# Simple tip for improving control when steaming with 4-hole tip



## tripleshot (Jun 3, 2020)

My Profitec came with a 2 hole tip which I've been practicing on. Recently, I switched to a 4-hole tip and oh gosh, the steam power is something else. It's hard to control and there's no margin of error if your position isn't spot on from the get go. There's just not enough time to correct before milk gets to scalding.

I also found it that it's important to crank up the steam to max as quickly as possible as the whole steaming process takes but seconds but when I crank up the dial I lose stability -- I just can't keep the jug steady with my other hand, even with wand locked against the spout. So thought I'd share this simple trick I'm now using which has made a world of difference to keeping position rock steady (see photo).

I got some anti slip mats which I've cut into small pieces. I just stack them to suit the jug and milk amount I'm using (in the photo I have a Motta 250ml with 85ml milk), position the wand in the spout, set the angle and then I crank up the steam. Between the wand resting in the spout and the jug resting on the anti grip mat, the wand doesn't wander off and stays in that initial position even when I go single handed in order to control the steam dial (and if I have to lift it gently to kill the stretch it's just a millimetre or two off the mat, so much easier to control).

Thought I'd share in case it's useful to others . I just steamed 60ml milk and it came out lovely and silky.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Seems like the quantities of milk you are steaming are by all means... on the very tiny side! Are you using those for espresso machiato?


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## tripleshot (Jun 3, 2020)

My usual quantity is between 100-120ml for a 3:1 milk to Coffee ratio. I'm experimenting with smaller quantities for shorter shots / ristretto. The 60ml was to top up an existing milk drink which wasn't quite balanced enough.

But surely the quantity of the milk is not quite the point here, 4-hole tips are quite hard to master are they not? With more milk you just have more time to course correct


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

I can't imagine myself steaming 60ml of milk, that's what I'm trying to say. It will just be a disaster in my hands!😂


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## tripleshot (Jun 3, 2020)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> I can't imagine myself steaming 60ml of milk, that's what I'm trying to say. It will just be a disaster in my hands!😂


 Try this trick. It may well surprise you!😆


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

I actually found it much easier to steam on the Minima than the Expobar, 3 hole tip vs 1 hole. I found the longer I spend steaming the more likely I am to mess it up.


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