I use the 4 holes and give you my experience. Having had a coffee shop for many years with a 4-hole Faema, it was normal for me to make the change from 1 hole to 4: less working time, better foam yield. The problems you notice in your video are caused by the container being too small, you need a little bigger and with a little practice the final result is satisfactory, practice without wasting the milk, use water with a little liquid detergent. Greetings to everyone from Italy! Franco. ..oops..I forgot to write that the position of the steam wand must remain straight and not inclined
Hi, I understand that point if we’re referring to a typical double boiler or heat exchange generated steam. However, with the home grade Barista express in the video, there simply isn’t enough steam power to compensate for the reduction of pressure at the inlet of the nozzle.
That settles it. More practice required with the standard single hole tip for me…. It’s logical that the multi hole will reduce the pressure unless mated to a more powerful boiler. Thanks for the demonstration
I believe that the machines that come with a 4 hole steam wand tip have a much more potent steam boiler which generates much higher pressure than the ones that come with a single hole tip. I believe this is exactly the reason why they come with a single hole tip, to compensate for the lower pressure.
Really appreciate this because I saw that four hole tip replacement and considered it. I’m sure there’s a reason we have this steam tip that comes with the machine!
Just a couple things even though this video is old it came up for me. 1. The manual says that you should turn the steam on. And wait for it to heat and start pumping a bit before turning it off and then putting it in the milk and turning it back on before it flushes with water to cool the heater. This gives you the maximum steam power near immedietly rather than waiting for heat up. 2. 4 hole and 3 hold steam tips need to be places in different areas of the steaming jug. The 1 hole tip should be as you used it. Towards the side. But a 4 hold should be nearly in the middle and pulled just barely away from the middle either forwards or backward. Not to the sides. I've done a 4 hole mod on mine and if following proper procedure. It's way faster on the barista express. About 15- 20 seconds max for enough steamed milk for 2 standard cappucina cups. 250ml So if someone has already bought one. As long as you preheat the wand and use the correct placing you will be fine. You will still need some practice. It's far less forgiving. But works better and faster if done right.
Hello, yes I do let the pump engage before steaming however the machine simply doesn’t have the steaming capacity to eke out the pressure needed. Note too that, the nozzle I used for this comparison are designed for dual boiler or hex machines (ie larger inlet hole and outlet holes as well), if you’re replacing the stock one hole with the Breville 3 hole designed for newer Touch machines for example, it’ll work but still lose the pressure equivalence. It’s just basic physics that we can’t overlook, a single output hole will produce more pressure than 3 if the input pressure didn’t change and is at max capacity.
Wow… as a newb extremely frustrated by by the foam created by my bambino plus with the stock 4 hole tip i ordered a vanilla bambino 1 hole tip. I plan test this theory out… Ive watched countless videos on how to steam milk properly but i cant for the life of me get good consistent micro-foam for latte art its either too thin or too foamy I’m 99% sure its not my technique now and more to do with this 4 hole shenanigans… Thanks for the insight.
I believe 2 things come into play with my barista pro that works against a newbie like me. First, the 4 hole tip injects too much steam at lower pressure resulting to bigger than the desired micro bubbles. Second, it heats up the milk so much faster that it decreases the time it takes to incorporate the bubbles into the milk.
i'm a noob with a brand new Sylvia Pro X, and i'm yet to get great micro foam with the factory 4 hole tip, yet to crack the code, many videos relate to single or dual holes, i need more practice.
All the best! Practice is key. Strongly suggest practicing with soapy water first to not waste milk. If you can consistently swirl it without massive bubbles forming you’re on your way :)
I’m new to this latte art and the main reason is because my wife and her friends love drinking coffee so I decided to up my coffee game. I gifted my wife for Christmas a Breville barista pro that comes with a 4 hole steam tip, I’ve seen every video in RUclips to learn more and still cannot do latte art. Similar to your video, l get a lot of small bubbles that don’t get incorporated into the milk and it readily floats up to the surface making it impossible to do latte art. I’m convinced this is the culprit. I even contacted Breville through Twitter and they recommended more videos for me to watch, no mention of the comparison with 1 hole vs 4 hole steamers. I have ordered me the one hole tip from Breville and eagerly waiting to try if it will make a difference.
