Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink
  3. Evergreens

How to use a milk frother: Simple tips and tricks to elevate your drinks

Here's how to use a milk frother with ease

By
Cappuccino
Trent Erwin / Unsplash

Once you’ve mastered brewing the perfect coffee at home, the next step in every home Barista’s journey is to learn how to use a milk frother. You’ll need frothed milk to enjoy specialty-type coffees from your kitchen, such as lattes and cappuccinos. At one point, I was intimated by the concept of frothing my milk, as it can sound more complicated than it is. Learning to use a milk frother is easy enough for coffee lovers of any skill level. Here are two of my favorite ways to froth milk for coffee at home, ideal for those who do not have an espresso maker with a steam wand attachment.

How to use a milk frother: Hand frothing

whisk
Castorly Stock / Pexels

Using a handheld wand milk frother is one of the easiest methods for frothing milk at home. A handheld milk frother can be used in your mug and is an excellent option for those who don’t have an espresso maker at home. Before I had an espresso machine with a steam wand at home, I found the handheld milk frother to be my go-to for frothing milk for coffee. I like this method because it requires minimal skill and clean-up (always a motivating factor when making coffee at home instead of ordering it out at a cafe).

Recommended Videos

Using an electric handheld wand milk frother is pretty straightforward, requiring only a few basic steps:

  1. Submerge the whisk into milk.
  2. Turn on frother (some have battery-powered options while others are rechargeable)
  3. Move the frother up and down in the milk until the froth begins to form.
  4. Continue until volume increases or doubles.
  5. Rinse/wash frother tip, add frothed milk to coffee, and enjoy!

How to use an electric milk frother

Nespresso Aeroccino3 Milk Frother
Emily Caldwell / The Manual

Once you’ve mastered using a milk frother, you might want to expand your horizons by purchasing an electric one. While a handheld milk frother offers more control over your froth, an electric countertop frother provides more features and versatility to make frothed and warmed milk.

A handheld frother works well, but you must heat the milk first or have cold foam. On the other hand, using an electric countertop frother can warm and froth milk simultaneously, allowing you to make cold or hot milk. Here’s how to use this type of milk frother:

  1. Add milk to frother.
  2. Add any desired flavored syrups or sweeteners to the milk. (a dash of vanilla or cinnamon in milk is also a great option)
  3. Turn on the frother. Select the best setting for you (models will vary; some may have light or heavy frothing options).
  4. Sit back, relax, and allow the electric countertop frother to work for you.
  5. Pour frothed milk into the coffee and enjoy!

The one downside of using an electric milk frother is that it requires some cleanup. If you’re looking to streamline the process, I recommend looking for one with a removable top portion that is dishwasher top-rack friendly. Many electric milk frothers are handwash only, however, so this is something to consider if you hate doing extra dishes.

Tips for milk frothing

Coffee with milk froth
Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels

Learning how to use a milk frother for your coffee is pretty straightforward, but getting guidance from an expert is always helpful. I asked Andrew Robertson, Director of Retail at PRESS Coffee, to share his best tips on mastering milk frothing. First and foremost, he shared the importance of using fresh, cold milk to create a thick, velvety froth for your coffee.

Per Robertson, “Whole milk works best for a rich froth, but alternative milk or creamer options like almond and oat milk can also be used. For a thicker froth, such as for use in cappuccinos, froth until you get dense, airy foam. For a lighter froth, such as for lattes or macchiatos, stop earlier when the milk is smooth and airy but not too thick,” says Robertson,

“Some people like to heat the milk separately, but this is optional. To do so, warm the milk on the stovetop or microwave before or after frothing to create a creamier, more enjoyable texture.”

Improving your Barista skills

Robertson also shared the importance of learning to froth milk when making coffee drinks at home. As a coffee enthusiast, I agree that knowing how to froth milk is essential to elevate your home Barista skills. Robertson shares, “Frothing milk is a simple way to add texture and foam to your coffee (or other hot beverages) drinks at home.

A milk frother works by rapidly whisking or aerating the milk, creating a light and airy foam. This can be done with a handheld frother, an automatic frothing device, or shaking milk vigorously in a jar. The result is a bubbly, foamy texture on top of your drink, which is excellent for cappuccinos, macchiatos, or even hot chocolate.

Emily Caldwell
Emily Caldwell
Contributor
Emily is a Features Writer at The Manual, where she specializes in food, beverage, and travel content. She focuses on weaving… Read Full Bio
Topics
Food & Drink
Four Roses’ 2026 Limited Edition Small Batch is its oldest blend yet
Bottle, Whiskey, Glass

Four Roses has announced the release of its 2026 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon next month — and this year’s batch reaches back further than any prior release, blending bourbons aged 14 to 23 years.

The new blend from the Lawrenceburg-based distillery combines four hand-selected batches across three of the distillery’s ten recipes: 14-year-old OBSK, 14-year-old OESK, 15-year-old OESV, and a 23-year-old OESK. It’s non-chill filtered and bottled at barrel strength, 109.2 proof.

Read more
Food & Drink
The Gold Room Is Peak Gilded Age New York Glamour
Altar, Architecture, Building

As a New England WASP, I probably have a hereditary fondness for grand old rooms. My Boston Brahmin forebears, after trading religious zeal for mercantile ambition, liked nothing better than sipping claret, playing whist, and smoking cigars in their clubhouses on Beacon Hill. In private quarters adorned with mahogany paneling, maritime paintings, and marble fireplaces, my flinty ancestors chortled deep into the night—safely removed from wives, papists, and, God forbid, Yale men.

Since moving to New York City, I’ve delighted in finding bars that feel like clubhouses frozen in the Gilded Age. The Campbell in Grand Central comes to mind. The Rose Club at the Plaza. Although much newer, the Polo Bar gussies up the blue-blood clubhouse aesthetic with fabulous fare, a trophy-laden wine cellar, and an ultra-exclusive mystique. But the apotheosis of robber-baron extravagance is The Gold Room at Lotte New York Palace.

Read more
Food & Drink
Classic lagers to drink if you want your beer to “taste like beer”
Pilsner Urquell

When you think about the flavor of beer, what do you imagine? To me, it’s a crisp, refreshing, no-frills lager. The type of beer you’d just as likely crack open on an unseasonably warm spring day while grilling as you would after an afternoon of mowing the lawn on a hot, hazy, humid summer day. It’s light, refreshing, and tastes like beer.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for chocolate- and coffee-centric porters or boozy, barrel-aged stouts, or even tart, lip-smacking sour beers. There is a time and place for those and many other styles. It’s just that sometimes I want to crack open a beer and not taste an explosion of tropical fruit juices or get bashed in the head with malts or oaky wood. I want a beer that tastes the way I imagine it should. Specifically, I’m thinking about a balanced, thirst-quenching lager.

Read more