Best Electric and Handheld Milk Frothers Ratings And Reviews
Do you like your coffee with a foamy milk on top? Do you get excited how your barista serves your latte or cappuccino with that delightful layer of foamy milk? What if you could have this luscious coffee shop experience without stepping out of your home?
Today, we are going to show you exactly how you can do that! What’s your coffee drink of choice? Latte? Cappuccino? Macchiato? By learning to do milk frothing at home, you can have the best coffee drinks without having to put clothes on.
What could be better than that? Let’s take a look at what a good frother can do and why you should get one. Then we’ll help you decide which one is the best milk frother for you….and which to avoid.
Our Top Picks: The Best Milk Frothers
- Best Overall: Lavazza O Modo Mio
- Budget Pick: PowerLix Milk Pro
- Best Handheld: Zulay Double Whisk Milk Frother
- Best Value: Bodum Latteo
- Versatile: Smeg Milk Frother
Are Milk Frothers Worth it?
Why are lattes the most popular drink at a coffee shop? The answer is simple. Rather than just dumping cold milk into hot coffee, the milk is steamed and aerated before adding it to the drink.
Aeration is the process of adding air into the milk, making it foamy. This helps create a smooth, silky beverage. And with the right equipment, it’s not that hard to replicate specialty drinks at home.
Aeration at your own home has the potential to save you lots of money that you would otherwise be spending at the coffee shop.
You can craft your own signature beverage to your liking for less than £1 in ingredients. You can froth all types of milk: whole, skim, almond, soy, etc. The consistency of the foam will depend on the type of milk you decide to use. Plus, you can use it for more than a regular latte. Use it for hot chocolate, matcha, or chai lattes.
And if you’re using a pod- or capsule-based coffee machine like a Nespresso, a frother is a critical piece of equipment if you want a cappuccino, latte, or other milk-based coffee drink.
How To Choose a Milk Frother That Will Do What You Want
If you’ve never used a frother before, here’s a quick introduction.
The basic idea is to spin or pump the milk quickly in order to ADD AIR to the milk and create a nice foamy texture. This is what gives a milk based coffee its rich, velvety goodness. (Note: if you have a cappuccino machine, or a latte machine, you don’t need a frother.)
Sure, you could just violently shake the jug of milk before pouring it into the coffee (we show you how here) but this kind of frothy milk contains large, uneven bubbles. This isn’t very smooth and definitely not pretty. Besides, that only gives you cold milk froth, which is probably not what you expect in your flat white. (Nothing wrong with cold milk froth in iced coffee, of course.) If you’re interested, here’s where you can learn the difference between the following coffee drinks:
A good frother, in contrast, will be able to create a smooth, silky texture for you in as little as 15 or 20 seconds.
And some of them will produce hot froth, too. There are a few different types of these. Let’s take a look at what sets each frother apart from the others.
Types of Milk Frother: Automatic vs Manual
Some of the simplest milk frothers require pumping by hand repeatedly to achieve a foamy texture. These manual frothers resemble a French press. Simply thrust the pump up and down inside a glass beaker. It won’t wear you out by any means, but it does require a little bit of effort on your part.
There are also automatic milk frother. Some are semi-automatic, with a whisk at the end of a shaft. When you turn it on, all you need to do is gently move the handheld milk frother up and down while the battery-operated whisk does the majority of the work for you. Think of it as a tiny electric mixer.
Then you have the fully automatic electric frothers. These are the easiest to use. Open the top of the frother, pour in the milk, close the lid and hit power. In one minute your milk will be ready to go. You can walk away (or brew your espresso) while the automatic frother does its thing.
Does It Froth Hot? Or Do You Need To Give It Some Help?
Don’t overlook the importance of steaming your milk at the right temperature. It can make or break your brew! (1)
The temperature of milk used in a cappuccino affects taste, texture, and stability.
This is where you need to understand the difference between ‘frothing’ and ‘steaming’….they are two different things. Many people think that a frother will also steam the milk (and make it hot) but that’s not typically the case. Only an espresso machine with a milk steamer will allow you to properly steam milk. (Need one? Check our guide.)