The Pro has a much much more powerful steamer, however. I think the issue is less of the holes but you have a lot less time to steam correctly. The Barista Express is more ‘consumer grade’ hence the single hole steam wand coupled with the weaker steam allow you a lot more time to incorporate micro foam. My suggestion for you specifically is perhaps learn with a larger jug and with water/soap (see my other video re steaming mistakes) as the larger volume allow you a lot more time to notices where your wand position and height should be for your specific machine. It takes a while, so don’t worry too much and have fun!
I also have a Barista Pro (previously an Express owner) and I absolutely hate this 4 hole steam tip. I was considering swapping out to a single hole like on the Express, but am concerned that it could damage my machine. Did you end up trying it on your Pro? If so, have you had any issues? Thanks!
Hi, I don’t have a pro, but generally speaking, as long as the output velocity of the steam is the same, you can try a 2 or 3 hole nozzle as well. What is the main issue with your four hole nozzle? Not enough pressure? Too wide of spray, etc?
Fantastic, i noticed commercial machines with 3 nozzles or more they sit the steam wand near the center not sides, since many nozzles can go in all directions making the a strong vortex not a whirlpool as home machines maybe you could try it and lets us know, many thanks great footage
Hi Hesham, you're absolutely correct, I noticed that as well that when there are more holes, the concentration of directional velocity is no longer one directional, putting the wand nearer to the center with very little angular tilt of the jug will make more sense than the usual 2-o-clock position swirl. Thanks for dropping by.
Taobao, but they are available on aliexpress as well. Be sure to buy one with a small inner diameter. If they claim it will fit a Rocket or Gaggia, it'll be too big (like this one) for the Breville.
Muchisimas gracias por hacer este video. Tengo una maquina Oster perfect Brew (clon de Breville barista max) en Arentina y casi compro una boquilla de 4 agujeros para mejorar la espuma en mi cafetera. La mía tiene solo 1 agujero, asi que me quedare como vino de fabrica. Saludos
good conclusion, single hole = more pressure and directional control but slower due to narrower inner diameter of wand fitting. I also have a e61 machine with the 2 holes but there is so much power (and i have a "smaller boiler" as far as e61 goes, faster and the result is better than breville once you figure out how to tame it. best of both worlds - 2 holes so high pressure at exit but also prob x times more pressure on the boiler side than breville. some larger e61 machines have 3 holes not sure if any have 4 hole though. seems like 4 holes on thermoblock of breville 860 or 870 is overkill and a bad idea
Bambino 1 hole, Bambino plus 4holes. i bought the 4 holes for my bambino and it heats milk much faster, but i think 1 holes gives you more time to get more smotther milk.
Irrelevant. Mechanically not enough pressure for the machine. At least for this specific tip I purchased. Some later comments from 2024 have indicated that there is an official multi hole nozzle from Breville, that’d be a different situation if it’s engineered for the BES’ output capacity. The one in the video was a generic one meant for all HEX and DB machines
Online has a lot, especially Aliexpress, but like I mentioned in the video, the interior diameter is usually 6mm and while the outer tread fits, the large interior diameter will cause a huge drop in pressure and you can't froth anything. Try to find a tip with only 4mm or so internal hole.
Thanks for the video, however a simple formula wouldve saved you a lot of effort. Pressure = force/area. Given you’ve increased the area (more holes), whilst keeping the steaming force consistent, its clear the pressure of the four hole tip will be less. Dual boilers and heat exchangers can get away with multiple holes because they can give out higher steam force than the barrista express
Hello, thanks for the maths (which isn't my strong suit haha). You're absolutely right. I've chatted with other RUclipsrs as well and kinda realized that the nozzle I got was advertised to fit the Breville BES870 but it only does by thread and outer diameter. The main culprit of my experiment failing has less to do with the number of nozzles but more on the fact that the inner diameter of the aftermarket nozzle is more than 2mm wider than factory one. Hence, even if it was a single tip, the aftermarket one will still not work. I'll try to find a multi-tip version with the same 4mm inner diameter and redo the experiment.
