None of the organic co-op milk brands I've tried have worked well. It is possible that they are stale or have other handling that keeps them from frothing well.

In support of the staleness theory, I've found that local organic brands sour in the carton much faster that regular grocery store brands. I don't think preservatives are allowed in any sort of commercial milk, so that only seems to leave the time spent in shipment and storage on the shelf.

In my area, the best milk I've found is from a high-volume high-cost grocery store chain. It happens to be organic, but I've also found that their regular milk works equally well. From this, I think the most likely variable is storage and shipment time before sale.

Use stainless steel pitcher that has room for the milk to double in size. If you are making latte with double-pulls, measure out two regular coffee mugs filled 3/4 full. (Two of these are the limit for the Europiccola.)

Put the pitcher in the freezer so it has time to chill while you complete the other steps.

It is better if you don't. If at all possible buy small quantities from the roasting shop and grind it immediately before use.

If you must store ground coffee, keep only small amounts in a sealed container. I will confess that I often store a three day supply. It is not optimum, but life is short and mess is long.

Storage should be cool, dry, and dark with no air. Some people store ground coffee or beans in the freezer, but I've had nothing but weird results from that practice. I'm not sure if it's the freezing or thawing that causes damage, but I don't like the taste of the result. Using the refrigerator was a disaster: coffee is a magnet for food odors.

I prefer to avoid "Espresso roast", "French roast", "Vienna roast", and "Full city roast": These terms are used in a highly inconsistent manner but often refer to beans that are burnt beyond recognition. If you can find a local shop that roasts fresh beans at least weekly, try one of their medium roast arabica blends and adjust to suit your preferences.

A great many coffee house chain store beans I've tried suffer from over roasting. It hides many little coffee faults with one great big one.

Where I live, the grocery store and food co-op substances labeled "Espresso" and sold out of tall plexiglass cylinders share a common characteristic: they are over-roasted and full of peroxidized oils from long-term storage. You'd need to be an old school organic chemist to identify the strange tastes evident in straight pulls from these products. The petro chemical industry might be interested.

Try to locate a roasting shop that does a high volume of business because this helps insure you're getting reasonably fresh beans. Ask them how many sacks of beans they go through a week.

Whirling propeller grinders give really terrible results because the grain size is not uniform.

If you don't have a good burr grinder, it is better to buy pre-ground or grind it in the store (in small quantities.) Most commercial grinders in stores do a pretty good job of getting uniform grain size, but the grains run a bit large even on the fine setting. I think this is due to the fact that the burrs are seldom cleaned and sharpened or replaced.

The appropriate grind depends on the roast as well. For me, darker roasts need slightly coarser grinds. They also tend to be oily and rapidly gum up the burrs. (You really must take apart your grinder and clean the burrs from time to time.) The pull tells all: If it requires pressure in excess of 23 lbs to complete the pull in 25 seconds, the grind is probably too fine or the tamp is too firm.

Illy pre-ground espresso tastes pretty good to me. I've found I have to tamp extra hard because the grind is a little too coarse for my regular technique. But it's good enough to give the beginner a good idea of what the result should be. Using a reliable product eliminates several variables that can othewise go wrong.

Dump old water.

Add fresh carbon-filtered water to just over 3/4 full on the sight glass.

Turn on both switches and open the steam wand valve. When you get steam (not just air) from the wand, close the valve. When you have about 0.5 bar pressure, run a pull through an empty filter to head up the head.

At the moment you start the pull, the water in the the head should be at 90C. The water in the boiler is at 90C when the gauge reads 0.7 bar, but the water temperature in the head will be much cooler when you raise the lever the first time. On the first pull, I let the gauge reach 0.9 bar. Between sucessive pulls, I cool the boiler down by turning off the switch for a few seconds. For the second pull, 0.8 bar is about right. On the 4th pull, the gauge should read read about 0.7 bar. By that time, the head is hot enough to keep the water at 90C. (And you are out of water!)

The water temperature is determined by the pressure as long as conditions are stable. After bleeding off pressure or adjusting the power level switch, you need to wait for the gauge pressure to rise to the setpoint.

Before the first shot, I run 2 or 3 short pulls though the head. I lock on an empty filter to give a little back pressure. This also insures that the head is quite clean from the last user.

Remove the empty filter and dry the bottom surface of the head with a towel. Drips can initiate craters that will blow through.

I like to raise the handle with the filter loosely attached. This lets air fill the cylinder without being pulled back up through the coffee, which could put a crack in the cake.

Mount the filter in the handle and lock it onto head only enough so it doesn't fall out. At the same time, put your preheated catch cup under the head.

