What's the Best Milk Frother?

Make hot drinks at home with an electric milk frother. With one of these, you can add foamy froth to your drinks whether you own a big fancy espresso machine, a stovetop espresso maker, or no beverage maker at all.

Home latte drinkers like me are always looking for the easiest way to get our morning fix quickly, and with minimal cleanup.

Those handheld frother wands suck -- they take too long, you can only froth a little liquid at a time, and the foam is of a lesser quality.

Some people find that they don't have the time or patience to use the steam wand on their home espresso machine, or that the foam collapses too quickly.

An electric milk frother will give you perfectly heated and evenly blended milk and froth with no button to hold, nothing to pump, and no batteries to change. They're convenient for daily use and easy to clean.

Save your Starbucks money and blend delicious, frothy cafe lattes, cappuccino, chai or hot chocolate at home.

The Epica Milk Frother is a hot and cold drink frother as well as a drink warmer. Simply remove the frothing insert to use it to heat up beverages.

Buy the Epica Automatic Frother >>

It has a stainless steel carafe (for heat insulation) with a non stick interior for easy clean up. Its capacity is 4.25 oz. for frothing, or 8.5 oz. for heating milk. (All models have a lower capacity for frothing to allow for the expansion of the milk.)

It's easy, affordable, quiet, and fast -- it prepares your drink in about 2 minutes.

Bottom Line: If you already own a coffeemaker and want to step it up with more sophisticated foam-topped drinks, or if you're looking for an efficient way to heat milk, this might be the perfect companion appliance.

If you are one of those picky "no whip, extra foam" Starbucks orderers, then this is the pick for you.

Get the Breville Milk Cafe >>

Breville is known for its well designed, "smart" kitchen appliances, and its milk frother is no exception. It's the only electric frother with an adjustable temperature dial, a built-in cooling fan, and a stop button (though it has automatic shutoff, too).

It uses induction heat and spinning motion to quietly and evenly warm the milk, and the unit won't even start if it senses that you've overfilled the pitcher or that the discs are upside down.

This model takes longer than the others (2-7 minutes), but in return for your patience, it produces milk with a silkier finish. It also has a much larger capacity than others. It can hold up to 25 oz. for hot chocolate, or up to 16 oz. for lattes or cappuccinos (to allow for the froth).

The jug has a "measuring shot" in the lid that you can use to add in powder mixes and syrup. It comes with separate frothing discs for cappuccinos and lattes. The jug, lid, and discs are top-shelf dishwasher safe.

Bottom Line: The Breville Milk Frother is for the discerning foodie or beverage connoisseur who wants precise control over milk temperature and is particular about having a smooth, silky foam.

It reaches the highest temperature of any automatic frother.

It can fit more milk than other models.

It can and handle powders and beverage mixes as well if you want to add something to the milk or make cocoa or chai.

This premium pick is a customer favorite that's worth the price. If you can afford it, get it. The investment is worth it, and you can use it for multiple purposes beyond frothing.

So, the whole point of this exercise is to same time and make froth quickly, right? So what happens when you want to froth for two people at a time?

Here's your answer. The large (500ml) Secura Automatic Frother holds 8.5 oz for hot and cold frothing, and 17 oz. for heating.

It's got a nonstick interior in a stainless steel housing, and the handy pouring rim on the jug minimizes messes.

Bottom Line: If you need froth for two, this is for you.

Need a frother for your desk at the office or to prepare just one serving of your favorite beverage? Even for just a cup, being able to pour, press a button, and walk away beats fussing with the handheld models.

De'Longhi's version features a metal jug with a non-stick coated interior and removable whisk for easy cleaning and a pour spot to minimize messes. The simple settings offer your choice of cold milk, hot milk foam, and heated milk (f you take the whisk out).

Bottom Line: If you're going to use a frother on a daily basis and are worried about ease of cleaning, or you only need to prepare small servings, this is a choice you should consider.

The Nespresso Aeroccino is a handy companion to your home espresso machine.

Where this model really shines is the foam stiffness / thickness. It's equipped with 2 inserts for different types of beverages. The wire whisk adds air and produces the stiff foam found on the traditional cappuccino, while the paddle creates a richer, but less dense foam for lattes.

The Aeroccino is a better frother than milk warmer, though. It's a bit persnickety about heating milk that's not already cold, and for some people, the temperature doesn't get hot enough. (The Breville Milk Cafe --above -- is what you want for precise temperature control.)

The capacity for frothed milk is 4.4 oz. and 8.5 oz. for heated milk, and it froths cold drinks too.

One-touch operation and automatic shutoff eliminate the guesswork, and the nonstick interior makes it easy to clean. Enjoy your favorite beverage in under a minute.

Bottom Line: The Aerocinno produces meringue-like foam as promised, and it comes from a brand known for its consumer espresso makers. But if having a machine to heat milk is just as important as the froth feature to you, or if you want to be able to mix in ingredients, I'd steer you toward one of the other choices reviewed here.

The Capresso FrothPRO heats and froths milk for hot beverages and froths milk for cold drinks in about 2 minutes.

It offers a larger capacity than most (8 oz. frothing, 12 oz heating), and has 3 temperature settings (hot, cold, and warm -- which is ideal for kids).

The FrothPro comes with 3 inserts: One for thick froth, one for lighter froth, and one for heating.

The ceramic-coated pitcher with stay-cool handle and see-through lid is nonstick and dishwasher safe.

Bottom Line: The FrothPro offers more customization (in temperature and texture) than the traditional carafe-style models. It also packs some kid-friendly features that I like.