No steam, or weak steam, has a short list of causes.
A blocked tip
By far the most common. Milk dries inside the small holes and blocks them.
Fix: unscrew the tip and soak it in hot water with a milk-system cleaner, then clear the holes with a pin or a paperclip.
Prevention: purge and wipe the wand immediately after every use, every time.
Not in steam mode
Single-boiler machines must switch to steam and reach a higher temperature — typically 30 to 60 seconds after pressing the button.
The ready light matters here. Steaming before it is up gives wet, weak steam.
Water in the wand
Always purge briefly before texturing. Condensed water sits in the wand and comes out first.
Not enough water in the boiler
Some machines lock out steam at low water. Check the tank.
Scale
Scale in the steam path restricts flow and reduces power. Descaling must include running the solution through the steam wand, which people forget.
A failed steam valve
If the knob turns freely with nothing happening, the valve or its seal has failed. Repairable, and a service job.
Weak rather than absent
Thermoblock machines have modest steam by design and often deliver it intermittently. That is the design, not a fault.
Steaming a smaller volume of milk helps considerably.
Last reviewed 8 August 2026