On COMPUTER BILD’s test and comparison portal, we present the best milk frothers.
A coffee creation with at least five centimeters of milk foam is a common standard for you? Then you need a milk frother for your kitchen, to bring delicious coffee specialties into your own home.
The choice is yours: do you prefer an electric or a manual milk frother? Both models will give you a white cloud of foam, but it’s easier with the electric types. Rather fine-pored and fluffy or a little more viscous? Our test and comparison table shows you which milk frother best suits your taste.
Buying guide to the milk frother test or. -comparison: find your personal milk frother test winner with our help!
- A milk frother produces milk foam for cappuccino, latte macchiato or other hot drinks with foamed milk in a short time in your kitchen.
- You have the choice between manual and electric milk frothers. The latter are available in different versions.
- The handling of the milk frother as well as the quantity and quality of the foam are only some of the criteria for buying a milk frother.
Germans are avid coffee drinkers. Three-quarters of respondents in a 2016 survey said they drank coffee regularly or even every day.
While the classic filter coffee is still very popular, more and more people also like to enjoy an italian espresso or a cappuccino or latte macchiato with foamed milk. This you can also make frothy milk yourself at home with a milk frother.
Our 2022 milk frother comparison shows that there are big differences between the different models. To make sure that you don’t buy a model of the "much foam for nothing" variety, but really find the best milk frother for you, we have summarized the most important buying criteria in this buying guide.
1. What does perfect milk foam look like?
The history of the milk frother
… is closely related to the history of cappuccino. And this seems to have started with a capuchin monk in vienna, even if there are various legends about it. In each one, however, a Capuchin monk is said to have mixed a Turkish mocha with milk or cream in Vienna because it was too strong for him. The name cappuccino is said to derive from the dress of the order.
What would be a delicious latte macchiato or cappuccino or milk foam? But not only the italian coffee classics need the creamy foam.
It is also used as an important ingredient or decoration for the following culinary delights:
- Matcha latte
- Turmeric latte
- Chai-latte
- Dessert decoration
- On soups
- With strawberries
And what the milk foam should look like is something baristas don’t argue about. What doesn’t work at all is the so-called "puffing foam. This means an impenetrable mountain of foam that is eaten rather than drunk.
Perfect milk foam must be glossy, creamy and creamy and have a similar consistency to coffee. Only in this way it can combine optimally with it.
the ultimate spoon test reveals the perfect foam: run a spoon over the surface until the coffee appears underneath, then you should be able to close the foam very easily afterwards.
The decisive factor for the right consistency of the foam is not so much the fat content of the milk, but above all the protein. The higher the protein content, the better the foam.
The right temperature is also important: between 60 and 70 degrees the milk foams best. Milk that is too hot is not ideal, because then the protein structure is destroyed and the foam settles out. Too cold milk does not have the right taste.
2. What are the types of milk frothers for household use??
if you want to buy a milk frother, you have the choice between different variants. Roughly, milk frothers can be divided into manual and electric types.
The following categories of manual and electric milk frothers are available:
- When we speak of a manual milk frother, we mean a manual milk frother, which usually consists of a container and a lid with a built-in movable sieve.
- Often it is a glass milk frother, where the container is made of glass. But there are also manual stainless steel milk frother.
- You can froth milk by quickly moving the integrated sieve up and down.
- In most models of this type, you can put the container on the stove to heat the milk beforehand.
- A milk frother wand is also a hand milk frother, but an electric one.
- It is a milk frother with a battery.
- The rod has a kind of small whisk at the end, which you hold directly in the milk.
- You need a separate milk container, but you can use practically any container and froth the milk directly in the latte macchiato glass, for example.
- It is a cheap milk frother, which is already sold for a few euros but often does not have high stability.
- An electric milk frother works very similarly to the stick milk frother, but it comes with a container to which the whisk is firmly attached.
- If you want to foam milk, you need to pour it into the container, close the lid and then press a button.
- Often an automatic milk frother can also heat the milk at the same time, if it does not have this function, you have to heat the milk separately beforehand.
- This type of milk frother also works on the same principle, but the milk is first heated with induction technology. This works in a similar way to an induction cooker.
- Such a frother produces milk foam in a short time, without you having to heat the milk first.
- A milk frother with induction is particularly energy efficient.
For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that there is also the type of steam nozzle milk frother. This is a part of a coffee machine with a milk frother and is also used as a gastro milk frother. With this you get very creamy foam and can also produce larger quantities, but such devices are not available separately, but only in combination with a fully automatic espresso or coffee machine with milk frother.
In recent years, the milk frother with induction technology has become more and more popular. For this reason, we would like to introduce you to the advantages and disadvantages of the induction milk frother:
- You do not need a separate container.
- The milk is automatically heated beforehand.
- The milk foam is solid.
