Frothing milk at home can transform your latte experience. From French press to automatic milk frother, see how to get cafe-quality froth at home.

Frothing Milk at Home

I make a lot of tea lattes at home but I don’t have a fancy espresso machine to steam milk to get that lovely froth.

To get that gorgeous froth, I’ve tried a few methods:

• French press
  FROTH QUALITY: ★★★★★
• Automatic milk frother
  FROTH QUALITY: ★★★★★
• Handheld milk frother 
  FROTH QUALITY: ★★★☆☆
• Immersion blender
  FROTH QUALITY: ★★☆☆☆

What to Look for When Frothing Milk

• Microfoam
  The best frothed milk creates microfoam, tiny bubbles that are so small you can barely see them.
• Rich mouthfeel
  Lush, velvety foam adds a rich mouthfeel and smooth texture which elevates the latte experience at home.
• Quick & easy to use
  The best milk frothers are easy to use and easy to clean.

Frothing Milk in a French Press

FROTH QUALITY: ★★★★★

• The least expensive way to create beautiful froth but the big drawback is the cleanup.
• It doesn’t take too much effort and will froth the warm milk in less than a minute.
• The French press creates great microfoam.
• Milk needs to heated first separately.

HOW TO FROTH MILK IN A FRENCH PRESS

1. Heat milk.
   STOVETOP: Bring milk to simmer in a saucepan on the stovetop. Stir it occasionally to prevent a thin layer from appearing on top. Turn the heat off once you see steam coming from the milk.
   MICROWAVE: Start with 30 seconds, stir, then heat for another 15 seconds until the milk starts to steam.
2. Pour the heated milk into a French press.
   Fill no more than a third of the container.
3. Put the lid on then pull and push down on the plunger.
   Pump until the milk doubles in volume.

MY PICK FOR FRENCH PRESS:

Frothing Milk in an Automatic Milk Frother

FROTH QUALITY: ★★★★★

• A game-changer! This automatic milk frother creates THE BEST froth at home without having an espresso machine.
• Makes hot- and cold-frothed milk.
• Detachable milk jugs are super easy to clean.
• No need to heat milk separately. This frother heats and froths in one machine.

Tea Sommelier’s Tip: Make quick matcha lattes by frothing a cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of matcha into an automatic milk frother.

HOW TO FROTH MILK IN AN AUTOMATIC FROTHER

1. Pour cold milk into frother jug.
2. Set the temperature.
   Most automatic milk frothers create hot and cold froth using an adjustable temperature setting.
3. Froths milk to perfection.

MY PICK FOR BEST MILK FROTHER:

Frothing Milk with a Handheld Milk Frother

FROTH QUALITY: ★★★☆☆

• A handheld milk frother just does an OK job at frothing milk.
• Quick and easy to use and clean but the froth is not ideal.
• The handheld milk frother will increase the volume of the milk but the froth isn’t as smooth and it creates bigger bubbles.

HOW TO FROTH MILK USING A HANDHELD FROTHER

1. Heat milk.
   STOVETOP: Bring milk to simmer in a saucepan on the stovetop. Stir it occasionally to prevent a thin layer from appearing on top. Turn the heat off once you see steam coming from the milk.
   MICROWAVE: Start with 30 seconds, stir, then heat for another 15 seconds until the milk starts to steam.
2. Put handheld frother into the milk and turn on, moving it around.
3. The milk frother will whisk to aerate and increase the volume of the milk.

MY PICK FOR HANDHELD MILK FROTHER:

Frothing Milk with an Immersion Blender

FROTH QUALITY: ★★☆☆☆

• I wouldn’t recommend the immersion blender since it creates a ton of big bubbles.
• It can make a mess, so be sure to use a tall container.
• It created almost double the volume of milk but no microfoam in sight.

HOW TO FROTH MILK USING AN IMMERSION BLENDER

1. Heat milk.
   STOVETOP: Bring milk to simmer in a saucepan on the stovetop. Stir it occasionally to prevent a thin layer from appearing on top. Turn the heat off once you see steam coming from the milk.
   MICROWAVE: Start with 30 seconds, stir, then heat for another 15 seconds until the milk starts to steam.
2. Pour milk into a tall container.
3. Put immersion blender into the milk and turn on, moving it around.
4. The blender will aerate and increase the volume of the milk.

MY PICK FOR IMMERSION BLENDER:

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