Coffee Appreciation

Basically you purge and start steaming after only a few seconds. On my first try I just waited for 10 seconds, then steamed as usual and got very nicely stretched microfoam. I don't know why it makes such a dramatic difference but it does.

I was sceptical of this at first but I've given it a go over the last few days and it does actually seem to make a difference! If anything, it really cuts down the time taken steaming the milk.

I have a theory, which is that the steam starts at a lower temperature for the stretching part and has risen in temperature significantly by the time you're in the heating of the milk stage.

Waiting for the steam light usually ends up with a lot of steam pressure and temperature at the beginning, which starts to drop off during foaming until the thermostat kicks in again. I think you want it the other way round, where you start with cooler steam for effective frothing in cold milk, then, as the temperature comes up, the hotter steam can work more efficiently further down to heat the milk up.

Be interesting to see how much steam has condensed and dissolved in the milk in each case. I suspect a lot more water is present in the final drink when you wait for the steam light. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it probably is a thing.