How to Use a Milk Frother | Step by Step Instructions

If you’ve been to a coffee shop before, you’ve probably noticed the barista pouring foam on top of certain espresso beverages.

This addition of a rich, creamy foam creates an exquisite taste and completes your beverage. To achieve this type of foam, you need to froth your milk with a milk frother!

A milk frother is a tool used to create that perfect foam that sits on top of your espresso. A milk frother works by adding air into the milk by spinning or stirring it rapidly.

This process will turn the milk from a liquid to foam. This foam can become light or dense, depending on the tool you use to foam your milk.

How to Use a Milk Frother | Step by Step Instructions

Adding frothed milk to your beverage can intensify the drink it is poured into. It can change the coffee’s entire taste, either making it creamier or balancing the flavor profiles of lattes and cappuccinos.

You can even use frothed milk to make latte art on your cup of coffee, as you might have observed baristas doing at your local coffee shop.

Essentially, any drink with milk as an ingredient can be frothed, including various alternatives to milk, including almond, soy, and oat milk.

Different Types and How to Use a Milk Frother

How to Use a Milk Frother | Step by Step Instructions

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You have a few options when it relates to frothing your milk. You can choose an electric milk frother, hand wand, hand pump, or you can use your own at home tools to froth your milk.

It’s essential to understand each option so that you can choose the best milk frothing tool for you.

Electronic Milk Frother

The Electric Milk Frother looks like a small food processor. The advantage of using an electric milk frother is that you can just set it in the frother and let it do its magic.

How to Use a Milk Frother | Step by Step Instructions

It requires very little work that must be done manually, besides adding the milk. An electric milk frother is also a great choice if you want to make a big batch of frothed milk at one time to create multiple beverages.

While it’s pricier than other methods, it’s fast, consistent, and can even heat milk up during the process. You can increase your at-home coffee quality by using this frother with regular milk or your milk variety of choice, like oat, almond, or soy.

How to Use an Electric Milk Frother

Most electronic milk frothers work the same way. However, it’s always recommended that you look at the specific instructions that came with your electronic milk frother to be safe. Here are the general steps you must use to work your electronic milk frother.

  1. Put your Electric Milk Frother on a flat level and plug it in. It’s important to make sure you have plenty of room. An open kitchen counter would be ideal.
  2. Next, choose your setting for what type of foam you’re looking to create. There should be options for cappuccino and latte foam. Cappuccino foam will be thick and creamy, while Latte foam will be more smooth and silky.
  3. It’s time to add your milk of choice. It’s always better to use cold, fresh milk. Fill to the appropriate line in your jug. Ensure you do not overfill past the top line, or else your milk won’t froth correctly.
  4. Close the jug lid and make sure it’s correctly placed into the jug base.
  5. Click Start and wait for your milk to froth. Your Electronic Milk Frother will automatically turn off once your milk has reached your desired consistency. Enjoy!

Electric Milk Frother Recommendation

electric milk frother

We own and love the Miroco Milk Frother! It’s incredibly easy to use with 3 different textures of milk foam, the option to just heat the milk (perfect for hot chocolate for our kids) and it cleans easy.

Hand Wand

The hand wand is operated manually. This electric tool features a propeller at the end to froth your milk. The hand wand will require you to hold on to the wand to create your frothed milk.

This device is simple, inexpensive, and easy to clean. Because of its small size, you can bring it with you while you’re traveling or on the go.

using a hand want milk frother

The benefit of using a hand wand is that you ultimately get to control what your foam will look like without having to work hard.

The negative is that if you’re inexperienced with using a hand wand, you could do too much or too little work and not create the consistency you wanted. With practice, you can quickly become a pro with a hand wand.

How to Use A Hand Wand

using a hand want milk frother

Hand wands are easy to use. Here are step by step instructions to ensure you’re making the most out of your hand wand.

