steam wand tips
so, the deal is that i have a aestoria rapallo espresso machine at the shop where i work, and the steam wand tip is giving me trouble.
aside from getting clogged up super easy (which i assume i can fix by just cleaning it regularly), its a big tip that makes really good microfoam hard to come by. i can make it work just fine, its just that my boss gave me permission to check out new ones, so why not get a sweet one? right?
so anyone have preferences?
im thinking 50 dollars should be the limit.
im looking for one of those really sweet precise latte art type tips.
so whats your favourite?
aside from getting clogged up super easy (which i assume i can fix by just cleaning it regularly), its a big tip that makes really good microfoam hard to come by. i can make it work just fine, its just that my boss gave me permission to check out new ones, so why not get a sweet one? right?
so anyone have preferences?
im thinking 50 dollars should be the limit.
im looking for one of those really sweet precise latte art type tips.
so whats your favourite?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brady on
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Not sure which tip is on the Rapallo. I wonder if its the same 5-hole one they use on the Argenta series? If so, you have basically no aftermarket custom options.
The good news is that this tip will force you to develop very good skills. If you can get good milk with it you can work with anything.
As far as the "getting clogged" thing... its not the tip. Repeat after me:
purge
steam
wipe
purge
Do this every single time you use the wand, without exception, and it will never clog.
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Permalink Reply by joel on
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if purging and wiping is the answer to the clogging then it must be a different barista causing he problem. ill have to ask around and make sure people are doing it.
as for the tip, its a four hole one, im not really sure what the specifications are, but being that its four holes i assume its not the one used on the argenta series.
im glad to hear that itll be easier on different tips though, thats encouraging.
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Permalink Reply by Alun Evans on
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It is 4 hole standard on the Rapallo Lever or non lever machine. The steaming wand tip is interchangeable. We have a new machine and have no problem with foaming on both steam wands. You could look at changing the steaming nozzle or perhaps look at other factors affecting foaming?
joel said:if purging and wiping is the answer to the clogging then it must be a different barista causing he problem. ill have to ask around and make sure people are doing it.
as for the tip, its a four hole one, im not really sure what the specifications are, but being that its four holes i assume its not the one used on the argenta series.
im glad to hear that itll be easier on different tips though, thats encouraging.
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our machine is kinda old though,
im not saying its horribly impossible or hard to make microfoam with it, im just saying my boss is willing to invest in one, so why not ask around and see if theres a super crazy good one i can get.
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Interesting to look into, but I really feel like that's more for the HB guys.
Random thought (a possibly related topic) how old are the burrs in your espresso grinder? If yours is like many shops, they are well past their prime. I lost the guideline, but seem to recall that a set of flat burrs is only good for 500lb or so of coffee... which is 6 months to a year for a medium-volume shop. If yours are older than that and the boss has $50 or so laying around to improve your game that's a far better place to spend it... we just finally replaced ours (6 months late...it was my fault, I kept forgetting to order them) and the difference in flavor is unreal. Just a thought.
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man.
im glad i found this site.
i am continually blown away by how finicky coffee is.
it kinda sucks really,
but what can i do about it?
i think 500 pounds of coffee would go quick though, but then again thats like 4000 dollars worth of espresso (roughly estimating).
ill see if i can do it.
are there different types of burrs that are better, or are they all pretty much burrs, i mean i know theres a conicle one and a flat one, but how much of a difference does it make?
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Permalink Reply by Chris DeMarse on
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I have a friend who sells astoria stuff and we almost always swap out the wands to their aftermarket latte art tips... You can get them in about four different sizes.
www.guidoscoffee.com
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Yep. Welcome to the rabbit hole. The challenge is amazing and the change is constant. That's one of the reasons so many of us are here.
The person that does your ordering will know exactly how much espresso you go through a week. Unless you sell a ton of whole bean espresso, everything that came in the door went through the grinder. We bring in 10-15lb of espresso a week, depending on how busy we are... which means we hit 500lb in about 45 weeks. We figure we should replace the burrs at least once a year.
Good question regarding burr types. A grinder is designed to take one type and size of burr. This means that each model of grinder has a specific replacement burr, available from places like Espresso Parts or your local parts supplier. If it shipped with flat burrs, you can't switch to conical and vice-versa. You might have a choice between titanium, OEM (original equipment manufacturer), or aftermarket... I just use the OEM.
As far as changing them goes, for many grinders it is a pretty straightforward task for someone with good mechanical aptitude. The thorough cleaning that should happen at the same time will probably take more time than the burr change itself. Lots of instructional stuff on the web to help if you're up for it.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Ayers on
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You should also look into getting some puro-caff milk cleaner, and soak the steamwands in a little bit of that with super hot water overnight. Our steamwands don't see a night without soaking, and we never have to "poke" out the holes in the tip, to get them clean. Although, as Brady said, it also helps to...
PURGE
STEAM
WIPE
PURGE
EVERY F'ING TIME!
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Chris DeMarse said:I have a friend who sells astoria stuff and we almost always swap out the wands to their aftermarket latte art tips... You can get them in about four different sizes.
www.guidoscoffee.com
Chris, does he swap the whole wand assembly to do this?
Thanks!
b
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Brady,
Nope!. It's just a steam tip replacement. The rapallo is a bit different than the standard astoria tip, but I think you can put a mistral steam tip on it?!?!?! sorry, I forgot they had different wands.. the rest of their equipment is easy to upgrade the steam tipBrady said:Chris DeMarse said:I have a friend who sells astoria stuff and we almost always swap out the wands to their aftermarket latte art tips... You can get them in about four different sizes.
www.guidoscoffee.com
Chris, does he swap the whole wand assembly to do this?
Thanks!
b
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