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TL;DR If you love cappuccinos, you need a great milk frother. After much research and testing, we found that the Stainless Steel HIC Milk Frother is the best you can buy.
It's never been easier to make a perfect cup of coffee at home, but you need the right equipment to do it. If you're a big fan of cappuccinos and lattes with splendid milk foam, you're going to want a great milk frother in your collection of coffee-making products.
We've researched dozens of milk frothers and tested a few of them ourselves to find the best milk frothers you can buy.
There are many different kinds of milk frothers: manual, stationary electric, and handheld electric ones.
We first tried the handheld electric ones, because they were relatively cheap. However, the handheld electric ones rarely delivered on their promise of making milk creamy and frothy. Many of them also involve batteries, which can be expensive and annoying to constantly replace. As such, we haven't included any of those frothers in this guide.
There are plenty of stationary electric milk frothers that you plug into your wall that will also produce excellent foamy milk, and we've put the best ones in this guide. However, the best electric milk frothers are significantly more expensive than handheld electronic ones and manual ones.
After much testing, our best experience has been with manual milk frothers that cost less than $20. Since there's no electricity involved, you do have to froth the milk yourself by pumping the milk full of air inside the jug. You also have to heat the milk after you've frothed it, but you'll have more control over how hot it gets. Even though there is more work involved with manual milk frothers, you'll get the best results for the least amount of money.
We've included two great manual milk frothers as our topic picks for most people, but if you're dead set on having an electric milk frother, we've got you covered with three great options ranging in price from about $40 to $130.
Although the Stainless Steel HIC Milk Creamer Frother is our top pick, for various reasons laid out in the slides below, you should also consider the Bodum Latteo Milk Frother, the Breville Milk Cafe Milk Frother, the Nespresso Aeroccino Electric Milk Frother, and the Epica Automatic Electric Milk Frother.
SEE ALSO: The best coffee makers out there right now
The best milk frother overall
Why you'll love it: The Stainless Steel HIC Milk Creamer Frother whips up your milk for a beautiful foamy cappuccino or iced drink for less than $20.
You don't have to pay a fortune to enjoy a frothy, foamy cappuccino at home. The Stainless Steel HIC Milk Creamer Frother costs less than $20, but it produces the best milk foam of any milk frother we've tested.
It's frequently recommended by reviewers as the best manual milk frother. Websites like Your Best Coffee Machine, Heavy, and Milk Frother Judge all recommend the HIC Milk Creamer Frother. Many buyers on Amazon argue that it's often more effective than expensive electric ones.
The most well-loved feature of this simple manual milk frother is just how easy it is to clean. Many expensive electric milk frothers involve multiple parts that you have to wash and clean regularly. With the HIC frother, you just scrub out the stainless steel jug with soap and water after every use and then wash the lid and mesh pump part.
Its stainless steel design is also durable, so you don't have to worry about it breaking like you would with a glass manual milk frother.
I've made cappuccinos at home every day for the past three years with a Bialetti Stovetop Espresso Maker and the Stainless Steel HIC Milk Creamer Frother, and this milk frother has never failed me.
It's all about the technique. I typically pour cold milk into the frother, froth it for 1-2 minutes, let it sit for a minute to thicken up, pour it into my ceramic milk pitcher, and heat it in the microwave for 45 seconds. The milk froth grows creamier and frothier as it heats until it's perfect for pouring over the espresso I have in my coffee mug. I've also used it to make frothy milk for iced drinks.
The best part about this stainless steel, manual milk frother is that it is very inexpensive. While all the stationary electric milk frothers in this guide cost $40 to $130, the manual HIC milk frother costs less than $20.
Pros: It's cheap, easy to use, simple to clean, consistently makes great foamy milk, works with any kind of milk, and it froths cold milk for iced drinks
Cons: You have to heat the milk after you froth it
Buy the Stainless Steel HIC Milk Creamer Frother on Amazon for $16.65 [You save $10.34]
The second-best manual milk frother
Why you'll love it: The Bodum Latteo Milk Frother looks good on your kitchen counter and it makes excellent frothy milk for less than $20.
