Hey, thanks Herman! Nice to know that something I did/wrote was actually useful... :)
When I first got my foam knife, I was also unsure of how to use it. Since I had bought it partly on Schomer's glowing review, and since I live reasonably close to Vivace, I called them up and also bugged them in person. Their basic training on the tip is to do a gentle stretch to the volume they want (I have the tip in the top center at this point), and then to either face the tip to a pitcher wall at about 30-45 degrees, or to lay it alongside the pitcher wall (flat) and roll until desired temp. I can tell you that more than maybe 7-10 seconds of stretching results in thick, wonderful, cappucino foam. I.e. you will not be pouring latte art with it! And it won't seem like it should be thick--it will seem like you under-stretched, and then suddenly at the end it's almost like whipped cream thickening in a mixer--it will start to creep across the surface and blanket the liquid. Really wild and cool. Having such a short stretch was the hardest part for me to get used to--I used to stretch almost the entire time. Heck, for that matter, if you just bury the tip right off the bat, you'll even get a pourable foam, just not as nice as if you stretch a bit. Pretty amazing. OK then, best of luck and talk soon. bmc Sent from my apple IIe > On Nov 1, 2015, at 12:26, herman dickens <[email protected]> wrote: > > Ben thanks to a post from you that I read a few weeks back I got one of the > foam knife tips and the wand that attaches it to the BII. I've only used it a > half dozen times so far but I'm amazed at the microfoam. I'm not consistent > with it yet but it's the best microfoam that I've seen from any of the tips > I've used over the last 10 years. I think once I get the hang of it I will be > able to do a much better job. I'd gotten complacent with the machine before I > had trouble with it and doing a lot of research and reading your old posts > pushed me over the edge and I bought the foam knife. Now I wished I'd > purchased it long ago. > Tegespresso all I can say is go for it. You'll be glad you did. It foams so > fast that it will take a little getting used to but I think it will make a > lot more difference than you can imagine. Good luck and keep us posted. > Herman > > >> On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 10:50 AM, Benjamin McCafferty <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> Hey Tegespresso, >> If you look back through the archives for "steam tip" you should find >> numerous posts that I've made. In some of those, I did performance tests on >> many different tips, including how long it took to heat a certain quantity >> of water to a specific temperature (speed) and whether it overwhelmed the >> boiler, etc. We don't have unlimited steam in our machines, so a balanced >> tip is pretty important--so you'll find you need something that is slow >> enough to make good foam and not outrun the boiler, but also is fast enough >> when you make multiple drinks. >> >> One side note--a tip from long ago from Ira or Herman I think--open your >> steam wand until the red light comes on, and then close it. When the >> pressure builds to just below your set point (i.e. where the red light would >> go off), start steaming your milk. This will give you a head start on the >> boiler--it will already be heating when you begin. It tends to give you >> better steam pressure up front and longer duration. >> >> All this said, I've used all the tips you are considering. My opinions: >> The Pasquini 4-hole will give you fits; tough to get good foam on our >> machine and it outruns the boiler easily. I used the new isomac 2-hole for >> about 5 years; it is similar to the gold pro from 1st Line and is a very >> good tip. It makes tight foam, but is fairly slow, so your guests will be >> waiting. I have now had the foam knife for about 18 months, I think, and if >> anything, it is almost too good. I make mainly lattes, and frequently have >> cappucinos instead because it produces foam so easily! >> >> For me, the investment in the foam knife was well worth it, and I wouldn't >> even consider going back to the isomac, although I loved that tip for its >> time. If I buy a new machine someday, I'll be switching the tip as soon as >> I get the machine. >> >> I've made this offer to others; if you'd like to borrow my tips and adapter, >> I'm happy to send them to you so you can try before you buy. So long as you >> promise not to put pliers on them and to return them. :) >> >> All the best, >> Ben >> >> Sent from my apple IIe >> >>> On Nov 1, 2015, at 05:26, Tegespresso <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> As many of you already know, and has been discussed ad nauseam here, I am >>> struggling to get good "consistent" microfoam from my stock single hole >>> steam tip. >>> >>> I've had my Brewtus IV for roughly 2-years now (absolutely LOVE this >>> machine) and been practicing making good microfoam ever since. I've done >>> exhaustive searches on the internet and watched numerous Youtube videos and >>> frankly I think it is time for a steam tip upgrade. >>> >>> To that end, I have it narrowed down to the 2-hole "new" Isomac tip, the >>> Pasquini 4-hole tip and the Foam Knife 1 tip. The Foam 1 Knife tip being >>> the leader right now, but with the $100+ expensive along with a wand change >>> at roughly $40 is really putting a damper on that decision. >>> >>> Sooooo, does anyone have any suggestions before I purchase an upgraded >>> steam tip? >>> >>> Many thanks to all that have contributed to this wonder Google Group and >>> thanks in advance to anyone that can shed some light form their experiences >>> with upgraded steam tip on their Brewtus machines. >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "Brewtus" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to [email protected]. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Brewtus" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Brewtus" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. 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