The Ultimate Guide To Buying A Milk Frother

With prices on the rise everywhere, that trip to your local coffee shop is going to take a lot more out of your wallet than it has in the past, leaving many of you looking for ways to elevate your at-home coffee experience so you can save a few extra dollars. Whether that's an up-front investment in your own espresso machine or opting for locally roasted beans, there are so many ways you can bring the coffee shop vibe right into your own kitchen. One way is through the purchase of a milk frother that allows you to recreate the delicious, creamy, hot, and cold foam found on your favorite lattes, cappuccinos, and more.

However, the ideal milk frother for one person may not be the ideal milk frother for you. With a variety of different types — each with its own list of pros and cons — choosing the right milk frother comes down to a few key factors about how it fits into your specific lifestyle and the type of foam you prefer. From electric machines that allow you to go into autopilot mode to more hands-on manual models, milk frothers have options so you can get as involved in the process as you want. After working as a barista myself, I've picked up a few tips and tricks for using a milk frother. And after years of perfecting my own at-home coffee setup, these are the things I've found the most important to consider before you make your first purchase.

One of the first things you need to consider when buying a milk frother is how much you want to spend. If you are on a tight budget, this will quickly narrow down your options for what type of milk frother you end up buying. Frothers can range in price significantly, with some of the most basic models going for less than $20 all the way up to a few hundred dollars (or more)! Compare this best-selling Zulay Kitchen Powerful Milk Frother Wand on Amazon that sells for $17.99 with this colorful, retro Smeg Milk Frother that's priced at $229.95.

If price isn't a factor, it will be very easy to find the perfect milk frother that has all of the extra features you desire. Thankfully, brands have responded to the increased interest for at-home milk frothers by introducing many mid-range models to the market. So, if you have a little more wiggle room in your budget, these middle-of-the-road models can fulfill most of what you want in a frother without necessarily breaking the bank.

There are currently three types of frothers on the market — manual, handheld, and electric. All types work to create foam by introducing air bubbles into your milk, but they vary greatly in how they create that foam, how much effort it takes from you, and what the final outcome is.

Technically, handheld and manual milk frothers are both manual frothers, but they refer to two different kinds of machines. A handheld frother is a simple wand with a whisk attachment at the end that can either be recharged or powered by batteries. To operate, you have to insert the whisk into a cup of milk and hold a button down to froth your milk until it reaches your desired consistency. A manual frother, though, is a small countertop machine that looks very similar to a miniature French press. In this type of frother, the milk gets frothed by using a lid with a plunger that you pump up and down to aerate the milk and create the foam.

Unlike its manual counterparts, electric frothers require very little work from the user. The appliance does everything for you once you pour your milk and press a button. Ultimately, which one you choose comes down to preference and whether you want the machine to do all the work with a press of a button or you like to have more control of the outcome with a do-it-yourself model.

Despite what you may have been told, there is a difference between steamed and frothed milk and the machines used to make both. A milk frother works by pushing air into milk to bulk up its texture and volume through the creation of small bubbles. It can be used on both cold and hot milk, making the device a great choice for cold foam lovers!

A steamer, on the other hand, works by using pressurized steam to heat up the milk, which results in a smoother foam with smaller bubbles than a milk frother. Milk steamers also require you to be more hands-on during the steaming process. But the trade-off is that a steamer also allows you to do more with your milk, including creating better latte art since the steam produces a smaller foam that is more conducive to creating these designs.

If you are someone who is really experienced and wants to take your at-home coffee-making to the next level, you may want to opt for a steamer instead of a milk frother. Just be aware, though, that most true milk steamers come built into an espresso machine, which is automatically going to cost more. But if you are just wanting to elevate your coffee experience, a milk frother will do just fine. A lot of models — specifically, the electric ones — are designed to create a froth more similar to what you'd find with a steamer.

Another one of the bigger considerations when deciding on what kind of milk frother to buy is the type of milk you use on a regular basis. Since certain frothers can work better with different types of milks, it's important to look at what each model says about its compatibility with these various milk types, specifically certain types of plant-based milks like almond and oat.

Plant-based milks (especially ones with minimal added ingredients) tend to be more on the watery side, so you'll want a frother that proves itself able to deliver a foam for those that's more on par with dairy milk. In order to determine this, reviews will be your best friend! It's one thing for a brand to market its compatibility with plant-based milks, but it's another to compare first-hand reviews from regular plant-based milk drinkers. Considering the fact that milk frothers are more often than not designed with dairy milk in mind, taking the time to do your research before deciding what to drop your money on will be extra beneficial.