Hello, for sure my audio needs a lot of work. Actually, the audio had to be amplified in post coz the recording itself was poor, hence the clipping. Sorry about that. Got myself a new mic set up, hopefully it gets better the next video. Cheers and thanks for the feedback.
I agree. Very helpful video but you could seriously use a little foam pop filter around the end of your mic and you will get way less pop from your plosives. (P’s, K’s, T’s etc) or just a little more distance between your mouth and the mic. But thank you for the video! Excited to up my milk frothing game!
Cool video but you have to do much better with the placement of you microphone. All the pops, spits and spats really bother me, and I found it a chore to listen to your presentation. Use a wind screen if you have to. Also learn to use a equaliser to reduce the nasalness in your voice. Better audio will improve your video's quality 200%.
Why don’t you try using the 4 hole pitcher placement as directed by the manufacturer ? Put the wand in the pitcher by pushing back the pitcher to where they have the sensor on the tray? It is almost to the handle of the pitcher.
Put the pitcher as if you were placing back all the way as in 4 hole Auto IIQ on the Bambino Plus or the Touch Impress and leave it there till done frothing to see what happens😂
Hello. You can search for “breville steam nozzle” on amazon, but you’ll notice that the reviews will be poor and reflects my comment in the video that the machine can’t handle more than one hole output.
To save all of you a bunch of heartache from ill informed instruction, First get rid of the Breville machine! These are tourist level machines at best! Get a quality machine like Quick mill, La Marzocco, La Pavoni. Once you have a good machine you can begin to learn how to make an proper espresso drink!
What a silly comment. Most people can barely afford the Breville never mind the machines you mentioned. Breville is fine for beginners. With a little bit of practice you can make a good Espresso.
Answer at 15:07. Factory default one-tip is slower, but makes higher quality milk because it’s calibrated to pump pressure.
I use the 4 holes and give you my experience.
Having had a coffee shop for many years with a 4-hole Faema, it was normal for me to make the change from 1 hole to 4: less working time, better foam yield.
The problems you notice in your video are caused by the container being too small, you need a little bigger and with a little practice the final result is satisfactory, practice without wasting the milk, use water with a little liquid detergent.
Greetings to everyone from Italy!
Franco.
..oops..I forgot to write that the position of the steam wand must remain straight and not inclined
Hi, I understand that point if we’re referring to a typical double boiler or heat exchange generated steam. However, with the home grade Barista express in the video, there simply isn’t enough steam power to compensate for the reduction of pressure at the inlet of the nozzle.
@@overheadrecipes you are definitely right
Out of curiosity, what machine are you using now? 🙂
@@overheadrecipes I have a Sage/Breville Bambino (4 holes) at home, at the bar I work wit Cimbali M200
I was just considering buying the 4 hole as a replacement for my barista express impress one hole tip, thank you for this.. saved me from buying it 🙌
That settles it. More practice required with the standard single hole tip for me….
It’s logical that the multi hole will reduce the pressure unless mated to a more powerful boiler.
Thanks for the demonstration
FYI, some users say that the new Barista Express offers a 3-hole nozzle but designed for the weaker Expess steam wand. Worth considering.
I believe that the machines that come with a 4 hole steam wand tip have a much more potent steam boiler which generates much higher pressure than the ones that come with a single hole tip. I believe this is exactly the reason why they come with a single hole tip, to compensate for the lower pressure.
You're absolutely correct.
Really appreciate this because I saw that four hole tip replacement and considered it. I’m sure there’s a reason we have this steam tip that comes with the machine!
Yeah, they hired engineers for a reason and unlikely miss a $10 “upgrade”
Just a couple things even though this video is old it came up for me.
1. The manual says that you should turn the steam on. And wait for it to heat and start pumping a bit before turning it off and then putting it in the milk and turning it back on before it flushes with water to cool the heater. This gives you the maximum steam power near immedietly rather than waiting for heat up.