If you want a more stylish looking manual milk frother, the Bodum Latteo is the one for you. It's made of borosilicate glass instead of stainless steel, so you can even pop the glass carafe into the microwave when you're done frothing the cold milk.
Bodum is a well-known brand that also makes French Press coffee makers, so you know its products are trustworthy. The tech and reviews site Heavy recommends the Bodum Latteo Milk Frother as one of the best ones you can buy, and many buyers on Amazon say it's much better than any electric milk frother they've tried.
Just like the HIC Milk Frother, the Bodum model is very easy to clean. You simply wash the glass carafe like you would any other glass and scrub the lid and mesh pump clean. In comparison, many expensive electric milk frothers involve multiple parts that you have to wash and clean, which is a real hassle.
The only downside with Bodum's glass design is that you have to be more careful with it. The HIC milk frother is made of stainless steel, so it won't break under most conditions, but this glass one could shatter. The glass is strong, so you shouldn't have problems, though.
To use Bodum's manual milk frother, you just have to follow the same technique we described for the HIC milk frother. Pour cold milk into the frother, froth it for 1-2 minutes, let it sit for a minute to thicken up, and heat it in the microwave for 45 seconds using the glass carafe the milk is in.
The milk froth grows creamier and frothier as it heats until it's perfect for pouring over the espresso in your coffee mug. You can also use it to make frothy milk for iced drinks.
Bodum's Latteo milk frother is a steal for less than $20 — especially when you compare it to the stationary electric milk frothers in this guide, which cost $40 to $130.
Pros: Glass design helps you see frothing progress, easy to clean, simple to use, consistently makes great foamy milk, works with any kind of milk, and it froths cold milk for iced drinks
Cons: You have to heat the milk after you froth it and glass is breakable
Buy the Bodum Latteo Milk Frother on Amazon for $17.96 [You save $18.04]
The best expensive electric milk frother
Why you'll love it: The Breville Milk Cafe Milk Frother is the cream of the crop with its easy-to-clean design and thick milk foam production.
If you're dead serious about the milk foam on your morning latte and you're not afraid of dropping more than $100 on a fancy milk frother, the Breville Milk Cafe is the best one you can buy.
Reviewers across the web agree that Breville's milk frother is the best expensive electric one you can buy. Heavy, Milk Frother Judge, Latte Art Guide, Coffee Gear at Home, and Espresso Gusto all highly recommend the Breville Milk Cafe frother. User reviews on Amazon are very favorable as well.
The most popular feature of the Breville Milk Cafe is that you can customize the exact temperature, type of foam, and amount of foam you want to create. Its circular dial lets you easily set the milk temperature from cold to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. A spinning magnetized disk creates the foam and induction heating warms the milk.
The stainless steel jug is easy to clean because it separates from the heating base. You can even pop it in the dishwasher for cleaning. Breville's Milk Cafe produces enough milk foam for three big cups of coffee, too, which is excellent if you have a family (or just like lots of foam).
Reviewers are in love with this milk frother's ability to make hot chocolate, too. All you have to do is toss some chocolate into the milk as it heats and froths to make decadent hot chocolate.
Unlike manual frothers, the Breville heats the milk as it froths it up into foam, so there's no extra step. Many reviewers like the no-fuss process: You pour milk in and turn it on — done! According to reviewers, it's also quite durable, unlike other electric milk frothers.
The only downside is that it costs $129.95, making it $113.30 more than our top pick, the manual stainless steel HIC milk frother.
Pros: Easy to use, great milk foam production, heats the milk for you, simple to clean, and you can make hot chocolate with it, too
Cons: Very expensive
Buy the Breville BMF600XL Milk Cafe Milk Frother on Amazon for $129.95 [You save $20.04]
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