Some of the less expensive frothers simply turn normal milk into foamed milk. There’s a time and place for cold froth (summer, and in iced coffee), but if you want a hot cappuccino in the morning, you have to heat the milk before or after frothing it.
There are, however, some frothers that heat the milk as well, saving you time in your morning ritual. It’s nice to have it all done in one step.
Froth-Speed
A manual frother can get your milk textured in as little as 15 seconds. The cheapest battery operated frother, however, can take up to 90 seconds just to froth.
The fully automatic electric milk frothers, in contrast, will froth and heat the milk in about 90 seconds. Some have temperature control to let you decide how hot you want it. (Don’t forget, though, that fully automatic means you can step away from the frother and do something else, like make breakfast or brew an espresso.)
How much time do you have to devote to your milk every day?
Best Milk Frothers of 2023
Now you know what you want in a milk frother. You know how to choose the right one: the one that will keep your milk fluffy and warm for eternity. The one that will give you those silly looking milk mustaches on a daily basis.
Here are the five best milk frothers that will get the job done – and in some cases, and then some.
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | DETAILS | |
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Lavazza O Modo Mio |
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Zulay Double Whisk Milk Frother |
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PowerLix Milk Pro |
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Bodum Latteo |
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Smeg Milk Frother |
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1. Lavazza o Modo Mio – Best Overall
Type of frother: Fully automatic
- Capacity: 180 ml (heating), 120 ml (frothing)
- Heats milk: Yes
The Lavazza A Modo Mio Frother is a versatile and easy-to-use electronic milk frother. It is no surprise that a brand like Lavazza knows how to whip up a perfect cappuccino foam. After all, they do roast some of the best Italian espresso beans.
The A Modo Mio Frother has an attractive modern design, with sleek lines and a matte black finish. The clear lid is thoughtful so you can watch your milk in action. It froths using a magnetic whisk that sits in the bottom of the chamber. The whisk can be removed for easy cleaning or if you simply want to heat milk without frothing.
The A Modo Mio is a relatively basic frother with three functions: hot froth, cold froth, and warm milk. This is great for keeping it affordable and easy to use, but more demanding users may be disappointed. It doesn’t offer any control over the froth texture, nor can you set a specific temperature.
2. Zulay Double Whisk Milk Frother – Best Handheld
Type of frother: Handheld
- Capacity: n/a
- Heats milk: No
There are a lot of handheld frothers on the market, and they’re all kind of the same. So how does one stand out from the crowd to warrant our Best Handheld award? The Zulay Double Whisk Frother is unique because it has TWO whisks.
Double the whisking power means you’ll enjoy your frothy cappuccino twice as fast. It also allows you to whip more viscous liquids, like heavy whipping cream.
Except for the double whisk, the Zulay Frother is everything you expect from a handheld frother. It has a sleek design, with an ergonomic handle available in various colours. A single on-off button makes it simple to use. It comes with a stainless steel stand, perfect for displaying next to your coffee machine.
The Zulay Double Whisk Milk Frother requires two AA batteries, which are not included.
3. PowerLix Milk Pro – Budget Pick
Type of frother: Handheld
- Capacity: n/a
- Heats milk: No
The Powerlix Milk Pro is powerful – it’s the best handheld milk frother in our list. With a powerful motor that offers speed up to 19,000 RPM, this battery-operated frother can produce a beautiful milk foam in just 15-20 seconds.
You still need to move the whisk in your milk pitcher, but it’s much faster than the MatchaDNA. It costs about twice as much, but your milk is ready in a fraction of the time.
The Powerlix milk frother is definitely worth it if you are in a hurry for your morning coffee. It also comes with a stand so you can store it next to your coffee maker. Its sleek black design will look nice in your kitchen. 2 AA batteries are required.
