watery coffe

Summercrema

hi,

I visited a cafe today in town, the machine they use is one of the new expobar with digital temp control on the front, it is showing 92 degree celsius, coffee bean is from Morgan, owner said the bean is fresh, like just opened today, I watched how the shot was pulled, started slow like dripping few drops at a time, over all 25-30 sec, I order a cap so I got a cap with 1 cm froth on it, no sugar added, however it tasted watery & little bit of bitterness was picked up as well. Can the milk be the causes to watery taste? or more than one possible cause?

Thanks

30in30

Couple of variables and influencers, but watery coffee is usually an indication of the grind being too coarse and/or insufficient tamping pressure.  Did you see good body on the crema before the milk was poured?

Summercrema

not in the position to see the crema, can visit the place again tomorrow though.

30in30

Order a short black to go with that...  

Lovey

It wasn't a single shot in a 'mug of chino' was it?  :P

psaigh

IMHO If it tastes watery i'd be looking at the milk and if the operator is purging the steam wand properly.  A bad shot, puled too quick shouldn't make a milk based drink taste watery. Maybe sour, weak or astringent, but not watery (unless they're pulling more than say 60mls of water through a single).

Unknown

psaigh: milk is almost 90% water. Adding the condensed steam from a steam wand into a jug of milk will make little to no difference, and I doubt it will would be detectable in a cappuccino. summercrema: Fresh has different meanings to different people. "Just opened today" could mean a vac sealed bag from 2006 that has just been opened today.....

askthecoffeeguy

some coffee machines also produce a much wetter steam which can be imparted to the milk making the coffee taste hot &

Summercrema

askthecoffeeguy, if wet steam is the problem then how do u get more dry steam or increase dry steam. Thanks

some coffee machines also produce a much wetter steam which can be imparted to the milk making the coffee taste hot &

askthecoffeeguy

change your coffee machine! actually there are several thing you can do depending upon the machine you can try lowering the water level in the boiler (if your machine will allow this) to provide more room for the steam to expand. You can also check to see if all of the heating elements in the boiler are active, as, in some instances, the manufacture and / or distributor disconnects an element on the basis that "we generally don't do enough volume in Australia to warrant having them all active" - as I was once told for an older style 3 group machine (this is less likely to be the case with a two group or newer machine) As i mentioned earlier its a good idea to run a blast of steam through the steam wand both before and after heating the milk to both: a) remove any built up  pressure caused by deposits of milk solids b) to purge the steam wand of any water residue that may have collected along its length since last usage You can also try changing steam wands and or tips to see if this makes a difference but really, if wet steam is a problem this is something you ought to be able to identify for yourself - then you would either fix the problem by adjusting you technique, adjusting your machine, or by getting a new machine Having said all of the above I would still put hot and watery milk down to the following: a) using crap mass-produced milk which does not have enough inherent protein present to allow for volume expansion b) a problem with technique If the reason for same is a) I would look at experimenting with a number of different milks for different results If the problem is b) I would look at adjusting my technique and maybe contact Pioneer Roaster from this site to get their "Latte Art" DVD which looks extensively at 'proper' milk texturing Cheers, Pat

psaigh

psaigh: milk is almost 90% water. Adding the condensed steam from a steam wand into a jug of milk will make little to no difference, and I doubt it will would be detectable in a cappuccino.

The points awarded for purging your steam wand prior to steaming are not just there for the sake of it.  Perhapse the small ammount of condensation build on a machine with a small milk wand wouldn't be noticable, but leave your synesso idle for 10 or so minutes and don't purge the wand before steaming and i can guarantee your full cream cap will taste like skim.