P.S. The offer to loan tips doesn't include the foam knife, sorry. Gotta have something for myself! :) best, bmc
Sent from my apple IIe > On Nov 1, 2015, at 12:46, Benjamin McCafferty <[email protected]> wrote: > > 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. > 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.
