# Pouring latte art, milk comes out in a bit of a sludge.



## BeanandComeandGone (Jun 11, 2015)

Hello,

This seems to happen quite a lot recently when attempting to pour Latte art. I will attempt to get a good microfoam by letting air into the milk for about 15s and then burying the wand to whirlpool the milk. After filling the cup 3/4 full, i'll bring the jug in to start pouring my design. The first few seconds are the right consistency for art, and then the rest of the milk comes out in a thick gloop, ruining my design. What could this be? Too muvh air, not enough mixing?

Any ideas?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

I think your guesses are as good as mine. They'd be my two thoughts.

Just to get in early: can you do a video of it? It'll really help for this.

15 second seems like a lot. Have you watched the ozone roaster video on milk steaming or the VCR video smarts one? They can be a handy basis for it


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

Sounds like the milk is too stretched. Instead of one nice consistent microform there is a layer of foam.... Maybe we should name it macrofoam. I'm assuming it's coming out more how you would like it for a cappuccino?

Either you are stretching too long (15s sounds way too long to me) or your whirlpool isn't combining the foam into the milk


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Even on the puny SDB wand I only aerate for about 3 seconds max, if I want a thick sludge I'd do it longer and overheat - one of those two or both is what you're doing. Get a thermometer


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## glevum (Apr 4, 2013)

What milk are you using ? Red, blue , orange or green? I get this problem with 1% orange milk no matter how well i steam it.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Almost certainly too much air and not enough vortex. Ask me how i know ha! On the occasions when my milk has come out right, it's usually when I've expected it to be too little air/ foam. I agree with the idea of 2 seconds air and the rest of the time spinning. But I still don't hit it every time.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

As others have already mentioned, deffo sounds like you're spending too much time introducing air into the milk at the beginning. Fine for a cappuccino but no good if wishing to pour latte art.

Once you've finished stretching the milk, do you give it a good swirl to combine any foam with heated milk?

This is one of the most detailed and well explained videos of milk steaming I've watched:






Hope that helps?


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## BeanandComeandGone (Jun 11, 2015)

The origin video is one of the best I've seen on milk steaming..wish I'd seen it two years ago!


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

The origin one is outstanding - first guy to really explain the 'why' as well as the 'how'


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## BeanandComeandGone (Jun 11, 2015)

Some people recommend letting air in very gently...the chap from origin aerates fairy aggressively for a much shorter period of time. Any preference?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

BeanandComeandGone said:


> Some people recommend letting air in very gently...the chap from origin aerates fairy aggressively for a much shorter period of time. Any preference?


Whatever works for you

Commercial machines will steam alot quicker, makes sense to get air in all at once.

Personally I found it easier to gently add over 5 seconds or so.


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## LukeT (Aug 6, 2017)

As a rule of thumb, if he's saying say 2 or 3 secs on a big commercial machine, does that equate to quite a bit more time than that on a home machine?


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## LukeT (Aug 6, 2017)

Oops. I didn't see the 2nd page, you've answered my question MrBoots.


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## JaumeMarzo (Oct 6, 2017)

great videos, thanks for sharing.

i still find that watching is one thing but doing is another









With the latte art, i cannot produce any results of note, could it be that the amount of time spent adding froth varies from machine to machine?

I'm using a sage DTP and have tried from a few seconds up to 10 seconds however each time the end result doesn't have enough foam to allow me to add any art.


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## Mr Kirk (Oct 5, 2017)

JaumeMarzo said:


> great videos, thanks for sharing.
> 
> i still find that watching is one thing but doing is another
> 
> ...


I add air at least twice as long as that on my dtp.


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

JaumeMarzo said:


> could it be that the amount of time spent adding froth varies from machine to machine?


Yes very much this. Also sometimes the same machines can have different steam tips on (not with the example of a Sage generally but other ones) so even that would make two machines of the same type behave a bit differently.

Try holding it out for a little longer and see if it helps, also maybe see if Sage did any videos for it - it might give you an idea of how long they do it for?


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

I've used my mate's Sage BE and it's very different from E61 machines etc. The single hole tip and modest steam power means you need to introduce air for much longer than a larger machine, but this can be a good thing as it gives you plenty of time to spin it and I was able to get really good creamy microfoam on my 2nd or 3rd go. Tip placement is fairly critical. You need to get enough air in to start with - could be 15-20 seconds, then sink the tip slightly to really get a spin going and smash the small bubbles into tiny ones. Then once it's looking shiny and slightly creamy consistency sink the tip even further to avoid over thickening while still making the foam even smoother and homogenising the texture throughout.

Having a machine with vicious steam or a big holes tip means you've got to get the air in in under a second and then spin it up in the remaining 20-25. The BE is much more relaxed and you can really get silk milk.


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## Mr Beanie (Dec 9, 2017)

I really need to learn how to steam my milk properly on my Delonghi machine, I can NEVER seen to get it right! reading these comments I think I'm aerating the milk for too long!


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## Greenphotos (Dec 29, 2017)

DoubleShot said:


> This is one of the most detailed and well explained videos of milk steaming I've watched:


Yes, fantastic video thanks for the post!


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## BeanandComeandGone (Jun 11, 2015)

I think I've nailed how to steam milk on the barista express...this should work for all Sage machines.

1) Get a jug with a volumetric scale (numbers) up the inside so you can measure how much you are stretching the milk every time. For milk drinks aim to go from 6oz of cold milk to 8oz in volume. Aim for somewhere between 20-30% increase.

2) Add air SLOWLY. During stretching you should be aiming for the gentlest of hisses, personally adding loads of air in the beginning never works for me. I find it is much easier to avoid making big bubbles rather than trying to break them up/incorporate them later. Your milk should almost be warm to the touch when this phase is complete.

3) Spin to win. This is perhaps the most key point. I used to think my sage machine was simply to weak to produce good microfoam due to a lack of rotation. This is false, you just have to lock the wand into the right position, typically in the centre and off to one of the sides of the jug. Do this straight away, even whilst adding air in the beginning. The best way to find this (and this resulted in a revelation for me) just fill your jug with plain water (no soap) and just see which position in the jug results in the greatest angular rotation.

Hope this helps,

Tim


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