Why can we do without it? Because the term is at odds with basic physics
If water is in the steam phase (water vapour) it can not be ‘wet’, for if it is wet it has condensed from steam to liquid
If your steam is ‘wet’ then it has condensate mixed in with it
Your steam wand will always blow out condensate initially as the water that was in the gasous phase the last time the steam wand was used has been condensed back to a liquid as the steam wand has been cooled by the surrounding atmosphere
This is why it is important to blow the steam wand clear of condensate each time before you steam the milk, otherwise you end up adding water to the milk and if you are steaming small quanities of milk, as you are likely to be at home, it will have a detrimental effect
So called ‘no burn’ steam wands need to be blown clear for longer as they are ‘no-burn’ only by virtue of a length of synthetic tubing pushed up the inside of the steam wand, hence the larger diameter, and therefore the insulating effect of the synthetic tubing means it takes longer to get up to temperature and stop causing the steam to condense by the time it has travelled the length of the steam wand
No burn steam wands still burn on the tip in any event – grab hold of one some time if you dont believe me 🙂