  1. Before you start to froth your milk, make sure you purge your tool. Purging your tool includes turning the hand wand on and letting any water release out so you don’t end up with watery milk.
  2. Next, you’ll need to turn on your device and slowly insert it into your milk container. You don’t want to go too deep, or you could chip the container. Going too high will cause a milky mess. The easiest way is to put your hand wand into the milk at an angle about two centimeters into your milk.
  3. You’ll know it’s starting to work if your milk is circling in the container. You’ll soon begin to see white foam beginning to appear.
  4. Keep going until you see that the consistency meets your standards. Remove the wand from your milk.
  5. Swirl the container and give it a tap to release any bubbles. It’s now ready to pour on your beverage of choice. Enjoy!

Hand Wand Frother Recommendation

A great option for a hand wand frother is the BosenKitchen one. It’s Incredibly inexpensive and get’s almost 20,000 great reviews!

Hand Pump

The hand pump is an inexpensive way to create beautifully frothed milk. The hand pump container looks similar to a French press and features a plunger with a mesh screen.

hand pump milk frother

The idea is to froth the milk by using your own energy. It’s durable, made of stainless steel, and simple to use.

This is going to be one of the most inexpensive options to froth your milk, besides using your whisk. Depending on how you want your foam to look, the entire procedure may take between three to ten minutes.

How to Use a Hand Pump

using a hand pump milk frother

This process is so easy, it’s impossible to mess up. However, it’s important to note that this process will take time to create the foam you want. Here are the proper steps to use a hand pump.

  1. Place your pitcher on a flat surface and add the amount of milk you want to froth. Pay attention to the max fill line, so you don’t create a mess.
  2. Once that’s done, you can insert your plunger inside the glass. You’re going to pump it up and down at least 30 times.
  3. Lift out the plunger to check if your milk is at the consistency you were looking to achieve. If it is not at your desired consistency, go ahead and repeat step 2.
  4. Once it is ready, take out the plunger and pour the foam into your coffee. Enjoy!

Hand Pump Frother Recommendation

The Ninja Coffee Bar hand pump frother is a great option for a hand pump frother. It’s dishwasher safe, has a sleek design and get’s over 1,000 positive reviews on Amazon!

By Hand Home Method

If you don’t have any of those tools available or they are out of budget, there is still a way you can froth your milk. If you have a whisk at home, you can create frothed milk.

It’s important to note that this process will take longer than any other methods we’ve described, will require more work, and perfect results are not always guaranteed. It will also not look as bubbly as other methods. If you’re in a bind and want to froth milk, this is the option for you.

How to Use It

The process is straightforward. All you need is a whisk, a bowl, and some energy.

  1. Place the amount of desired milk into a bowl or solid container.
  2. Take your whisk and start whisking vigorously until you start to see bubbles. If it isn’t working, try to approach the milk by angling your whisk.
  3. Keep whisking anywhere between four to ten minutes to reach your desired foam.
  4. Tap the foam to help settle any giant bubbles that appeared
  5. Add to your beverage of choice. Enjoy!

Should I Froth Milk Hot or Cold?

It’s always better to froth fresh, cold milk. The newer, the better it’s going to taste in your beverage.

However, if your preference is to have hot foam in your drink and your device does not warm up your milk, go ahead and heat your milk beforehand. It’s essential to heat your milk between 140 to 155 degrees for the best results. Anything under or over could ruin the taste of your coffee.

Will My Milk Frother Heat the Milk?

A milk frother does not necessarily heat up your milk. Most of the electronic milk frothers and any frothers attached to an espresso machine will heat up your milk while it’s being frothed.

It’s crucial that you look at your frother to see if it will heat your milk. Hand Wands, Hand Pumps, and using a whisk will not heat your milk. If you prefer heated milk, you want to heat it before frothing your milk.

Milk Frother Conclusion

Choosing a milk frother and knowing how to use a milk frother can seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be! By taking time to understand each method, you can select the type of frother you want to invest in based on time, budget, and your ultimate frothing goals.

We hope this helps take away any confusion on how to use a milk frother! Now head on over to see some of our favorite espresso cups to sip your freshly frothed milk coffee drink in style!

Head to this post to learn about cold foam!

About bit of cream

Rishi and Jen are the creators behind Bit of Cream. They start each morning with a cup of coffee and are on the hunt to make that simple cup of caffeine better and brighter. Feel free to send them a message or follow along on Instagram!

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