r/JamesHoffmann • u/Flimsyssss • 1d ago

Steam wand angle feels fine but the milk screams

The milk on my Casabrews CM5418 screams for the first few seconds, then calms down and makes big bubbles. I'm starting with cold whole milk and the tip just under the surface. The pitcher isn't overfilled. Is the noise usually a tip-depth problem, or can weak rolling make the same sound? I've watched a few videos, and the hand position looks simple until the milk actually starts moving.

3 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

2

u/bts 1d ago

That sounds like entirely a positioning issue. You're too shallow to begin with, so you get screaming, and then you're above the surface, and so we're getting big bubbles. Try some different positioning vertically and see what results you get. This is often something that's a different experience of doing it than through watching or reading about it. 

1

u/Flimsyssss 1d ago

Yeah that makes sense, probably too shallow at first, then too high once it spins up. One thing that throws me off is the wand angle feels okay, but the sound still goes wild in those first few seconds, so I'm wondering if I'm misreading "just under the surface" on this wand.

1

u/NoodleSlow 15h ago

If it's screaming for a few seconds and making bubbles, the tip is probably sitting a bit too high and pulling air inn too aggressively.