Best milk frother 2024: Nespresso, Lavazza and more

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Coffee bought in a café has one of the biggest markups in hospitality – estimated, on average, at around 80 per cent. If you want to save some money but worry that coffee made at home won’t be the same, fear not, as we’ve rounded up the best milk frothers on the market.

While we’ve been hard at work testing coffee machines – including bean-to-cup and espresso machines – if you’re looking for a budget-friendly way to make barista(ish) quality hot drinks at home, a milk frother is a good start.

Frothed milk is perhaps one of the best parts of a coffee-shop coffee or hot chocolate. The micro foam we love on these hot drinks is usually made with a steam wand on professional machines – steam is blasted through the milk, causing the fat in milk to break down, creating super tiny bubbles and a silky texture. Milk frother machines tend to whisk the milk instead, heating it at the same time. It’s a slightly different approach but many of these gadgets are still achieving that smooth texture we’re looking for.

Recently, the milk frother market has expanded significantly, showing this is a trend that’s here to stay. Some are marketed as hot chocolate machines, others milk frothers. The functionality is fairly identical, though, whether you’re adding chocolate to it or just warming milk.

Here, we dive into the best milk frothers that won’t burst your bubble.

How we tested the best milk frothers

During testing, we made hot drinks for coffee-lovers and discerning fans of hot chocolate. While we mostly used whole/full fat milk, we also gave semi skimmed a whirl and some barista-grade oat milk for our vegan brothers and sisters out there. We looked at ease of use and amount of functions versus the price tag of each milk frother. We also wanted to leave our milk frother on display in the kitchen, so aesthetics were factored into our decision.

The best milk frothers for 2024 are: