The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

I have noticed lately that I am having great difficulty steaming with a good foam result. Not doing anything different from a technique perspective. Generally the machine warms up for a good 45mins before use.

The pressure indicator for the steam boiler is dropping to .5 bar when steaming. I am thinking this may be the issue. Is there an adjustment that needs to be done?

Pressure should start at the red zone (1.35 bar). The pressure will drop quicker on the Mini since the boiler is smaller, but it should not drop below 0.8 bar. If it does, it can only be your tip hole area is too large or you are steaming too large a volume of milk (assuming your gauge is accurate).

Most problems with steaming fall into 2 categories:

1. Finding a pitcher , milk volume and tip position to give good results.
2. Getting consistent results.

You need to experiment for 1. Once you find something that works, you need stop changing variables and practice a lot for 2.

But, I reckon you're saying you could steam okay until recently and now you're having trouble with steam pressure falling. And, I guess you're saying nothing else has changed ? No new steam tip? No new pitcher? What then could be the problem. Another question - are you running on 15 or 20 amp? I run on 15 amp and have noticed that if I start to steam before the brew boiler is back up to temp, it plays havoc with my steam. The steam boiler suddenly acts like it's running hard to catch up and I get a spurt of high powered steam - in other words, the level of steam is not uniform.

Also, make sure steam tip holes are not clogged.

GDK wrote:Also, make sure steam tip holes are not clogged.

Good point.

Other things you can check:

Did you change milk? 1%, Skim, different brand, etc?

Also, give your pitcher a good hard washing (with coffee detergent and a scrubbing pad). Some people only rinse and it can cause a thin buildup on the walls that causes a different mixing pattern (due to the change in surface friction I suppose). Sounds silly but I noticed this once myself.

15A. I run the pitcher through the dishwasher regularly. Steam tips are not clogged. same milk, same amount, same pitcher, same wand. Pressure starts just below 1.35 drops all the way to 0.5.

How long does it take to go from 1.35 bar to 0.5 bar? How much milk are you steaming?

I have changed my sequencing based on the advice above. I now run the shot, purge the wand, steam the milk. The results are much better then running the shot and steaming at the same time. It is curious however that simultaneous activities worked well in the past and I now have to go sequential......