Got myself a Bialetti milk frother

[Terje]

Simple, manual thing that you can heat the milk in as well. They call it "2 in 1" which is a corny but correct name I guess. You guys probably have something like this since a long time ago but for me it's a new experience. I love it already. So far I've only made hot chocolate with it. Tomorrow I'll make my first cappucino.

[wang]

See if you can master latte art with it as latte art really has little to do with crema, more to do with the viscosity and colour of the liquid you pour into.

It should be fairly simple once you've got microfoaming down. Wait for the steam to get very powerful by sight while you bleed the wand of hot water and then open up the valve the full way to steam the milk. Also, make sure you've enough water in the boiler and that the flame/heat is still going (although, how high is up to you) so that you don't run out of steam.

Scretch the milk by floating the wand's tip at the surface of the milk until it's expanded about 25-35% and then spin the milk around by *sinking* the wand down and stopping any stretching whatsoever, and then either positioning it to one side so it goes in a whirlpool or sinking it in the exact center, and this will blow the big bubbles away. The preference for center/side sinking of the wand depends on the wand itself, so your mileage may vary.

Make sure to scretch the milk quickly and smoothly, but don't underdo it or you'll just get thin hot milk, and don't overdo it as you'll get burnt medium bubble milkfoam. It all depends on the milk you have and how powerful the steam is. Once you've got it right you'll know it. The milk should be shiny and the bubbles near invisible and larger in volume in comparision to what you started with. You'll get a knack for it once you get accustomed to the milk and the machine.

[Terje]

Wait for the steam to get very powerful by sight while you bleed the wand of hot water and then open up the valve the full way to steam the milk.

I am not steaming the milk, I'm whipping it by hand.

[Kaarina]

Well, the maybe you should order a book on stretching overworked muscles