Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Are milk frothers worth it?

45 replies

WindFlower92 · 02/01/2021 21:46

So sadly there is no way I can afford a fancy coffee machine atm, so I've been looking at other coffee gadgets and come across the milk frother - do these actually work, and do they improve your coffees? Are there any other gadgets I don't know about that can make the perfect coffee?

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 03/01/2021 08:00

I got an electric one on a deal from Lidl for under £20. Its excellent.

Is the battery operated hand held Aeropress good quality? Its just that it looks exactly the same as the Ikea one that's a pound, which is a bit crappy, but it is only a pound so its not a bother if it breaks, but the Aeropress would have to be indestructable for it to be worth paying £18 for something that looks the same.

OP, if you think you'll be buying pods, it could be worth looking a the subscription deals. We got a Lavazza Desea machne for £1 but we do have to buy quite a lot of pods, but it has an in built milk frother and we really like it. We're also looking at refillable pods that we can put our own coffee in once we've bought all the pods we have to. I think Nespresso at least do a similar deal and you can get compatible pods for them more widely.

SuePreem · 03/01/2021 08:09

I have got this one after a trip to Italy (where the air bnbs all had it) - the coffee is nicer than my bean to cup and the frother is very good!

I mostly drink really strong black coffee but my dds love the frother (and use it on top of the velvetiser too for added froth).

Original poster
WindFlower92 · 03/01/2021 08:09

It's got good reviews @BarbaraofSeville, but not sure if I should just go cheap to start! Not sure if I'll do pods - I don't think I like the idea of having to stick to one brand! I need to be educated in all things coffee as I have no idea of anything other than the fact that I love it!

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Breast & bottle feeding
Mumdiva99 · 03/01/2021 08:14

We have a frother and heater - it's brilliant. Personally I don't drink frothy coffee but it makes amazing frothy milk for hot chocolate.

Blueberryblueberry · 03/01/2021 08:23

We've got a jug type one which is pretty good (with an espresso/coffee machine) but before that we had a traditional stove top percolator and one of those hand held whisks which worked pretty well and doesn't take up much space. We just had a cheapy one from amazon- I can't imagine there's a huge difference?

bunbakes · 03/01/2021 08:23

Completely worth it I have this one and it's so good.
They are a bit fiddly to clean but really no more than a pan would be if you was just heating milk like that.

BarbaraofSeville · 03/01/2021 08:35

I find that if you run them with just water in and let the heated water sit for a while, that helps with cleaning.

If you really want to make sure its clean, put a drop of washing up liquid in after it has finished heating and frothing then give it a good rinse.

jamesfailedmarshmallows · 03/01/2021 08:42

I used to just heat milk and put it in a cafetiere and give it a few pumps and it worked really well. What about those little stick frothers, are they any good for making a cup of coffee?

Batinahat · 03/01/2021 08:42

I have owned and used a few different frothers and they are well worth it if you like a frothy coffee. I use mine daily. My advice is to consider the ease of cleaning and how frequently you will want to make 2 cups at once - I have a Severin which I prefer to others I have owned and used for 2 main reasons - firstly easy cleaning as it goes in dishwasher which most don't and secondly large capacity so can do 2 cups at once.

Original poster
WindFlower92 · 03/01/2021 21:18

Is it not easy to just make one cup and then another @Batinahat? Wondering if I've missed something here!

OP posts:
willowstar · 03/01/2021 21:28

I have the lavazza and use it daily. The milk you use makes a massive difference to the thickness and quality of the froth. I buy Graham's Smooth Gold to use in my frother...I find high fat content froths much better.

MrsPernicious · 03/01/2021 21:28

I have a stove top, stainless steel frother, looks quite like a cafetiere. Has been going strong for 25ish years and goes in the dishwasher.

Figgygal · 03/01/2021 21:29

My mum raves about the one I bought her for Xmas

Iwantacookie · 03/01/2021 21:29

Another recommendation for the aldi one. Dp has used it almost daily since xmas

willowstar · 03/01/2021 21:30

Also the lavazza is great because you can out the milk jug in the dishwasher. I bought a different frother for my caravan and you can't submerge the jug in water which makes it a pain to clean. Wishing I had just bought another lavazza instead.

WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo · 03/01/2021 21:37

Those handheld battery ones are OK, not great but ok. I wouldn't pay £18 for one though!

I've got an Aldi milk heater/frother thing. Only its stopped heating. I need my brother to take a look at it!

Twobrews · 03/01/2021 21:43

Ours gets daily use. We have this one, it's better than our previous nespresso one. The kids make hot chocolate and nesquick in it, I like to put frothy baileys and milk in my coffee.

ChubbyBroccoli · 03/01/2021 21:46

The Lavazza one is good and easy to clean.

Twobrews · 03/01/2021 22:12

My link failed Hmm, it's this one

Jellycatspyjamas · 03/01/2021 23:20

Another shout for the Duality here - I use ours daily for hot chocolate and decent coffee. Easy to clean too.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page