# Steaming small quantities of milk- One latte at a time



## joshuachan28 (Mar 7, 2012)

I've been struggling to consistently steam one latte amount (5oz of milk) in my small milk jug but I realised that when I increased my milk amount to 8oz, getting that microfoam texture is way easier. It seems that there needs to be a certain amount of depth of milk in the jug to be able to create a vortex after plunging in deeper. Only issue is I am wasting quite a lot of milk this way just to make one latte. Any thoughts?


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## joshuachan28 (Mar 7, 2012)

I must add that I am not fully convinced that small quantities of milk is harder to steam than larger quantities. It's just an observation that I have made a few times that I have done so.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Which machine and jug type are you using?

What steam tip do you have on the machine?


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## joshuachan28 (Mar 7, 2012)

I'm currently using a Gaggia Classic and a silvia steam wand. My milk jug is a 0.35L/14oz regular stainless steel milk jug from Coffeehit.


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## P.B (Jun 3, 2012)

I agree that you need a certain depth of milk in order to get the milk 'rolling' after one has stretched it. I find it easier with a smaller jug. I use a 25cl jug for drinks that small.

Paul


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## joshuachan28 (Mar 7, 2012)

Looks like it's time for me to hunt for smaller milk jugs. I wonder whether using a more powerful machine would compensate for the lack of depth in the milk.


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

I must admit I too struggle to achieve decent micro foam with small amounts of milk on the Silvia even with a small Motta jug, even resorted to putting the jug in the freezer to see if that would help.. it didn't! the Silvia's wand is pretty powerful so I don't think power is a problem

It does seem that there is a minimum amount of milk that seems to work, i.e. more than a smll jug can take if anybody has the answer I would also like to know.

Thinks.... could it be the steam tip? Single hole on mine


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## joshuachan28 (Mar 7, 2012)

Same here. Single hole as well. I have seen baristas at prufrock steam individual portions of milk on their Kees' Spirit so maybe it needs a huge amount of steam to swirl the milk around enough or maybe they just have some amazing skill that we do not have.


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

As I said I don't think it can be power alone, the wand on the Silvia is quite powerful, and I seem to get an improvment when I just crack the valve open a small amount only to stretch the milk before opening it up a bit more to get it spinning, which seems to be a problem with the smaller circumference of a small jug


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## P.B (Jun 3, 2012)

I have a single hole tip on my Andreja and a 4 hole on the Cremina. The Cremina has a 2L boiler and the Andreja 1.4L. It's easier to get microfoam with a single hole tip in my experience - you can direct the rolling better - so I would say that power isn't the issue as the Cremina is far faster to get to 55-60 degrees. With a small jug try rolling (churning the milk when looking from the side) rather than spinning (rotating from above - if that makes sense!). That way the depth of the milk in the jug matters more than the diameter of the jug.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

For anyone struggling to obtain micro foam, a Espro Toroid Jug does make it much easier. It really is just plunge the steam tip & hold till jug is hot to the touch.

A very quick way to a reasonable result.

Ron


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

Ron,

What's the Toroid jug like with small amounts of milk? And do you have the large or small version?


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## joshuachan28 (Mar 7, 2012)

I've seen the toriod jug before but I am somehow skeptical of how the design might make frothing easier.


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

mike 100 said:


> What's the Toroid jug like with small amounts of milk?


I purchased the jug for my son in law who is just getting into serious coffee. Its the small one & it's suiting him well.

It produces a very reasonable micro foam with very little skill. Its never as good as the Motta Jug (real micro foamer) which does demand a lot of time & practice to learn.

Ron


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

I'm a bit of a sceptic when it comes to milk jugs. I have two mottas (500ml and 750ml) and I always end up on my £6 cheapo 350ml pitcher. Whilst people have preferences I don't think the shape of the jug or shape of the spout make as much difference as solid technique. Why else would good baristas be able to pour good latte art from a milk carton?

I kind of wish I had got the smaller motta over the 750ml as it never gets used. Anyone interested in purchasing it?


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## joshuachan28 (Mar 7, 2012)

I would love to see how people steam small amounts of milk on a home machine (Classic/Silvia) using regular milk jugs. Anybody kind enough to do a video demo? A lot of the videos I find on youtube show how to steam milk on a professional coffee machine and those that show how to steam milk on a home machine never achieve a good microfoam texture.

