Another breville barista express question - how do I produce latte art quality foam?

[revolutionaryI786]

Please see the following video I made this morning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZrIFHdPT6c

Normally I prepare the milk after pulling the shot, but I thought I would switch it around. Any tips would be appreciated!

 

[shadow745]

I don't bother with milk based drinks often, but when I do I always extract the spro first, then texture the milk. Some think espresso degrades much too quickly and must be consumed within seconds of being extracted, but that is B.S. all in their mind(s). Good espresso will be good whether piping hot, warm or at room temperature. Of course the taste can change with temperature, but it shouldn't be night/day.

Regarding your video, I would say drop the tip a bit more into the milk to incorporate less air. Also tilt the pitcher a bit more to one side to get a rolling whirlpool effect. The end result was decent, just a bit thicker than you're probably looking for. I would also suggest losing the thermometer as it just gets in the way. Don't know how long you've been at this, but over time your hands will become tuned in to the pitcher temperature. When it feels hot to the touch, not scorching hot though, the milk temp should be in the 140-150 range.

That machine uses a thermoblock for steaming (the pulsing is water being fed to the heating coil) and although they seem much better than in previous years they still don't give good solid pressure for steaming quickly. Some companies have made better use of them though.

 

[chast]

not familiar with that machine but steam wands should be purged to get the water out before you steam your milk.

 

[revolutionaryI786]

Thanks Chast, I do but for the sake of length of the video I didn't show it!

not familiar with that machine but steam wands should be purged to get the water out before you steam your milk.

 

[revolutionaryI786]

Thanks a lot shadow! Based on doing the milk later as I usually do, and then trying to get the whirlpool effect - I got the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNF-jXcBog