Anyone wanna help me with my anita?

[Don Fernando]

Originally Posted by Twill413

Yea, like for starters...what is an Anita..

hehehe, guess I am not the only one thinking "what's this? a sex ad on CS?"

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by ResIpsa

Striping is good. You want striping.

1 oz in 25 seconds sounds more like a ristretto than a double.

First thought is go back up one notch.

Second thought is

18 grams is a little on the plus side for a double in Anita. Try dropping the load a couple of grams and see what happens.

I'm usually at 14-15 on my machine, anymore than that and I'm bumping up against the shower screen when I lock it in.

Can't miss with your gear; you'll be expert in a mere 2 years.

18g does sound a little too steep. Don't be too concerned about weighing. If you slightly overfill the pf outta the grinder, give it a couple gentle taps to settle the grind, finger-swipe and tamp evenly (the process of a gentle start followed by slightly harder north, east,south,west pressure to level it out with slight compaction, followed by 30-lb straight down and a polishing twist will give you a good feel for a good tamp). The suddenly you're in the zone - with more (I mean less) like 14 grams. A little less grind, fine enough, will probably give you a better extraction. As Vic mentioned, avoid smooshing the puck into the showerhead. You can check for an overfill by tamping, locking and unlocking to see if there's a showerhead imprint on the top of the puck.

Try for a little less than 2-oz. in 25-30 seconds. And then... ba da bing. Nirvana. It seems a little overwhelming at first and there is the problem of what to do with all the coffee you make while in the learning curve (tiny sip and dump it, otherwise you'll start to levitate after the 7th or 8th shot). If you follow the standard routine (which limits the variables) it'll all fall into place. Mostly it's about using fresh coffee and getting the fineness zeroed in (and keeping it zeroed in with minor corrections as needed).

[mhortsch]

So I think I finally nailed down the grind setting. And from the looks of the extraction through the naked portafilter... the tamping seems to be good as well. Obviously still needs fine tuning...

So here is a technical question on steaming. Is it supposed to be that difficult to clean the wand aftewards? I immediately whipe it down with a wet rag, but the milk is baked on... and really only gets removed by 'scraping' so to speak.

My steaming needs a lot of work to!

[ResIpsa]

Originally Posted by mhortsch

So I think I finally nailed down the grind setting. And from the looks of the extraction through the naked portafilter... the tamping seems to be good as well. Obviously still needs fine tuning...

So here is a technical question on steaming. Is it supposed to be that difficult to clean the wand aftewards? I immediately whipe it down with a wet rag, but the milk is baked on... and really only gets removed by 'scraping' so to speak.

My steaming needs a lot of work to!

If there's an answer to the wand question, I don't know it. The milk bakes on immediately, so.......

I usually dip the wand in some hot water to loosen it up, then peel the milk away. I have a little brush tool thingamabob that I use to clean the inside of the wand as well. Milk gets sucked up in there too.

[ghostrider]

After I steam milk, I rinse the pitcher in HOT water, and then "steam" the water to loosen/soften the milk on the wand. I do that a couple times, then wipe clean with a cloth. I run a quick shot of steam through the wand after all that to clean out the wand.

[Mister Moo]

Let the wand tip sit in a shot glass (or steaming pitcher) of cool (or warm) water for a moment and the grunge wipes right off with a damp paper towel or dishrag.

Agreeing with Ghostriders remark I have read that some designs draw a little milk back up into the wand after steaming. Gross. Manage that possibility for sanitation purposes and to prevent the small wand holes from being cemented shut over time: if you let the wand tip sit in clean water to aid in wiping the ouside surface, also shoot some steam through it to get out any dried milk from inside the tip.

[mhortsch]

K, 2 issues resolved.

Now a third questions, what's the easiest way to tackle proper steaming techinque?

I can't get any foam... BUT, i get what appears to be minimal amount of micro. In that if I dip my finger, I get the wet paint effect on the tip. Albeit, not much volume of foam, but it appears as a good start. Or am I an idiot?

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by mhortsch

K, 2 issues resolved.

Now a third questions, what's the easiest way to tackle proper steaming techinque?

I can't get any foam... BUT, i get what appears to be minimal amount of micro. In that if I dip my finger, I get the wet paint effect on the tip. Albeit, not much volume of foam, but it appears as a good start. Or am I an idiot?

Use cold milk. I suggest starting with a half-full small steaming pitcher; try to create a ripping sound with steam wand just below milks surface. Anita is a steam beast - things happen fast. You may want to use a little less than max pressure to get started. If the milk boils or smells scalded pitch it and start again, cold milk, cold pitcher.

It's all practice, timing and technique. Give it a week before panicking.

[Mister Moo]

And?

[mhortsch]

I'll be reporting back this weekend. Came down with a bit of a cold monday, and am waiting to get a timer to turn this beast on a good half hour before I wake!

On a side note, if anyone ever gets a sore throat, gargle 1/4tsp cayenne pepper with warm water. I did it every half hour for half of the day monday, along with green tea. Sore throat didn't last a full day, and I never really got that sick. Was fine by wed. Crazy...

[mhortsch]

K, first attempt for the weekend.

Used my smallest pitcher, must be 10 oz or so. Frozen, filled have full of cold whole milk. No foam. But here's a question, should micro foam be able to be spooned out? I can't spoon any. I can dip my finger in and it's coated in silky white... but I just get no foam. Maybe the tip of the wand is to far into the surface of the milk?

When the wife gets up I'll try round 2

[Bigwaved]

Originally Posted by ResIpsa

If there's an answer to the wand question, I don't know it. The milk bakes on immediately, so.......

I usually dip the wand in some hot water to loosen it up, then peel the milk away. I have a little brush tool thingamabob that I use to clean the inside of the wand as well. Milk gets sucked up in there too.

A moist rag or sponge can remove the residue easily if you wipe the wand off immediately. Make sure you turn the steam on for a quick puff to clear the nozzles after the first wipe.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by Bigwaved

A moist rag or sponge can remove the residue easily if you wipe the wand off immediately. Make sure you turn the steam on for a quick puff to clear the nozzles after the first wipe.

Just make sure your hand isn't anywhere near the tip of the wand when you do this.

[Bigwaved]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Just make sure your hand isn't anywhere near the tip of the wand when you do this.

Ah, yes. I have a Vetrano. The wand is not as dangerous. Who needs fingertips anyway?