four hole wand etc etc. Couldn't steam milk for shit. Took me a LONG time to crack it, but it is just practice.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

This isn't a very good example of side to side. When you get it right you get two blob/waves of milk coming up either side. It's a really good way to combine though, or at least I have found it is!


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)




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## joey24dirt (Jan 28, 2017)

MildredM said:


> Here's my video. Not sure it will be much help.
> 
> A few bubbles soon got combined with a side to side shake (I will clip that and post it separately).
> 
> I don't know if anyone else does this but it helps me to take a small breath in and pour as I breathe out! I also have to make sure I feel balanced in my stance! Not sure how I will manage with a Zimmer frame


Flipping ex-sniper over here! Take a breathe, exhale and pull trigger!


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