There's a milk frother in my Nespresso machine - I'm tempted to try a Latte after watching a Bambino video.

I use semi-skimmed - but I only use that with my Weetabix and fruit. But I might get a small whole milk to try it out just for a latte.

Yeah, we drink semi as a family, but I just buy a small whole milk for coffee stuff. Having said that, if you just want a latte, I don't think it matters. However, if you want to do silky microfoam ala Flat White, that's when it gets tricky.

afgavinstan wrote:

1. Add bubbles via air getting in just beneath surface 2. Once enough is added, keep spout further in milk to "churn"/velvetise it. 3. Keep doing that until its at the desired temp. 4. Dunt it off the counter when done to settle bubbles. 5. Pour. In before it's asked Davy sir

This is it yeah! I'd just add that for microfoam, the trickiest thing is to work out how much air to put into the milk. Not that much for whole milk. To expand on step 1, I usually get the vortex going by having the spout just beneath surface, then lower the pitcher so that you start to hear a sound like tearing paper as the spout sits just on the surface. This is where the magic happens. I just do this for around 5 seconds usually and you can see the volume of milk expanding as an indicator.

Too much air and you end up with cappuccino type bubbles, which is fine if it's what your after.

Ah, fair play. Crack on with that then!

afgavinstan wrote:

1. Add bubbles via air getting in just beneath surface 2. Once enough is added, keep spout further in milk to "churn"/velvetise it. 3. Keep doing that until its at the desired temp. 4. Dunt it off the counter when done to settle bubbles. 5. Pour. In before it's asked Davy sir

This is correct.

drumbeg wrote:

Do you use whole milk? It's way more forgiving that semi-skimmed or oat (aka rapeseed oil) milk.

This is also correct. A good microfoam is reliant on good fat molecules. So you want full-fat milk.

Also, "desired temp" for me is usually "too hot to touch + 5s of me not touching" = lovely hot but not too hot latte. Nothing I hate more from a cafe effort is one that burns the mouth off you.

hylian_elf wrote:

Wife has offered to spend £200 or so on me for my upcoming birthday.  I was thinking of an espresso machine and found the Sage Bambino for £235.  Only question is: are they a faff to maintain and clean etc?  I like minimal fuss.

I've got a Barista Express and bought a Sage Bambino for the office at work. You could get a Barista Express reconditioned from eBay if you want some added flexibility for around £250, but if you're just up for the espresso then the Bambino is decent for the money. 

When the cleaning light comes on, you'll need some of these. There'll be a plastic puck you pop in the portafilter, stick one of the tablets on it and run the machine. It'll backflush the machine. Needs doing about every 4/6 weeks.

These descaling tablets are the best I've used. I tend to do it every couple of months.

Are you more interested in the how to pour the perfect shot manually and maybe experiment a little or do you just want a good brew and don't want much input?

If it's the latter, a lot of people do end up moving to a Nespresso type system as they are pretty consistent. They are cheap.

You may want to consider something more similar in design to a classic espresso machine.

I have the Sage Duo Temp Pro. Purely manual, you time the pour yourself. It's not on the level of a more expensive machine, but it's quite forgiving. I like how it looks too. Simple design.

https://www.sageappliances.com/uk/en/products/espresso/bes810.html

They are my holy grail those things. Beautiful bits of machinery.

The benefits of a cuppa.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/7S7zkfk7WZvFrXLfYW8Wr2/who-knew-a-brew-was-so-good-for-you

Yeah, I use those machines on my travels a lot. Coffee is fine for what it is.

Yeah, I don't recall ever being served a decent cuppa anywhere in your workplace. Overpriced bilge.

I do complain about the Costa at work but the restaurant got this in recently



Very decent for a £1.50 latte. I'll take that.

LivDiv wrote:

EvilRedEye wrote:

IIRC when I measured about how many teaspoons in a scoop in case I ever ended up scoopless it was something like 2-3, so 5 teaspoons will be like two scoops or a bit less. I don’t think that’s a bad amount? Some of the championship Aeropress recipes use two scoops-ish, IIRC.

Wesley. Legend.

I know this was ages ago but memory unlocked, top referencing.