@lookseehear Actually plenty of baristas I know steam two lattes worth of milk in a small jug and use a larger jug to pour latte art into their cups. So they basically transfer one half first into the larger jug and they pour it into the coffee and then repeat again. Apparently using a larger jug makes it easier to swirl the milk and I think there was also another benefit having a longer spout length?. Can't exactly remember but someone told me the benefits before. Anyway a milk jug can be used for so many things. I beat my eggs inside the jug to make scrambled eggs in the morning.


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## CoffeeJohnny (Feb 28, 2011)

Unfortunately I don't own one, but it really should be no different, as they both have ample steam power. It really is no different stretching one than two or more, you just have to stretch quickly and spin, milk temperature plays a huge role for single cups as it gives you that little extra time, pop ur pitcher in the fridge too all of this will give u extra time to play with the milk. Hope this is of some help


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I have to say I used to notice this when I used the coffee machine in the restaurant I used to work in, I always used to steam too much milk as it wasn't my money going down the drain. At the time my assumption was that the smaller amount of milk got up to temperature to quickly, not spending enough time in that 50-70deg range where most of the foam developed (at least when I was steaming the milk







) this wasn't based on anything other than ignorant guesswork however!


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## gnownad (Apr 24, 2012)

I find 600ml jugs easier to foam with, but 300ml jugs are just fine too. I tend to spill a bit of milk with the smaller jug, but generally I get decent microfoam with both sizes. I use a Gaggia classic with the old version Silvia wand (single hole) - I'll see what I can do about doing a video!

My main problem is that the steam is so powerful it starts chucking milk out at the very beginning, but it generally settles down nicely after the initial spurt!


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## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

I use a Fracino Cherub and it has a LOT of steam power. This amount of steam power coupled with a 4 hole tip means that a lot of steam is hitting the milk at once and so there is a minimum depth of milk required (otherwise the steam displaces all the milk and makes it impossible to submerge the tip and texture the milk). That said, providing a suitably sized jug is used, it is possible to get the required depth with smaller quantities of milk. I use ~175ml in a 350ml Motta jug when making 1 drink (I find any less milk in this jug and it becomes too shallow to texture).

When using smaller quantities of milk, the milk heats much faster (under 5 seconds for 175ml on my Cherub). This means that it is necessary to work REALLY quickly and precisely. Larger quantities of milk give you more time to stretch and texture the milk whilst it is heating and can be more forgiving of mistakes. The technique is the same for smaller and larger quantities - it is just the speed at which you have to work and the required accuracy that changes. Using a thick walled pitcher like the Motta ones and cooling it in the fridge before use can provide a little more time to play with during steaming as it retards the heating.


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## thomss (May 9, 2011)

Hey Jim,

I have the 2 hole tip on my Cherub. I might buy the 4 and a single of they do one to compare against the 2 hole, have you tried other tips?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

Ah, it sounds like Fracino are really listening to customer feedback. Lots of Cherub customers contacted Fracino about 2 hole tips because the 4 hole tip fitted to models such as mine were too powerful, especially for average home users dealing with small quantities of milk.

The 2 hole tip is supposed to be much more manageable and more practical for home use.


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## thomss (May 9, 2011)

I asked for the 2 hole tip at the point of order









Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## Fracino (May 16, 2012)

jimbow said:


> Ah, it sounds like Fracino are really listening to customer feedback. Lots of Cherub customers contacted Fracino about 2 hole tips because the 4 hole tip fitted to models such as mine were too powerful, especially for average home users dealing with small quantities of milk.
> 
> The 2 hole tip is supposed to be much more manageable and more practical for home use.


We do appreciate and take on board many comments from our customers. The two holed steam tip should be standard on a Piccino, and are available on request for the Cherub/Heavenly.


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## pendragoncs (Feb 14, 2011)

Been wasting a lot of milk myself to steam just enought for a small cortado....

But came accross this thread......

http://www.home-barista.com/knockbox/tiamo-5oz-steam-pitcher-or-solution-to-small-milk-and-waste-t23353.html

Found theme for sale here in the uk....

http://www.tiamostore.co.uk/tiamo-150ml-5oz-milk-pitchermilk-jug-22-p.asp

Worked out about 8.50 with p&p. (they chucked in quite a nice free shot glass as well)

The pitcher arrived today and at first i had to check the box because it looked so small next to my normal pitchers. Gave it a try and its very good......it handled the pressure of the Expo very well was expecting mil to go shooting everywhere but in no time i had enough perfefctly steamed milk to top up my espresso in a 5oz cup.......and very little waste.


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