I go back and forth between two seasonal jobs slinging coffee:
My winter gig at Rose's on Orcas Island, WA has a 2 group La Marzocco Linea: beautiful little lady. I rock the latte art all winter long, love the fine tuned-ness of that machine (maintained by Cafe Vita, Seattle) and get amazing milk texturing every time. It is simple and super consistent.
My summer gig at the Black Bear Coffee House in Denali National Park, AK has a real work horse of a 4 group La Marzocco Linea (rebuilt). You could turn those steam wands on and let them run for months and they would never run dry. It is a non stop (now) glorious machine. We just had it rebuilt by Espresso MD in Anchorage (who does a good job, though a bit unreliable and seems to drop off the face of the earth from time to time). It is great machine: really takes a beating, and stays fairly consistent.
BUT, it is SO powerful that it is difficult to get just the right steaming pressure. It seems to over-aerate the milk, even when the tip of the wand is plunged deep. I give it a good quarter to half turn, get just the right quiet whirr sound... and it is steaming too quickly to create good texture. And I just can't seem to get the latte art rocking out here. I am wondering if there is a way to adjust the amount of pressure coming out of the wand, internally. I miss my sweet microfoam of the golden winter days on that stellar little 2 group!
I know that milk plays a part, and the 2% and skim will aerate more quickly. But that doesn't seem to be a factor.
Any suggestions?Lauren and La Marzocco Love.jpg
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