Electric milk frothers

Electric milk frothers are the fastest and most efficient way to emulsify milk at home. They are the perfect substitute for the steamer or steam lance of espresso machines. If you want to make milk froth for your preparations, you will have no choice but to look for a coffee machine with a steamer or buy an electric milk frother like any of the ones shown in this article.

These appliances are also called milk heaters, electric milk frothers, or electric milk vaporizers, but don’t be confused by so many names. In the end, we are always talking about the same element.

Comparison of electric milk frothers 2023

We always like to start our articles with a brief overview of the current market situation. These are the best-selling and most popular electric milk frothers today, along with their updated price.

Characteristics of an electric milk frother

An electric milk emulsifier does the same job as a manual one. To learn more about the latter, we recommend that you read our guide to manual milk frothers. There are also battery-powered frothers, which, although they work with a small motor, are still manual instruments. None of them is the subject of this guide.

We are simply going to tell you the essential advantages or differences we find when using an electric milk frother versus a manual or battery-powered one. In this way, you will be able to assess whether or not the difference in price between the three basic types of skimmers is worth it. Take note:

  • With an electric milk frother, you can make milk froth faster and with less effort.
  • They consist of two distinct parts: the stainless steel cup, usually with a non-stick coating, and the electric bass, which is the one that plugs into the power supply and incorporates the rotor.
  • The steel cup or container usually has carved marks inside, which indicate the maximum level at which we can serve the milk for frothing or heating. For example, in a 400 ml electric skimmer, we can only skim a maximum of 200 ml. It means that when milk is emulsified (which is nothing more than injecting it with air), its volume increases considerably compared to the liquid state.
  • The rotor can be used with two heads. In general, one is used to spin the milk (without injecting air, i.e. without emulsifying) and the other to beat the milk into a milk froth.
  • In this way, an electric milk whisk usually has three functions: on the one hand, you can froth milk when it is hot, on the other hand, you can froth it when it is cold (without heating it), and finally you can heat it without frothing it. It is why they are often called 3-in-1 milk frothers.
  • Some models additionally include a fourth function: heating chocolate (to make melted chocolate). For this reason, they are called electric milk heaters. Neither manual nor battery-powered milk heaters allow you to heat milk.
  • They are more expensive than manual milk frothers.
  • The electric base must be plugged into the power supply to charge it, but once charged, you can use it freely, without having a socket nearby, until it is discharged.

What should I consider when buying my electric frother at Amazon?

When you buy your electric milk frother online, you will find a wide range of prices. If you don’t know the industry well, you might wonder why there is so much difference and what influences the cost.

Well, in this section, we will explain them to you. The first of them, logically, is the brand. It is true of any item in any industry. More prestigious or higher quality manufacturers will always have higher prices than others that are less well known, even if they market milk frothers that are apparently similar.

But then there are two other qualities that do have a decisive influence on the price of an electric frother and its performance:

  • The capacity: Normally, larger electric frothers have a higher price. The normal capacity of the glass of one of these appliances usually ranges from 240 ml to 400 ml (just under half a litre) of fresh milk. And keep in mind that when it comes to emulsifying, you can only use half of this amount. However, there are electric milk emulsifiers with a much larger capacity, up to a maximum of 700 ml of milk in the glass.
  • Temperature control: This is a function only found in high-end electric milk mixers. All-electric milk frothers allow you to heat the milk, but some also allow you to regulate (usually in steps of 5 in 5 degrees centigrade) the temperature of the milk froth output.

The three best electric milk frothers 2023

As the market is very wide and on this page, we have already given an account of almost all the options and types of electric milk frothers available, what we are going to do in this ranking is to highlight three models, very different from each other, that we believe stand out for one reason or another from their competition. If you are looking for the best electric milk frother on the market, it will be a good idea to start here:

Vava Electric Milk Frother EB-008

The 240 ml Vava electric frother is one of the best milk skimmers in terms of quality/price ratio. It has nothing that we can’t find in the rest of the models on the market but faced with this equality in performance, the Vava electric frother has an unbeatable price of just over 30 pounds.

In any case, here is a summary of its main features:

  • Electric skimmer three functions in 1.
  • Non-stick stainless steel cup of 240 ml. It has an ergonomic pouring spout to serve the froth directly on the cups.
  • Maximum capacity for frothing milk: 115 ml.
  • Automatic switch-off.
  • Electric base with 360º connector.
  • Power: 500 watts.
  • Dimensions: 16 x 11 x 18 cms.
  • Light indicators to know at all times the status of the device.
  • Extra beater head for a greater amount of froth.

Milk Frother, VAVA Electric Liquid Heater with Hot or Cold Milk Functionality

In addition to the good reputation that this Vava electric frother has among customers, it is worth mentioning the acceptable technical service that you can get hold of if you have any problems.

At one point, the frother stopped working completely. It was still under warranty (1 year). The distributor and the manufacturer contacted me when I complained and sent me a brand new frother without asking me a single question.

Severin Electric Frother

We have already said before that Severin is the best brand of electric frothers. If we had to choose only one, we would keep the Severin SM-9688.

It is a very large electric emulsifier, with a 700 ml capacity glass (maximum 350 ml. for frothing milk) and with an electric temperature regulator up to a maximum of 65 ºC. It works with an exclusive induction system that prevents the milk from sticking to the inside of the glass when it is heated.

