Coffee enthusiasts around the world don’t just enjoy coffee at cafes and restaurants. While they may have their favourite spots to drink, most coffee connoisseurs love to bring the coffee experience home. Whether it’s a classic hot American black or a refreshing iced coffee at home – technology has advanced to allow everyone to become a barista on their own.

Making good coffee today has never been easier. Nowadays, you can purchase a good coffee machine that does the job for you. However, coffee lovers know that there are other ways to increase the enjoyment you get out of your favourite caffeinated drink.

Milk has been a coffee staple for coffee enjoys. Whether it’s a latte or a cappuccino, people like milk in their coffee. Because of this, two tools were created to better increase the experience: the milk steamer and the milk frother. These devices may seem like the same thing, but they serve two different purposes and produce two different results. If you are confused about which one to get, I suggest that you continue reading.

Milk Steamer

A good latte is beloved by most coffee drinkers. Ask any of them and they will tell you that the best part is the creamy layer on top. This part of lattes is so beloved that latte art has become a new trend to express even more creativity with their drinks. This creamy layer on top is actually milk produced from a milk steamer.

A milk steamer is what makes the milk at the top of the latte creamy, fluffy, and delicious. Steamed milk is created using a steam wand or an espresso machine with one attached to it already. These are also called milk steamers and they can change your entire coffee drinking experience.

Using a milk steamer is easy but the difference it makes is significant. You just simply lower your steam wand into your milk and let it work its magic. After steaming your milk for a while, you should allow it to aerate before going at it again. This will allow tiny bubbles to form what is called microfoam’. This is the delicious creamy layer you place on top of your latte to make it that much more amazing. Even if you are just drinking from a Keurig coffee maker, a milk steamer can elevate that into a cafe-quality beverage.

Milk Frother

A milk frother, on the other hand, is for those cappuccino lovers in the world. The thick foamy milk on top of the cappuccino is what makes the beverage what it is. People love taking that first sip of a cappuccino and tasting that delicious coffee mixed with the light and fluffy milk. This experience is all created by the milk frother.

The milk frother does exactly what you would suspect it does base on its name. It is a device that froths milk and makes it cappuccino-ready. It spins within the milk to froth it and introduce air into it. The air introduced in the milk makes it foamy, light, and airy which can cause it to expand greatly. A good frothing can make milk expand 2 to 3 times its initial size.

There are handheld frothers as well as automatic frothing machines. The handheld frothers can be operated by hand with the use of a battery. They are cheaper and allow you to take your milk frothing wherever you may want it, but you can expect to be frothing for a while.

The automatic milk frother is more expensive, larger, and professional. It does the work for you so that you can be assured of the consistency, quality, and taste of your cappuccinos. Good cafes and home baristas invest in automatic frothers because of the ease and quality it provides.

Regardless, the best milk frothers improve your coffee drinking experience by a great amount.

Key Differences

Milk steamers and frothers are similar in many ways. First of all, they both alter the milk you place in your coffee. Their products are similar as well as both create a creamy surface of the milk to place on top. So the question is: can these two be interchanged? The answer to that is absolutely not.

While similar, the two devices produce entirely different results. While there is nobody who is gonna stop you from putting frothed milk on your latte, this does not mean that they serve the same purpose.

The main difference in these devices is primarily in what they do. The milk frother makes foamy milk by introducing air into it. The steamer heats the milk to provide it with texture and small air bubbles. The steaming process heats the milk and breaks down the fats as well which makes it an entirely different taste from the frothed milk.

The other difference is the consistency of the milk. Steamed milk is smooth, creamy, and easy to flow down your throat. The microfoam consists of tiny bubbles that make it feel soft in your mouth. It almost has a glossy finish when steamed properly.

Frothed milk, however, is much more light and airy. You do not need as much milk in frothing as you do in steaming as frothed milk expands a great deal. Its consistency is almost like a small cloud is placed on top of your cappuccino.

Which One?

If you enjoy milk-based coffee, then a milk steamer or frother is certainly a worthy investment. A milk steamer or frother is the best gift a coffee lover could ask for. It would help coffee lovers save money and take the cafe experience right to their homes. It will also let them spice up their drinks so that they never get bored of them.

The choice of which one you should buy is entirely on you. If you enjoy cappuccinos the most, then a milk frother is certainly the right choice for you. If lattes are your favourite beverage, then a milk steamer will let you enjoy that whenever you want.

Alternatively, you can base it on the consistency of the milk. Get a milk frother if you prefer light and airy milk on your coffee, or get a milk steamer if you prefer a smoother drink. Either way, if you enjoy milk-based coffee, then either one of these devices will be good for you.