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Frothing issues on my new machine

SystemSystem
edited January 1970 in Have your say
Hi, just bought a Saeco Incanto SBS machine and love it  :D. My issue is with the quality (stability?) of the froth from skim milk. Once you shake chocolate on it, it deflates - you can hear it fizzing away  :-/. I've been told this is due to the low fat content of the milk. I tried a mix of fullfat and skim and had the same result. Full fat froth is fine, so I guess the low fat theory is correct.

I must admit I'm a bit disappointed  ??? as I was hoping to get the same beautiful silky froth that Gloria Jeans give me when I get my skim Irish Nut Cremes...

Any tips on how to over come this (apart from not using skim milk). I'd be happy with the full fat/skim mix working...
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Comments

  • johnjohn
    Never having bean inside a GJ's could you please explain what a skim Irish Nut Creme is. I use a different type of espresso machine and every morning make my wife a skim latte or cap. I have not experienced your problem. Suggest you refer to the user manual or consult  the place where you purchased the machine. JD
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  • ReschsmoothReschsmooth
    Perhaps chocolate and skim milk were not meant to go together for dietary concerns... :P
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  • pabpab
    skim Irish Nut Cremes... wtf!!!! Maybe a twist of lemon might help balance things out ;D Seriously... I've noticed, using real milk, that there are seasonal variations in the way the milk froths - some months better than others. Not sure what they milk skim milk from, but there may be the same issues. Go the Pura Gold!!!
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  • ReschsmoothReschsmooth
    I understand that the seasonality has something to do with the cows feed ranging from grass to hay. Something like that. I have a Saeco at home and this morning the skim milk didn't froth at all, and other times, with consistant technique (eh Fresh?  :P) I have had textured milk as good as the Saeco will produce (and arguably better than some cafe's can produce) P
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  • mimmo124mimmo124
    The seasonality, is not really due to the feed, but more to do with the weather. The best milk comes in spring and autumn, when the cows are least stressed. In the summer they tend to underproduce, and in winter they overproduce which lessens the quality. That is why the milk price given to the farmers (before deregualtion) used to vary considerably between winter and summer. Lower price in winter (greater supply) and higher price in summer (lower supply). Most dairy cattle in WA, are fed dry hay, silage, and green grass all year round, that is in the irrigation areas in the southwest though. So they are pretty much eating the same feed all year. Milk quantity also varies by the amount of walking a cow does each day. Cows that are on relatively flat ground will produce more milk than thier cousins in the hilly regions. Some friends of mine have two farms, one on the flats and the other in the hills, only about 20ks apart. With a heard of 300 cattle, the 150 cows on the flat produce around 6000L per day, and the 150 cows in the hills produce around 5700L per day. May not seem like much, but in a week thats a lot of milk. I have found that most home style espresso machines lack the pressure and heat of the commercial machines, thats why they dont produce the same quality textured milk. I have had this happen to me on a home machine, I think the time to texture has something to do with it. I was told by a sales rep at david jones that a saeco machine produces around 15psi of steam pressure.....i find that hard to believe. The machine i use at work is a La San Marco 95/22 and it produces around 12-13psi. How can a home machine produce more pressure than an industrial machine designed to make 6 coffees' at a time plus run two steam wands?? Any thoughts? Mimmo
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  • johnjohn
    THe rep might have been correct. It does produce 15psi for 2 nanoseconds then it drops of the scales. A trick for the owners of most of the domestic type machines is to steam small quantities of milk at a time ie do one cup at a time. Another trick is to check out the type of jug you are using. Find a stainless steel jug small enough. If you are steaming say 120-150 mls of milk (enough for the average cup) then find a jug that is roughly twice the volume ie about 300mls. 600ml and 1 litre jugs just do not cut it on domestic machines. One of the machines I have in the kitchen is the Giotto. The 600 ml jug with 300mls of milk is about its limit. However, it does produce a silky smooth textured milk. JD
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  • johnjohn
    Going back to the original post. May be cc should look again at the technique being used. Also, a point to consider is that skim milk will froth quicker than regular. CC may be over texturing and if so, the quality of the froth or foam will be compromised. Skim milk also needs to be poured into the cup ASAP. JD
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  • mimmo124mimmo124
    I guess thats true, it probably is better to use smaller quantities of milk at a time (didnt think of that :P  ) regards Mimmo
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  • johnjohn
    Mimmo Apart from using smaller quantities of milk, there is also a relationship between the size of the jug and the steam quantity and pressure of the espresso machine. The smaller the jug used for a domestic machine the better the texturing will be. JD
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  • mimmo124mimmo124
    I have to make a correction to one of my previous posts. I said that my machine at work produces around 13psi, well that is incorrect, it produces a lot more than that. 9bar in fact, or so the gauge says. That seems very high to me that converts to 132.75psi, maybey that part of the gauge is supposed to be in psi. regards Mimmo
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  • Spjarli_CoffeeSpjarli_Coffee
    On the subject of milk and frothing, I see that Dairy Farmers have brought out a milk they say is designed for this very thing. Appropriately, it is called 'Crema'! More details can be found at http://www.dairyfarmers.com.au/internet/s14_crema/default.jsp cheers all, Spjarli_Coffee
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  • Unknown
    Hi everyone my friend has one of those saeco machines and i went over to their house and they had the same problem the froth.... well i just took the magic frother of the machine ,the magic frother is the plastic that fits over the wand tube.anyway after this the froth was so much better and creamy,try it it works.
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  • The_ChickstaThe_Chicksta
    I agree with over extracted.  I bought a home machine for my to be mother in law with that dodgy plastic 'froth enhancer'... took on look at it and took it off.  Also another trick i find with the home machines is let the machine sit for about 15 minutes before you use it, it creates almost an over load of extra steam and the milk is creamier. Tilt the jug slightly as well, this will help the milk to spin... and yes you can the milk spinning on a home machine. Best tip is try the tilt of the jug, should work a treat. Good luck!!
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  • Unknown
    Hi, For domestic machines the 300ml Jugs are the way to go, also make sure that there isnt to much water coming from your steamer.Maybe you need to Clean out if you have gunk in one of two valves, either the steam arm valve or the pea valve in the showerhead.  The latter is easy to check or replace, and showerhead.  
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  • nzroasternzroaster
    one word: technique it does not matter what type of milk or substitute milk you are texturing (not frothing)if you have the right technique it will produce great results.
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  • askthecoffeeguyaskthecoffeeguy
    Wow!  NZ Roaster, talk about trawling the back issues to rehash a topic!   But I'm down with that! To which I would like to add that, with many domestic (small boiler / heat exchanger) machines - its important to 'prime' the machine by building up a good head of steam, prior to frothing the milk. This can be achieved by running steam through the steam wand, until adequate pressure is reached (and until the machine stops 'spitting' water out of the steam wand - if it has a tendency to do so) Also, depending upon the machine, you may want to run some water through the hat water function, to kick the boiler into action. Cheers, Patrick II
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