2. 4 hole and 3 hold steam tips need to be places in different areas of the steaming jug. The 1 hole tip should be as you used it. Towards the side. But a 4 hold should be nearly in the middle and pulled just barely away from the middle either forwards or backward. Not to the sides.
I've done a 4 hole mod on mine and if following proper procedure. It's way faster on the barista express. About 15- 20 seconds max for enough steamed milk for 2 standard cappucina cups. 250ml
So if someone has already bought one. As long as you preheat the wand and use the correct placing you will be fine. You will still need some practice. It's far less forgiving. But works better and faster if done right.
Hello, yes I do let the pump engage before steaming however the machine simply doesn’t have the steaming capacity to eke out the pressure needed. Note too that, the nozzle I used for this comparison are designed for dual boiler or hex machines (ie larger inlet hole and outlet holes as well), if you’re replacing the stock one hole with the Breville 3 hole designed for newer Touch machines for example, it’ll work but still lose the pressure equivalence.
It’s just basic physics that we can’t overlook, a single output hole will produce more pressure than 3 if the input pressure didn’t change and is at max capacity.
A single hole tip is just fine. Might take a few seconds longer to steam a pitcher of milk, but it comes out smooth and silky
Yup and the machine isn’t capable of using the multi hole anyway
I got the same scratch on the tray lol. Was freak out about it for a day, then oh well... It is what it is
True haha
Wow… as a newb extremely frustrated by by the foam created by my bambino plus with the stock 4 hole tip i ordered a vanilla bambino 1 hole tip. I plan test this theory out… Ive watched countless videos on how to steam milk properly but i cant for the life of me get good consistent micro-foam for latte art its either too thin or too foamy I’m 99% sure its not my technique now and more to do with this 4 hole shenanigans… Thanks for the insight.
I believe 2 things come into play with my barista pro that works against a newbie like me. First, the 4 hole tip injects too much steam at lower pressure resulting to bigger than the desired micro bubbles. Second, it heats up the milk so much faster that it decreases the time it takes to incorporate the bubbles into the milk.
You’re absolutely correct.
i'm a noob with a brand new Sylvia Pro X, and i'm yet to get great micro foam with the factory 4 hole tip, yet to crack the code, many videos relate to single or dual holes, i need more practice.
All the best! Practice is key. Strongly suggest practicing with soapy water first to not waste milk. If you can consistently swirl it without massive bubbles forming you’re on your way :)
I’m new to this latte art and the main reason is because my wife and her friends love drinking coffee so I decided to up my coffee game. I gifted my wife for Christmas a Breville barista pro that comes with a 4 hole steam tip, I’ve seen every video in RUclips to learn more and still cannot do latte art. Similar to your video, l get a lot of small bubbles that don’t get incorporated into the milk and it readily floats up to the surface making it impossible to do latte art. I’m convinced this is the culprit. I even contacted Breville through Twitter and they recommended more videos for me to watch, no mention of the comparison with 1 hole vs 4 hole steamers. I have ordered me the one hole tip from Breville and eagerly waiting to try if it will make a difference.
The Pro has a much much more powerful steamer, however. I think the issue is less of the holes but you have a lot less time to steam correctly. The Barista Express is more ‘consumer grade’ hence the single hole steam wand coupled with the weaker steam allow you a lot more time to incorporate micro foam.
My suggestion for you specifically is perhaps learn with a larger jug and with water/soap (see my other video re steaming mistakes) as the larger volume allow you a lot more time to notices where your wand position and height should be for your specific machine. It takes a while, so don’t worry too much and have fun!
@@overheadrecipes Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll definitely try that.
I also have a Barista Pro (previously an Express owner) and I absolutely hate this 4 hole steam tip. I was considering swapping out to a single hole like on the Express, but am concerned that it could damage my machine. Did you end up trying it on your Pro? If so, have you had any issues? Thanks!
Hi, I don’t have a pro, but generally speaking, as long as the output velocity of the steam is the same, you can try a 2 or 3 hole nozzle as well. What is the main issue with your four hole nozzle? Not enough pressure? Too wide of spray, etc?
