I still have not been able to make a good cappuccino at work. A coworker who used to be a barrista was back in the office this week after six months in Italy. I asked him to see what he can do with the office espresso maker, a Jura x90. He put on the steam, and noticed immediately a few things. He said first of all, there was not as much steam as in the professional espresso machines. Also, the steam was not hot. He said that the steam should be so hot as to instantly burn you. Steam burns evidently come with learning the art of frothing milk. But the steam here was warm, not hot. Also, he said the steam didn't seem to have as much power as in the professional espresso machines. He tried to make some froth, and only could make what he described as "barely adequate" froth. It seems the machine just might not be adequate to manually froth up some milk.
I had previously tried the automatic frothing attachment. It does actually produce some OK froth. Not quite "microfoam", but not as bad as I get in many cafes. I think that with the right equipment, a manual froth could be much better.
In day to day work, I'm drinking espresso rather than cappuccino there days. The Jura x90 does produce some nice espresso. I put about half a teaspoon of sugar, and with the small amount of espresso it produces (it does a half shot by default) I get a nice sweet gulp of coffee. I think I've given up on cappuccino.
Posted by ahyatt at July 12, 2003 05:00 PM