That’s normally a sign the wand is too deep in the milk as it’s injecting huge bubbles.
Try starting the wand sitting on the surface of the milk, almost not touching.
Also be sure to purge properly before, you see cafes just blast the wand for a split second but on a home machine that won’t purge enough and you’ll get spitting which can also cause the milk to rise instantly.
Purge til the steam is constant and not spitting at all, then steam quickly after.
caffeinated-carp Did you have any luck with LM - about your micra ?
MattH They’ve not replied to my e-mails actually, I need to call them..
caffeinated-carp Yeh full fat here, terribly unhealthy :D
Far better for you…skimmed is so fattening. I actually use double cream in coffee…really helps with my weight loss journey.
DavecUK I just started riding the bike again yesterday as I though oh crap, I’m getting fat.
3 kids, one very young, work at home, no time to excercise, so yeh… not the best cocktail for fitness!
caffeinated-carp Anything is better than nothing 👍🙌
MattH I called them. They are busy with London coffee festival, I can sortof understand so we’ll give them the time to reply!
Got 2 new jugs to try - both around 400ml so hope that gives me a little more headroom to concentrate on the milk quality.
First one which seemed at least under control…
Not sure why every shape I do looks like a flower at the end 😂
Been watching a few videos but I liked this one as it helped me get the flow/position going with the shorter wand.
Getting better with the milk…
caffeinated-carp Awesome - really like its size and simple workflow - just means I can spend all my time making dodgy expresso and fluffy milk 😂. I have used the plastic portafilter - seems fine - certainly cuts down on the mess.
The app is fine - had a couple of times where the connection has dropped during the shot timer so its reset to Zero - but setting the temp/pressure and the start/stop schedule works fine. Perfect for the missus morning takeaway.
Its coming upto the weekend so will do the cleaning routine posted above and try the autoflush process - sounds like I just put in the blind portafilter and kick the process off in the app.
I seem to be getting on better with my 400ml jugs. Hard to believe it only arrived Monday - supposedly I have done 26 shots 😂
App also seems to work outside the home - not that useful but handy I wanted to remote heatbit 😂
MattH had a couple of times where the connection has dropped during the shot timer so its reset to Zero
The shot timer seems very random for me, pops up sometimes, not others. I’m just using the phone stopwatch now.
MattH and try the autoflush process
I didn’t even notice this! That’s quite cool
MattH supposedly I have done 26 shots
5 a day eh, you’ll be buzzing :)
caffeinated-carp Not all for me tbh 😂 and I do wonder if it counts a shot everytime you flip the paddle.
MattH being as I do so much “machine flushing” I think it must count a flip of the paddle as a flush? Wonder how it knows, pressure? Time?
I did the back flush today, had no idea that was there until you said! That’s quite a nice feature although for me it restarted as soon as it had finished which is annoying.
Seems LM do good machines (I hope!) but not good apps, no surprise!
with the bianca, i usd to backflush blind with just water at the end of a brewing session, and cafiza once every couple of months
Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -
caffeinated-carp Seems LM do good machines (I hope!) but not good apps, no surprise
Exactly. It’s why I haven’t bothered with the app.
I use a smart plug for the scheduled on/off twice a day. My watch for the shot-counter, and my hand for the backflushing. So far no problems!
Cuprajake I seem to do a backfludh once a day, the. I will do pulo once a week until I get bored of that and then maybe less 🙂
Maybe getting the hang of it… set steam to 1 and with whole milk.
MattH looking good 🙂 latte art is bloody hard I find
Ernie1 Always good to have a new pair of jugs to play with.
When I was a young man I always thought so!
caffeinated-carp Looks awesome!
So you have a very dark colour coffee - how much much milk are you making up ? Mine seem to be very milky ? Usually do about 200ml …
MattH so I’m using a 9oz cup with 36g espresso and probably about 190ml milk (before steaming), using the LM jug that came with the LMLU
So I have had the machine just over a week now… I seem to be getting the hang of it… the milk steaming is getting better - needs more practice but I have done a lot of soapy water attempts :)
I have set the steam power back to 2 as I am learning to not blow up the foam as I steam…
Thanks for the tip @Ernie1 I have ordered the grouphead tool/cleaner and whilst there picked up a ims shower screen just because.. its the hobby of a million accessories…
All in all a very pleasant experience so far - I guess in machine terms its as simple as it can be compared to others - and has been mentioned before seems very forgiving even when your shots are not as dialed in as you would like.
