My question on frothing techniques

[dsal]

I have a steam (not pump) espresso maker, and have never been able to get good froth from the frothing steamer. I really like the froth that is available from commercial machines, but I do not want to invest that much money. Is there any way I can get coffee-house quality froth at home without spending a fortune? OK, maybe not as good as coffee-house quality, but how about a reasonable second place?

Thanks,
dsal

 

[MikeTheBike]

dsal,

I have a pavoni steam machine and it took a while to get it right.

I found that the fresher the milk, the better the froth, and using full rather than semi-skimmed works better for me.
The pressure for small amounts of milk is actually too great, so I use either too much milk on full steam (and ditch the excess) or reduce the steam with less milk (not such good results).

I plunge all the way to the bottom of the jug, steam on, and up to the surface....just enough so that the froth appears to be dragged under the steam wand.

Sounds unlikely, but the shape of jug appeared to make a difference (I bought a little Gaggia jug that has a very narrow base and very wide neck).

HTH

MTB