Next, raise the handle about 10 degress above level. You want to go as high as possible without releasing water. Unfortunately, the only way to learn about this angle is to scald yourself a few times. If you do release water with the handle unlocked, the pull will be ruined. Actually, there is no need to scald yourself: 10 degrees is enough to insure that you won't pull a vacuum on the coffee.

With the handle held up at this intermediate position, lock the filter all the way. Then raise the handle slowly to the top.

Preinfusing is the introduction of hot water into the coffee at reduced pressure. The idea is to wet the coffee so it expands in the filter without pushing water all the way through. The coffee will then provide enough resistance when you do the pull.

As soon as you have raised the handle all the way, count off about 3 seconds and press down gently. Just a little more force than the weight of your arm. The head may not have had time to fill with water, so the lever may feel "spongey." Proceed to push down gently until you feel just a bit more resistance. Now wait and watch your catch cup. When drips of coffee begin to fall, release the pressure and raise the lever back up to the top. Now wait for 10 seconds.

Press down with about 20-30lbs of force. I pull up on the filter basket handle to take some strain off the head joint. It should take between 2 and 30 seconds to complete the pull. If you have to press harder or the pull ends up taking longer (or gets stuck!) you probably have too fine a grind. Make adjustments next time.

You might also get a blow-out. In this case, the handle will go down too fast. The stream coming out of the filter will be very light colored "blond" and thee coffee will be undrinkable. If this occurs, dump it and start again.

Watch the stream for color. It should be dark brown with a few lighter streaks. It may occasionally "glop" out looking like honey being poured. All is well as long as the color remains dark. At some point, you may see larger bubbles and a much lighter color. If that occurs, stop the pull at once and withdraw the cup.

When/if you get the lever all the way down, don't wait for the dregs! In fact, some artists like to stop just over half way down, using only the first part of the pull. This is called a "ristretto" and makes very good tasting coffee.

Don't try to release the handle immediately. It will blow you up! Wait for about 20 seconds and partially release the filter, pressing down a bit on the handle to let off pressure. When don't hear any more hissing from the escaped steam, you can remove the filter. I still bungle this from time to time. It makes a colossal mess if you release the filter under pressure.

Take a sip: If it's sour-tasting, you have gone wrong somewhere, probably on the cool side or possibly because a channel formed in the cake. Too long a pull usually at too high a pressure and temperature extracts badness i from the coffee. In that case you will notice organic chemical lab smells and tastes. The crema will be broken up on the surface of the coffee with fractal-looking borders.

Some say this is anathema, but I prefer to steam the milk last when making lattes because the machine needs to be roaring hot. You also have more steamng capacity after the pulls are completed because the element is heating a smaller volume of water.. Finally, a latte has so much milk that it pretty much obscures any slight ill effects from the coffee sitting around a few minutes longer.

You must have a dip thermometer that features "quick reading." You can buy specialized versions that clip onto the side of your steel pitcher.

Another key factor is the pitcher size: The one illustrated is just right for two regular coffee mugs 3/4 full of milk. It is about half full before steaming and ends up full to the brim with froth. The milk itself is infused with micro-bubbles and has a thick texture when poured.

Heat the machine up to full blast. It will be less than half full after completing two pulls.

Bleed off some steam at the wand to clean out condensation and possible crap.

Dip the wand just below the surface of the milk and open the valve all the way. I keep the wand near the edge of the pitch and tilted slightly to make the milk swirl around.

You want the steam to draw the milk down with the jet, whipping it up into a froth in the process. If the wand is too high, you will blast milk all over the place. If the wand is too low, the milk will get too hot before much froth is generated. It takes just a little practice to get this right. As you proceed, you will have to lower the pitcher because the frothed milk has more volume. Continue this process until the thermometer reads 120F.

Now we begin phase two: we want to head the mild and refine the froth. To do this, lower the wand until you hear a much louder roaring. Then back away until it just begins to quiet down. Raise and lower the pitcher slightly but constantly to adjust the action so you are right at the boundary where the sound changes. (Like the way you dither the steering wheel when driving.) Continue this phase until the thermometer reads 155F.

Don't overheat! When it gets to about 150, get ready to shut off the steam. At 153, start cranking the valve. You have keep the wand in position until it's shut off, so it will go the rest of the way to 155F before you can get the valve shut off completely.

Pour off equal measures of liquid milk into each mug. I use the side of a kitchen knife to hold back the froth. The mug should filled only 2/3 full to leave room for the coffee and frothy topping.

Spoon out the froth to make a head on each cup.

Finally, dump in the coffen from the catch cups. You can finishing by pouring a fine stream into the froth to form decorations: the inverse of a traditional espresso drink where the froth is used to decorate the coffee.

Part of the enjoyment of a latte is the thrill of transgression: Perhaps not as effective as a nose ring or tattoo, but you are drinking a mild-flavored brew that most espresso culturatti disdain. Might as well put some jam on that croissant too.