Of course, the Severin SM-9688 frother allows us to perform three functions and has its own compartment to store the heads that we do not use and thus prevent them from getting lost.

Nespresso Aeroccino 4

And of course, we come to Nespresso’s milk frother, the Aeroccino 4, which is now in its 4th generation and remains at the forefront of the industry thanks largely to its excellent quality and compatibility/coupling with all Nespresso coffee machines.

However, its high price makes it a little less attractive compared to other top-of-the-range options in the sector. If you are looking for a good quality/price electric milk frother, this may not be the most economical option. But if we leave aside the monetary aspect, the Nespresso Aeroccino is one of the best electric milk frothers on the market, without a doubt.

The best brands of electric frothers 2023

When we talk about brands of electric milk frothers, we must first point out one thing: most manufacturers in the market have only one model (an electric frother) in their catalogue, so there are not many manufacturers of electric milk frothers that offer us a complete and sufficient variety.

In any case, of those that exist, we want to highlight two of them above all: Severin and Vava.

Severin Electric Frothers

This German firm is the best brand of electric milk frothers in the world, without a doubt. It is the one that offers the complete range, with up to 4-5 models permanently on the market and all of them of great quality. They operate in the medium-high segment of the sector and meet the needs of the most demanding users.

We are not going to expand too much on them because we have even dedicated a page exclusively to them so that you can get to know them all: Severin milk frothers.

Just highlight models as mythical as the Severin SM-9688, the Severin SM-9495, or the SM-9685.

Vava Electric Frothers

There are only two Vava electric milk frothers, but they are among the best-selling and most popular, mainly for one reason: their excellent value for money.

Both models are the Vava EB-008 frother and the Vava EE-013. The first one, with a silver housing, we have talked about more extensively before, and the second one (in black) is a more advanced version that has four functions (instead of the usual 3). This extra function is to be able to define the texture or density of the milk froth.

Leaving aside aesthetic issues and the slight difference in price between the two, this detail is the only one that distinguishes them. Both Vava electric skimmers have the same capacity (240 ml), similar power, and have a practical automatic shut-off system.

How do you use an electric milk frother?

All-electric milk frothers operate in the same way. Here are the basic steps:

  • Make sure the electric base is charged (you must plug it into the mains as if you were charging a mobile phone).
  • Place the glass or container on the base.
  • You can select, usually by exchanging the heads, the function it will perform: heating milk, frothing milk in the cold, or frothing milk in hot.
  • Fill the milk container to the mark on the inside wall. If you use more milk than indicated, when you start the rotary motor, the milk will most likely spill out.
  • Press the corresponding start button and keep it pressed until you want to stop emulsifying. Other skimmers have automatic shut-off and work in a programmed way. You only have to turn them on and wait a few seconds until a light indicates that you can disconnect them.

Cheap electric milk frothers

When buying a second-hand or very cheap electric frother, we can aim for a target of between 30 and 40 pounds. Above that figure, there are many mid/high range models, but below that, we can find a good number of electric milk frothers, which are cheap and give us practically the same performance and capacity as more expensive ones.

Here is a selection of the best cheap electric milk frothers on Amazon. As you can see, there are quite well-known brands in the home and kitchen sector, such as the Chinese Aicok and Aicook.

If none of these convinces you, you can always try to buy a second-hand electric milk frother, but this type of appliance is still not very popular. Therefore the availability of reconditioned electric milk frothers is often very intermittent. But hey, it doesn’t cost anything to try.

Best offers on electric milk frothers

It is not the same to buy a cheap electric frother as a bargain skimmer, but in the end, the concept is the same: to save as much money as possible. That is why we have compiled in this ranking the best offers of electric frothers.

Where to buy an electric milk frother?

Unlike, for example, coffee grinders, the electric milk frother is not so popular that regular department stores and appliance shops have it on their shelves. And in the best of cases, if you find one somewhere, the shop assistant will hardly know how to explain what it is for, how it is used, or what advantages it has over other electric frothers on the market.

It is a typical example of the best option to buy your milk frother at Amazon. All you have to do is get information from specialized websites such as ours, compare models and brands of milk frothers and access the website of the online retail giant to make your purchase. No other shop in the world offers a greater variety of models and prices.

How to clean an electric milk frother

As it has electrical components, the cleaning of a milk frother of these characteristics is somewhat different from what we can do in the manuals, mainly because we cannot put them in the dishwasher.

The most important thing in these cases, especially if we have decided to emulsify the milk in hot (the most common procedure), is to let it cool down well. Then we can rinse the glass inside to remove the most visible traces of milk and then wash it with more dedication.

If you use a dishwashing detergent, always do it by hand, with a very soft cloth (no scourers or anything that can scratch the inside walls of the container) and always be careful not to use the detergent on the body (the outside), so as not to damage it.

Most manufacturers and brands of electric frothers recommend not to use scouring pads because any scratch or scuffing can diminish the effectiveness of the non-stick layer that all containers of these appliances have as standard (essential so that the milk does not stick when heated).

And now that you know how to clean a milk heater, it’s time to make your decision and tell us later how your new electric milk mixer went.