Fantastic, i noticed commercial machines with 3 nozzles or more they sit the steam wand near the center not sides, since many nozzles can go in all directions making the a strong vortex not a whirlpool as home machines maybe you could try it and lets us know, many thanks great footage
Hi Hesham, you're absolutely correct, I noticed that as well that when there are more holes, the concentration of directional velocity is no longer one directional, putting the wand nearer to the center with very little angular tilt of the jug will make more sense than the usual 2-o-clock position swirl. Thanks for dropping by.
Dont waste monte on 3 holes too. I have purchased it, it made extreme loudly noise and very difficult to control
Thanks for the test! I was actually wondering about this myself.
Truth be told, I was disappointed haha. But it's a cheap disappointment, I guess.
@@overheadrecipes Where can I buy this four tips steam wand ，please send the Link below thx ，my location is in Chinamainland， thx for your sharing
m.aliexpress.com/i/4001209372223.html
This must be the only coffee video on RUclips that tells people not to spend more money.
I think if we want to use 4 tip as good as 1 tip, we must increase flow and pressure from steam boiler.
Indeed
Thankyou so much for this video!!
You're so welcome!
Thank you. Great comparison. Now I’m curious able the 3 hole’s performance. Do they also make a 2 hole wand?
Haven't seen a 2 hole version, to be honest.
your microphone was bombarded by your extremely powerful voice! :D
Haha. Yeah common feedback from most of my older videos before I got a proper mic
Good video, I recommend you get a foam mic cover for better audio tho
I bought a 4 hole for my Breville Infuser and immediately removed it. Big loss of pressure and did not work.
yup, our machines are calibrated to the single hole tip
Where you can buy the 4 hole, please.
Taobao, but they are available on aliexpress as well. Be sure to buy one with a small inner diameter. If they claim it will fit a Rocket or Gaggia, it'll be too big (like this one) for the Breville.
Muchisimas gracias por hacer este video. Tengo una maquina Oster perfect Brew (clon de Breville barista max) en Arentina y casi compro una boquilla de 4 agujeros para mejorar la espuma en mi cafetera. La mía tiene solo 1 agujero, asi que me quedare como vino de fabrica. Saludos
good conclusion, single hole = more pressure and directional control but slower due to narrower inner diameter of wand fitting. I also have a e61 machine with the 2 holes but there is so much power (and i have a "smaller boiler" as far as e61 goes, faster and the result is better than breville once you figure out how to tame it. best of both worlds - 2 holes so high pressure at exit but also prob x times more pressure on the boiler side than breville. some larger e61 machines have 3 holes not sure if any have 4 hole though. seems like 4 holes on thermoblock of breville 860 or 870 is overkill and a bad idea
Wonderful insights. I totally agree with you. The thermoblock are way too weak to take advantage of more than a single hole.
Can i use this same tip for the small bambino?
No, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're using a heat exchange or dual boiler machine.
i tried 3 tip on my bambino, get the same result. i wish i can see this video before i buy the tip.
Bambino 1 hole, Bambino plus 4holes. i bought the 4 holes for my bambino and it heats milk much faster, but i think 1 holes gives you more time to get more smotther milk.
When you mentioned the affiliate link, I was really hoping you were going to say it was for the fork you used to distribute the coffee 😂
Haha you never know :P
where can I buy this four tips steam wand ，please send the Link below thx
I bought it from Taobao. I saw quite a few from Aliexpress as well.
With a four hole steamer you should change the position of the wand to the center of the jug.
Irrelevant. Mechanically not enough pressure for the machine. At least for this specific tip I purchased. Some later comments from 2024 have indicated that there is an official multi hole nozzle from Breville, that’d be a different situation if it’s engineered for the BES’ output capacity. The one in the video was a generic one meant for all HEX and DB machines
I think 4 hole is made to go dead center of the pitcher. Either way this machine doesn’t have enough pressure for a 4 hole tip.
