We got a ‘real’ espresso machine for Christmas, and by real I mean pump driven, but still the cheapest one you can get. ($99 refurb Breville)
I’ve got the timing and technique down to make a pretty damn good draw, but I’m curious about steaming the milk. I’ve found I need to wait 20 seconds or so after the draw to build up enough heat so the machine doesn’t just pump water into the milk, but do you find that, by the time the milk’s hot, it’s been diluted by nearly half?
It pretty much makes any whole milk used, skim milk by the time you’re done.
My wife is a super Barista and hates weak steamed milk, so she never uses the steam thing. She microwaves the milk instead, It does taste better to me.
Don’t start frothing or steaming the milk until the wand is actually putting out steam. I vent the wand into a small ceramic cup until I see that I’ve got full steam, before beginning to froth the milk.
Yeah, I discovered a 20 count was enough to get a good head of steam back…I think I’ll try the microwaving the milk as a half cup of milk in a metal container takes quite a few calories to heat up using the steam wand.