Knowing whether you like your milk to be hot or cold is another aspect to consider when shopping for a milk frother. If you prefer to make hot drinks, you may want to opt for an electric milk frother that heats up your milk in addition to frothing it. This can be beneficial if you don't always have access to a microwave or a stove to heat up your milk. The coolest part is that a lot of models also have a feature that allows you to set the specific temperature that you want your milk heated to.

But if you prefer cold foam for your coffee, you're in luck as handheld milk frothers are one of the best choices for this type of froth and tend to be the cheapest since they don't have all of these extra features. If you prefer a warm coffee, however, you will have to find another way to heat up your milk before you froth it!

If you are someone who loves gadgets that have all the bells and whistles, you'll likely want to go with an electric model. Although handheld and manual milk frothers can allow for more personal control of your milk's outcome, you'll give up some of the next-level features that electric milk frothers have. For example, a lot of electric frothers have settings beyond frothing, such as heating your milk without having to froth it at all. Some even have a few different whisk options, mix-in settings, and built-in measurements specifically designed for adding in hot cocoa mixes or making chai tea.

Going back to factors like temperature and the type of froth you desire, electric frothers also have multiple temperature options and different froth settings to help streamline the process and create your perfect beverage. Whether you like silky microfoam or want something more suited for a cappuccino, these models make it super easy to achieve various outcomes from a single machine.

If you want the option of making your coffee on-the-go, this will definitely influence what kind of milk frother you choose. A lot of frothers on the market can be pretty bulky for travel. You'll want to consider the tradeoff you're getting by choosing a frother that has all of the extra features. Since electric frothers are automatic and essentially do all the work for you with the press of a button, they need to be plugged into a power outlet that you may or may not always have accessible. Plus, both electric and manual frothers are around the size of a small pitcher, which makes lugging that large of a machine around pretty inconvenient.

Handheld frothers are probably the best choice when it comes to portability as they are rechargeable or only require a few batteries. They are also closer to the size of a comb. Some models like the Golde Superwhisk even come with a cap to protect the whisk part from getting damaged on-the-go. But again, handheld frothers do tend to be the cheapest type of frother available, so if you can swing it, it may just be worth it to buy two models — a nice electric or manual frother to keep at home and a handheld frother to take with you wherever you go!

Another factor not to overlook when choosing which milk frother to buy is exactly how easy it is to clean. Electric and manual models are going to have more parts to take apart and clean, so it really depends on how much time you want to spend on your coffee-making process. You'll also want to consider whether or not you have a dishwasher or if you will be handwashing your milk frother. And even if you do have a dishwasher, you still have to make sure that some of the larger countertop models are dishwasher safe! While a lot of them thankfully are okay to put in the dishwasher, it's always good to double check.

Hate doing dishes? Just a heads up that you may want to steer clear of handheld models as these are definitely not dishwasher safe. Manual and electric milk frothers are often also made with non-stick materials for quick wiping and faster clean up.

For anyone who loves to do latte art, the design of the frother itself is going to be a big deal. Latte art requires a precise pour in speed and amount of milk exiting the pitcher in order to create the same intricate designs at home that you see in specialty coffee shops. To control both of these things, the pitcher needs to have a defined pour spout. While pretty much all of the electric and manual frothers available have pitchers designed to create latte art, some are definitely better than others. This is where reading reviews will become handy if you are looking for the best model to perfect your latte art.

With all this said, if you choose to go the handheld route, just remember that the type of foam you are getting is more airy and therefore a lot less desirable for creating latte art. You'll also have to purchase a separate pitcher that has the ideal type of spout if this is something you still want to attempt.

Do you like to make multiple drinks at a time that require frothed milk or do you only make enough for one drink at a time? If you regularly make multiple drinks and want them made as quickly as possible, electric milk frothers tend to have a higher capacity and can hold multiple cups worth of milk compared with manual and handheld frothers. And since these models range in capacity, they are still great for frothing less milk if you want the choice between easily making one drink or multiple drinks.

If you are looking for this kind of flexibility, manual and handheld frothers are going to be more limiting. These types of milk frothers are not designed to be able to froth as much milk in a single batch as effectively. Manual milk frothers typically only hold enough milk for one drink whereas handheld frothers produce the best foam when only frothing a single cup's worth of milk.