Ben I'm going to try the short stretch. I keep making about 5 times the foam I meant to and there's no way to make latte art with the foam I'm making. That said it tastes wonderful! I hope my technique improves over time. Thanks for all the posts, you'd be surprised how many people you've helped. Herman On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 3:46 PM, 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.
