When I was 5 or 6 years old, my dad got his first espresso machine. It was a hand-me-down from my uncle, a fellow coffee enthusiast. I didn’t start drinking lattes until I was a teen, but my dad would sometimes have extra steamed milk that he would give to us girls. He sweetened it with a bit of vanilla syrup. It didn’t happen too often, so we savored our frothy milk when we got it.
After I got married, I couldn’t justify buying a big espresso machine: my husband rarely drinks coffee, and I only drink it about once a week. But when I do enjoy a cup, I like my milk to be frothed—it feels thicker and creamier in my mouth. So I figured out some methods to froth my milk without owning a bulky espresso machine, which I’m going to share with you today!
For all of the following methods, heat your milk between 140 and 155 degrees Fahrenheit (60-68 Celsius) before frothing. If you don’t heat your milk enough, it won’t be as sweet. If you scorch your milk, it won’t taste as good or froth as well.
Also, the froth can benefit from being groomed: tap your frothing container on the counter to pop large air bubbles, then swirl the milk to make it more uniform.
Shaking in a jar
The first method is super simple. Place your warmed milk in a jar, screw the lid on very tightly, and shake away! Note: if your milk is quite warm, you may want to hold the jar with a dish towel so you don’t burn your fingers.
This method creates froth with large bubbles. It’s not the best if you plan to try pouring latte art, but it works in a pinch.
Whisking by hand
Warm your milk and whisk it vigorously by hand. I find that a back-and-forth motion is easier than a circular one.The foam created using this method is slightly better quality than the jar method.
Electric mixer
Heat milk. Using a hand mixer, whisk the milk until it reaches the desired frothiness.
This method creates slightly better foam than just whisking by hand.
Frothing wand
Warm your milk. Immerse your frothing wand in the milk and turn on. Whisk, creating a nice swirl of milk, until frothed to your liking.
This makes very nice foam, and you can use your wand for other purposes as well: whipping small amounts of cream for cocoa, whisking small amounts of liquid ingredients, etc. It’s also very compact, so it won’t take up a lot of space in your cupboards.
You can purchase these battery operated frothing wands online, at supermarkets, IKEA, etc.
Blender
Pour your warm milk into a blender and blend on medium speed until frothy. Make sure to cover the lid of your blender with a dish towel—you don’t want hot milk flying all over your kitchen!
The froth is quite good using this method: the bubbles are fairly small and uniform.
Immersion blender
Warm your milk in a large, deep pot. Place your hand blender in the milk, making sure the blades are immersed. Turn the blender on low, and blend until frothy.
This method creates nice foam, but I can’t really recommend it because it is very messy! The blender tends to spit the milk everywhere, and if the container you blend your milk in isn’t deep enough, it will overflow all over the place (I speak from experience). If you do decide to use this method, make sure to use a very deep pot!
Pump frother
You can purchase a special pump-style frother. It makes lovely, creamy foam.
Heat milk and pour into the pump frother. Make sure to not fill it too full since the milk expands when you froth it. Pump the handle up and down vigorously for about 10–15 seconds. You may want to use a hot pad since you need to hold the lid of the frother down, and the milk makes it quite hot.
Let the milk rest for 1 minute before pouring.
French press
You can actually use a French press just like you would the special pump frother. This was a method that my brother-in-law told me about.Warm your milk over the stove. Pour into your French press, and pump up and down vigorously, holding the lid down with your other hand, for 10 seconds. Again, don’t over-fill the press since the milk will expand when frothed. And be careful about spills!
Let the milk rest for 1 minute before pouring.
To be honest, I slightly prefer the French press to my dedicated milk frother. It serves multiple purposes (coffee/tea maker, milk frother, etc.), and the foam it creates is a bit better for latte art. The spout is also narrower, which makes pouring art easier.
So there you have it: 8 ways to froth milk without having to buy an espresso machine!
If I were to recommend one method, it would be the French press method. It creates beautiful foam (I’ve come closest to pouring good latte art using the French press), and it isn’t a single-purpose tool.
The runner-up would be the frothing wand: it’s very compact and you can use it for whisking other ingredients as well.
I like to froth my milk for coffee, tea, cocoa, matcha lattes … basically any time I consume warmed milk!
How about you? What’s your favorite frothed drink?
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