Creamy milk and hot chocolate maker. Hot milk drinks are best when made with the smallest bubbles. Rather than a bubble bath, it's that creamy consistency that creates a rich hot chocolate or a smooth latte or cappuccino. The Milk Café uses induction heating and spinning to make those small bubbles. Simply choose the appropriate frothing disc -- latte for a creamy result, the cappuccino disc for more froth -- fill with enough milk for one or up to three cups, select your temperature, and start. The Milk Café will froth and turn itself off when the desired temperature is achieved
CUSTOMER REVIEW
Yes, yes, I know you can just heat milk in the microwave or on the stove, but I inevitably either scald the milk, or heat it so slowly for fear of scalding it that it takes 15 minutes. I got a Nespresso CitiZ for Christmas, and wanted something quick that I could set and forget while I was getting the coffee ready.
After much research, I chose this one over the Aerolatte for a few reasons: it has a greater milk capacity; the temperature is adjustable; and the milk container is dishwasher-safe (as opposed to the Aerolatte's, which has electronic parts attached to it and has to be carefully hand-washed). I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the purchase. Some of the other reviews made me nervous about ordering, but the features were important enough to make it worth a try. Trust me, it really is a matter of adjusting to the quirks--although the manual isn't really helpful with those!
For me, it was the cold milk that was usually the problem. I'd pour in the milk, then assemble coffee stuff or mix-ins, and in the meantime it would get condensation on the bottom that would somehow fool the machine into thinking something was wrong. It would start up, then beep three times and shut off--which the manual says means the milk level is too low, although that clearly wasn't the case. But I've found that as long as I start the machine as soon as I pour in the milk, it works fine every time. Basically, any kind of moisture on the outside of the milk container will cause it to shut off.
But once you get going, it takes about three or four minutes for huge, billowy clouds of to foam form on top of the perfect-temperature milk--every time. (I use skim, and unlike other cappuccino makers I've used, the brand doesn't seem to make a difference in the amount of foam.) I've had good success making hot chocolate with cocoa powder and sugar. Although it does foam much less than plain milk, it's creamy and gorgeous, with no graininess or undissolved ingredients (and it's great with Kahlua mixed in!). With the adjustable thermostat, I can make a vanilla steamer for my four-year-old daughter that's the perfect temperature for her. Even at the higher temperatures, I've never had a problem with scalding or burning or sticking.
Cleaning is a breeze--the stainless-steel milk container can go in the dishwasher, but it's so easy to hand wash that I've actually only run it through the DW once. The milk really just rinses right out without scrubbing.
And the cord storage and the storage space for the extra frothing disk work well, unlike some other appliances I own that make it impossible to wind the cord up neatly.
Aside from the diva factor, my only complaint is that the minimum amount of milk required is too much when I just want to make a small, one-shot cappuccino; but I think this is the case for the Aerolatte as well. My daughter doesn't mind, though, because she's the beneficiary of all my extra foam!
UPDATE: I've had this for over two years now, and it's still going strong. After using a wider variety of milk brands, I do find that a few won't froth quite as well as others. Costco skim is probably the worst, but it's still OK for a latte. Oh, and I do find that if you're going to use powdered mix-ins, you have to set the temperature higher than you normally would; the milk seems to stay a bit cooler than the thermostat indicates, and the powder dissolves better at higher temps (especially granulated sugar in homemade cocoa mix).
Very occasionally it will get temperamental on me for some unknown reason, but a jiggle of the frothing disk or a brief cool-down period is usually enough to get it working again. I honestly don't know what I'd do without this thing!