Is this size can be use in solis
I dont think so. A four hole would probably need a minimum of a HX or Double boiler type
thank you
you're most welcome, Ali!
Where can I get that 4 hole tip?
Online has a lot, especially Aliexpress, but like I mentioned in the video, the interior diameter is usually 6mm and while the outer tread fits, the large interior diameter will cause a huge drop in pressure and you can't froth anything.
Try to find a tip with only 4mm or so internal hole.
Thanks for the video, however a simple formula wouldve saved you a lot of effort. Pressure = force/area. Given you’ve increased the area (more holes), whilst keeping the steaming force consistent, its clear the pressure of the four hole tip will be less. Dual boilers and heat exchangers can get away with multiple holes because they can give out higher steam force than the barrista express
Hello, thanks for the maths (which isn't my strong suit haha). You're absolutely right. I've chatted with other RUclipsrs as well and kinda realized that the nozzle I got was advertised to fit the Breville BES870 but it only does by thread and outer diameter.
The main culprit of my experiment failing has less to do with the number of nozzles but more on the fact that the inner diameter of the aftermarket nozzle is more than 2mm wider than factory one. Hence, even if it was a single tip, the aftermarket one will still not work.
I'll try to find a multi-tip version with the same 4mm inner diameter and redo the experiment.
Can we got a purchase link from aliexpress
Hi, I bought it from Taobao directly, sorry
Thanks for this video. Just FYI your voice mic really needs a pop filter. There is a lot of p-pop, which gets distracting.
Hello, for sure my audio needs a lot of work. Actually, the audio had to be amplified in post coz the recording itself was poor, hence the clipping. Sorry about that. Got myself a new mic set up, hopefully it gets better the next video. Cheers and thanks for the feedback.
I agree. Very helpful video but you could seriously use a little foam pop filter around the end of your mic and you will get way less pop from your plosives. (P’s, K’s, T’s etc) or just a little more distance between your mouth and the mic. But thank you for the video! Excited to up my milk frothing game!
Audio is crap
Note on the pronunciation of the name of the organisation. It's Breville not Bre-ville. The emphasis is on the first syllable, not the second.
Good point, Lireoec, old habits die hard... my Aussie mates have pointed this out as well.
Cool video but you have to do much better with the placement of you microphone. All the pops, spits and spats really bother me, and I found it a chore to listen to your presentation. Use a wind screen if you have to. Also learn to use a equaliser to reduce the nasalness in your voice. Better audio will improve your video's quality 200%.
Why don’t you try using the 4 hole pitcher placement as directed by the manufacturer ? Put the wand in the pitcher by pushing back the pitcher to where they have the sensor on the tray? It is almost to the handle of the pitcher.
Not sure what sensor you’re referring to. The pitcher itself has nothing to do with the amount of steam pressure the machine can produce
Put the pitcher as if you were placing back all the way as in 4 hole Auto IIQ on the Bambino Plus or the Touch Impress and leave it there till done frothing to see what happens😂
Is there a link for this additional nozzle?
Hello. You can search for “breville steam nozzle” on amazon, but you’ll notice that the reviews will be poor and reflects my comment in the video that the machine can’t handle more than one hole output.
The 3-hole tip is much better. 4-hole is way over call for this machine. You should have went with a 3-hole. That's the recommended mod
What about a three hole?
Anything more than the stock tip wont work well
my man, invest in a pop filter lol
old vid, already have hehe
Lmao
this could have been a 2 minute video
Could've... but I chose not to. 😂🙄
@@overheadrecipes you should've.
You need a pop filter for your mic
Old vid..
Already have 👍
To save all of you a bunch of heartache from ill informed instruction, First get rid of the Breville machine! These are tourist level machines at best! Get a quality machine like Quick mill, La Marzocco, La Pavoni. Once you have a good machine you can begin to learn how to make an proper espresso drink!
What a silly comment. Most people can barely afford the Breville never mind the machines you mentioned. Breville is fine for beginners. With a little bit of practice you can make a good Espresso.
I guess until we’re all using double boiler or HE machines no use learning /sarcasm