- There is no connection between the whisk and the power source, so the device is easy to clean.
- More expensive than other types of milk frothers.
- You need electricity to use it.
3. What are the most important buying criteria for frother or frothy dream?
3.1. Convenient and fast
The milk foam production should not take too much time and should not make you more work than necessary. The handling is therefore usually also an important point in one or the other milk frother test on the internet.
Which version is perfect for you depends on your use of the milk frother. If, for example, you only want to make latte macchiato, it may be useful to use a milk frother with which you can froth the milk directly in the glass from which you will later drink. For drinks on which the foamed milk is poured from the top, on the other hand, a milk frother is better, which contains its own container and also heats the milk at the same time.
Tip: cleaning the milk frother should also be as uncomplicated as possible, which is not always the case with burnt-in milk. Ideally, you can clean the milk frother in the dishwasher.
3.2. Mountains of foam or small crown? – choose the right filling quantity
The amount of milk foam you can produce in one go with a milk frother like the M elitta cremio depends on the size of the machine and the amount of foam it produces. Of the container from. For one person alone, a small model is enough. If, on the other hand, you regularly want to serve food to guests or use the milk frother in the office, a larger device would be better.
3.3. Also pay attention to safety
Especially with the electric versions you should take a look at the safety equipment. An automatic switch-off of the heating mechanism when the temperature is reached and an overheating protection prevent accidents. The device should also switch off by itself when the milk foam is finished.
3.4. Performance and energy savings don’t have to contradict each other
With electric milk frothers, sufficient energy is of course required. Most devices have around 500 watt. Induction milk frothers are particularly energy-saving and yet work quickly.
3.5. Separate heating function for cocoa or honey milk
To heat the milk only, induction frothers are suitable.
It can be convenient if the machine is able to simply heat milk without frothing it.
For example, when the child is first supplied with hot cocoa or honey milk at a family breakfast and then the milk for the parents’ coffee drink needs to be quickly foamed. Induction milk frothers usually offer the option to turn off the frothing function, other devices do not.
3.6. What dead weight you have to handle
The weight of a milk frother is not too important, since you usually operate the machine when it is stationary and only need to lift it briefly for pouring. However, if you find it difficult to lift the frother, or if you are taking it with you on vacation, it is helpful to know that the wand frother is the lightest of the two.
The manual milk frothers are also quite light at about 500 grams. Electric milk frothers and induction models weigh between 900 grams and almost two kilograms, depending on capacity.
4. Questions and answers on the subject of milk frothers
4.1. Did the stiftung warentest conduct a milk frother test?
The consumer organization conducted a milk frother test in february 2018. The experts examined both manual and electric models.
On the whole, most devices performed well: eight out of ten received the grade "good. There were some drawbacks, among other things, when the milk did not warm up properly or the devices consumed too much electricity.
Milk frother test winner of stiftung warentest is the nespresso milk frother aeroccino 4. testers’ conclusion: for good electric models you have to spend between 50 and 100 euro.
However, this is still cheaper than a good coffee machine with milk frother and you can use it to make milk foam quickly and conveniently. Hand-held devices are significantly less expensive, but the foam is not quite as good.
4.2. Which brands and manufacturers should you know?
There are many other well-known manufacturers besides nespresso. For example, you can buy a tchibo milk frother, a delonghi milk frother, the M elitta cremio, or a WMF or philips milk frother. severin milk frothers are also among the good models in most milk frother tests on the internet.
other manufacturers are melitta, clatronik or gastroback. However, machines from lesser-known brands can also produce a good result.
4.3. Which milk is best for frothing in the milk frother?
Whole milk is particularly suitable for frothing.
Very suitable is full cream milk, which provides a richer aroma due to the higher fat content. you can also use long-life milk, but the taste is a little different.
Foaming is not always perfect with plant milk. Almond milk in particular does not foam well.
In general, the temperature is the most important. It should be between 60 and 70 degrees. If you heat the milk yourself beforehand, you must be careful that it does not get too hot.
4.4. Is it possible to froth milk without using a frother??
With a little creativity, you can produce froth even without a frother.
For example, you can heat the milk in a tall saucepan and then blend it with a whisk or a stick blender. You can also pour the warm milk into a closed, tall container, such as a drinking bottle, and then shake it vigorously.
It won’t make perfect milk foam, but you can make foam in all of these ways.
4.5. How useful is a milk frother??
A milk frother is useful when you want to make quick and want to heat and froth milk without any effort of our own. Milk frothers deliver a fine and creamy foam.
4.6. how is a milk frother constructed?
The milk frother is an appliance that is similar in design to a water boiler. Inside the milk frother there is a heating element that heats the milk. An alternative to this is the milk frother, which you place on the hotplate. In addition, the milk frother has a kind of whisk that froths the warm milk.