4. Bodum Latteo – Best Value for Money
Type of frother: Manual
- Capacity: 250 ml
- Heats milk: No
The Bodum Latteo milk frother looks a lot like a French press. That makes sense, as a French press can be used to froth milk in a pinch. But the Latteo is a milk frother by design, outperforming any French press at the task. The plunger is crafted specifically to create airy milk froth rather than filter out coffee grounds.
The Latteo is a manual milk frother, so it requires a little elbow grease. Be prepared to plunge up and down 60 to 90 times (about 1-2 minutes) to get a rich milk foam suitable for your latte or cappuccino. Besides the new arm muscles, the advantage of a manual frother is that you don’t need to worry about finding a power outlet or replacing batteries.
The Latteo’s 250 ml carafe is borosilicate glass, so you can use the microwave to warm your milk before or after frothing. When you’re done crafting your drink, the entire thing – lid, plunger, and carafe – is dishwasher safe.
5. Smeg Milk Frother – Most Versatile
Type of frother: Fully automatic
- Capacity: 500 ml (heating), 250 ml (frothing)
- Heats milk: Yes
If you’re a serious lover of milk-based drinks, the versatile and easy-to-use Smeg Milk Frother has the features you need. With two different frothing disks and six preset recipes, you can prepare hot or cold frothed milk or even hot chocolate. Or you can operate it manually for more control.
The electric Smeg Milk Frother uses a 500 W motor and induction heating system to produce frothed milk at the perfect 60 C in no time. The inside of the stainless steel jug is marked for easy measuring.
It’s impossible to talk about Smeg products without mentioning their cool retro style. This frother has the smooth curves and 1950s vibe of all Smeg appliances, for which it won a Good Design Award in 2019. It’s available in black, white, red, blue, and cream. The trade-off is that you pay a premium for the brand and design, so you won’t find it great value for money if you don’t care about aesthetics. Read our review of the Smeg frother to learn more.
THE VERDICT: Which is the Best Frother?
We are giving this one to the Lavazza o Modo Mio.
Though it doesn’t offer the most features of those in our list, it offers great functionality and value for money. We love having the choice of heating the milk without frothing from time to time (hot chocolate, anyone?). Plus, the consistency of the milk foam produced and the fact it is fully automatic will make your life easier and more enjoyable.
It takes practice and experience to become an expert home barista. But with the right equipment, lots of hard work, and a little tenacity when things don’t go right, you’ll soon be creating that fabulous frothy foam you’ve always dreamed of.
Have you used any of these milk frothers? If not, here’s our step-by-step guide on how to use a milk frother. If you have experience though, do you prefer handheld frothers or electric milk frothers? What’s your favourite drink to make now that you have the power of a cafe right in your kitchen? Leave a comment and share your experiences below.
FAQs
The best automatic milk frother should have a feature that can froth milk at different temperatures including warm, hot, and cold. It should also have a variation of froth milk that it produces, one feature can make smoother froth while it can also create thicker froth. In short, the best automatic milk frother should have features that will allow you to choose variations of froth milk according to your liking.
A good milk frother is one that is able to give you a beautiful, dense milk foam that is smooth and has consistency – in the least amount of time. It must do more than just heat the milk up – It must also froth your milk to the right texture (2). If it’s a handheld frother, it should do its job without requiring too much effort from you. If it’s an automatic milk frother, the more that it should be left alone crafting nice froth milk while you do other things, like brewing your coffee beans.
A milk frother is used to achieve that pleasing foamy layer of milk on your latte or cappuccino. Gone are the days where you can only have this foamy coffee from the coffee shop. There are a lot of milk frother that you can use at home for your home-made latte. Steaming and aerating milk – the process wherein in air is added to the milk to make it foamy – creates a different experience for your tastebuds, allowing you to achieve the taste of specialty coffee in the comfort of your own home.
References
- Klimanova, Y. What Temperature Should Your Cappuccino Milk Be? Retrieved from https://perfectdailygrind.com/2019/02/what-temperature-should-your-cappuccino-milk-be/
- Coffee Stack Exchange, Why must the milk be frothed? Retrieved from https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/1996/why-must-the-milk-be-frothed