The only thing I think can be said against the Micra is the steam wand length of you want to use say a 600ml jug - unless its quite full its not really feasible imho. But for the 200ml or so I usually steam for a drink the smaller 400ml jugs are perfect once you get the hang of not overdoing it. My goal is to work on getting the milk mixed in properly before its upto temp.. which due to the power does not give you a huge amount of time to work with.
That’s it ramble over - best go make the morning cuppa!
Cheers
Matt
My main gripe (and it doesn’t bother me that much) is the app, it really is quite crap :) I was doing the cleaning the other day and it restarted itself weirdly.
Then a couple of days ago I tried to use the shot timer, it said it had stopped brewing about 4 times during the shot, totally useless!
Possibly the wifi signal for the machine is not strong, not sure.
Cuprajake please explain this hand backflush
Missed this! The LM app allows you to run an automated backflush cycle where it starts/stops the pump a few times. I just meant I do it manually, thankfully no burns involved!
@MattH nice video! Thorough service, and good to see someone walk through it.
Interesting to hear about the steam wand length, I did think it would be a bit short. The one on the Mini isn’t exactly long (certainly in comparison to most other machines in this price bracket).
Not sure why that guy in the vid would sacrifice the looks of his machine with that shot timer… He’s wearing a watch for goodness sake… one glance when you pull the paddle, one glance when you stop, voila… no ugly shot timer needed!
I’m almost certain LM just jumped on the ‘technification’ bandwagon and tried to add unnecessary digital features. I agree the app feels totally superfluous.
Ernie1 I agree the app feels totally superfluous.
I thought the only way to adjust pre-infusion time on those machines is through the app? Fair enough if you just want to keep at factory setting, but it would be nice to not need to use the app for such simple things :-)
It’s also my understanding temperature and boiler pressure are adjusted by manual controls - presumably analog controls on the machine. Is that correct?
MediumRoastSteam theres a manual dial on the mini for temp - but its all in the app for the micra!
@Ernie1 the video service was for a client who wanted a shot clock - and I think they were going for the solution as a interim measure until a better solution appeared !
The wand is only an issue for the deep jugs if you did not want that much milk steamed - i find its just harder to get the right angle in the jug when I am watching youtube vids where they are using huge long stream wands 😂
@caffeinated-carp Agree the app shot time has reset a couple of time when I have used it - sure its the way the comms works - not sure if that part is via wifi or the bluetooth connection ?
Not had any issues with the auto backflush or the power on/off schedule thats come on each day at 7am 👍
Yeah pre-infusion is app only. It has a built in 1-second preinfusion.
Controversial point but I find preinfusion absolutely unnecessary on medium and darker roasts. Useful on light roasts for sure but I’ve not touched it. I didn’t even use it on the Bianca even though it was accessible via the menu. I’d be interested to know how many people faff with it for the sake of faffing.
And yes analog controls for other temps. Personally I prefer analog as they’re serviceable and longer lasting. I’m somewhat of a Luddite when it comes to electronics. It pains me that my car and some of my motorbikes have an ecu…
I get that lots of people like to tweak though and digital/apps is the easier way.
Ernie1 - I’m somewhat the same. But are you sure those “analog” controls are not simply interfaces to digital inputs? Most likely they are :-)
For me, I don’t mind digital controls. But I would much prefer if the machine had its own interface, even if it was tucked away.
Saying all of that, technology has moved on quite a bit, and, in the grand scheme of things, it is simpler to have a mobile app. The UI is more polished, can be updated, and the controller inside the machine can also be patched significantly easily, through the app, if needs be. Worse case scenario, you just buy an el cheapo phone/tablet and keep next to the machine. I would even go a step further and think that those temp. selectors might as well be inside the app. How often do we really change temperature?
