Steam comes out from the tray grill

Similar to the crema on quality espresso, this "foam" is an indicator of the freshness of your coffee. If it's thick and creamy white, it's very fresh. If it's present but thin and watery, it's less fresh.
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-foam-on-coffee-made-of-that-appears-on-milk-based-and-even-black-coffees
The foam found at the top of your cup is "crema" comes from the espresso making process. Espresso is prepared in a metal contraption, which you pound down and hot water is pumped through at great pressures. The pressure pushes out the little oils from the coffee beans into the liquid. https://www.joyridecoffeedistributors.com/blog/coffee-news/where-does-the-foam-come-from

there is an art to working a foamer ... hence the "artisan" in the coffee-maker's name. There are several aspects to a good foam:

1. If you have been using regular milk to make your foam, try half-and-half ... the thicker consistency will give you a different result.
2. If you have been jamming the foamer head all the way to the bottom of the milk while you are foaming it, try submerging less of the foamer ... this will cause the steam to have a slightly different effect on the milk. If you have been submerging it only about half way (or not at all) try different depths. If one consistent depth is not right, try swirling it around while you foam the milk.
3. Try a different amount of steam (if your steam release valve is adjustable). Pushing a lot of pressure into the milk will give you a different result than barely turning it on.
4. Are you using a cold container or a warm one to hold the milk you are steaming? If you are still not getting the results you are looking for by playing with the other aspects of your foaming process ... try a different container (it sounds silly, but it can really help).
Before you go out and spend a bunch of money on different replacement parts for your machine, spend a while playing with these aspects of your foaming process. If none of these ideas help, then you should consider replacing pieces. Foaming milk is not as easy as it sounds ... it took me a few months of (once daily) use to really get my technique down so I could make a reliably decent foam. Don't give up! and good luck!

Cappuccino is a mixture of espresso, a little steamed milk and a little milk foam. The milk/foam ratio is up to you what you enjoy most. Some like a thick layer of foam while others just want foam as a garnish on top. Mix as you please.

You need practice !

Rules of thumb :
1 - Use COLD MILK, did you ever try to make whipped cream with warm cream ? It's the same.
2 - Use a COLD RECIPIENT to put your milk in.
3 - Foam your milk AT LAST, extract your expresso before, so if you do a not so good foam it doesn't have time to deflate.
4 - If you put any condiment on the foam, it will drop fast, like nutmeg, cocoa or cinamon.
Technique :
a. Put whole milk in a cold stainless steel recipient.
b. Start the machine and let it go for couple of seconds, just to let the first dropplet of water to spat out. When you have a clean and steady jet of steam, it's ready.
c. Swiftly, insert the vapor tube in the milk, if you go too slow, the steam will blow milk everywhere.
d. Go deep in the milk, but don't touch the botttom.
e. Within 5 seconds go toward the surface of the milk carefully, avoiding the big bubbles sound, you are looking for a steady "pcchhhhhh" no grunting, no bubbles, no ear piercing sound. Everytime you loose it, plunge and come back to the surface, eventually you will find the sweet spot.
f. When you are in the sweet spot, keep in mind that the milk surface rise during the process and you have to follow it, so rise slowly, following the path of the foam/milk.
g. If you feel the pot becomming to hot for your finger, you have to stop, milk doesn't like to be heated that much.
h If you succeed you will have a whole pot of foam, the milk wont separate from the foam and when you pour it, it will be like a deep creamy soap foam.

Good luck,

JF

You should decalcify, when you steam the milk some what gets through to the steam and the build up of these minerals causes the issue

Hello 828698,

One thing that you will want to look for on your machine is to be sure that your temperature gauge is not malfunctioning. In some cases with the FF machines, the temp gauge will not work properly but the machine is still working just fine. When you start up the machine you should notice the the bottom light on the left hand side will come on and be lit solid. Once the machine is up to brew temperature the light will go off or begin to flash. This means you are ready for brew. Then hit the steam button to prepare the machine for steam. Again, the light will come on and be solid until the machine is up to steam temp. Then the light will go off or begin to flash. If this is happening than your machine is working fine and only needs to have the temp gauge replaced. If, however, you do not see this light go off it could be a couple of things. The control board could be malfunctioning, or the heating element is no longer maintaining the proper temperature. In this case it is generally recommended that the machine goes in for service. Or, you can contact Empire Fulfillment (877-855-4540) to order parts for the machine if you are comfortable doing the repair on your own.

First off, the best milk for foam is skim milk (0% fat). The higher the fat content, the less foamy your foam will be.

The foam is created by the steam/hot coffee from the lower part being forced through the doohickey and into the milk. That means that if the coffee itself isn't "perfect", the foam won't be "perfect". I've found that using different types of coffee (e.g. different grinds) or filling the coffee bin to different levels results in more or less steam/pressure being passed through, so the foam is better/worse. For example, if I put too much ground coffee in the bin or use too fine a grind, it blocks the water/steam that's going through the coffee, resulting in less coffee and weaker coffee, and also resulting in less foam.

Perform a full descale cycle to clear the steam boiler of any debris or build up. Most likely due to blockage.

Hi,

Hot Milk:
steam pressure time 6
puls width 1
puls period 15

Milk Foam:
steam pressure time 6
puls width 1
puls period 15

Hope this will help you.
/Mirran