Best Coffee Machines With Milk Frothers
Overview
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It’s a bloody great feeling the first time you manage to texture the milk just right.
Having worked in the coffee industry for over 10 years I’ve had time to perfect texturing milk.
It isn’t easy but after a bit of practice you’ll be giving you’re barista a run for their money
The first time you nail that micro foam texture and that latte hits your lips is like
How to choose good coffee machine with a milk frother?
So firstly you need to figure out the coffee machine part of this question.
Coffee machines with milk frothers fall into a few categories:
Espresso Machines with milk frothers.
Bean to cup machines with milk frothers
Coffee pod machines with milk frothers.
Should you buy an espresso machines with a milk frother?
Espresso machines with a milk frothers are essentially a domestic version of what you see in a coffee shop.
They may occasionally have a few elements missing or some added on, but the principles are the same.
You are pulling an espresso shot with ground coffee in one part of the machine and to the side steaming the milk ready to pour over said espresso.
What makes a good espresso machine with a milk frother?
You firstly need to evaluate how far you want to take this coffee journey.
You can pick up domestic espresso machines for pretty cheap today but you get what you pay for and you’ll hit the ceiling of consistency and quality pretty quickly.
So make sure the espresso part of the machine is good enough to pull a decent espresso coffee.
Checkout our guide on home espresso machines to learn more.
The second part is to look at how good the milk steamer is.
Most espresso machines with milk steamers operate from one boiler, this means that you can either pull an espresso or steam milk but not at the same time.
This is fine for most people, but if you are looking to pump out lots of milky coffees in one sitting maybe look into a dual boiler like the Sage Dual Boiler.
You should also check whether the machine is able to produce enough pressure and steam to froth the milk properly.
Each machine is different and has a lot to do with the boiler size and quality.
Should you buy a Bean to cup machines with milk frothers?
This sort of machine can range in functionality but as you guessed by the name is the hands-off approach to making your morning latte.
Essentially a hopper full of coffee beans produces a delicious milky coffee after a push of a button.
What makes a good bean to cup machine with a milk frother?
First take a look at how automatic you want to take this.
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They do range in functionality from you pulling a shot of espresso and steaming your own milk to literally a push of a button.
It completely depends on whether you want convenience or control or somewhere in the middle.
When purchasing a bean to cup machine with a milk steamer have a think about whether you want to steam the milk yourself or have it prepared automatically.
Personally I would opt for a bean to cup coffee machine that has the capacity to steam the milk automatically but also gives you the option to froth the milk yourself, although it will require skill to achieve a textured jug of milk you will quickly surpass the quality of an automatically steamed jug of milk.
Should you buy a coffee pod machines with a milk frother?
Essentially these guys are your standard coffee pod machines with a milk steamer added extra.
Pod machines in fairness reign for convenience, there isn’t anything quite close to the speed and ease at which they can produce a coffee.
But obviously, quality is always a touch point with pod machines as well as the environmental aspect.
When looking into coffee pod machines with milk frothers, have a look at the boiler size and the amount of steam and pressure the machine can produce.
Many cheap versions can only steam a small jug of milk and then take 10 minutes to build up the pressure again.
Why Trust Me?
7 Best Coffee Machine With Milk Frother
View our list of recommendations below for the best coffee machine with milk frother on the market. Plus, one to avoid.
1. Sage Barista Pro
Dimensions: H40.6 x W35.4 x D40.6cm
Features: Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine. Built in grinder and milk frother.
Pros: ✅ Easy to use ✅ Great quality
Cons: ❌ Fairly large
Control ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
Ease Of Use ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
Value For Money ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
The Sage Barista Pro has it all.
For us at Batch it ticks all the boxes when it comes to coffee machines with milk frothers.
It is essentially an all in one domestic espresso machine that has been engineered to leave as much control with the home barista as possible while creating a user friendly system that makes extracting espresso and steaming milk as easy as possible.
The built in grinder is your first port of call when making a milk based espresso like a latte.
Simply grind the coffee into the portafilter and tamp before locking into the group head and extracting your espresso.
It’s only a single boiler so you will have to wait until the shot has finished before you can steam the milk.
The frother has a great level of pressure for a domestic machine and usually only takes 10 seconds or so to texture the milk for a latte.
The high pressure and high-temperature brewing mechanisms make this one of the best coffee capsule machines on the market.
The lightweight 5kg Opal One machine allows you to experience speciality coffee pods in all their glory.
The sleek and stylish machine is a great addition and easy to fit to any kitchen space.
So, if you want to experience the full potential of speciality coffee pods, this is a great recommendation.
It's a high-quality machine that delivers exceptional taste and is a joy to use.
2. Rancillio - Silvia
Dimensions: H23.5 x W29 x D34cm
Features: Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine with milk frother.
Pros: ✅ Large Boiler (great for frothing milk)
Cons: ❌ No grinder.
Control ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
Ease Of Use ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Value For Money ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
The Rancilio Silvia began its days in the 90s as a sort of novelty espresso machine the commercial coffee machine manufacturers, Rancillio designed to gift to their clients as a domestic espresso machine.
Now, the Silvia is somewhat of a cult classic amongst seasoned home baristas as it is as close to the real thing you can get at home without spending a fortune or rerouting your plumbing system (there are some 1 group espresso machines that require a source of water rather than a build in the refillable tank).
The Rancilio Silvia has many of the attributes of an espresso machine you see in coffee shops but like its commercial cousin doesn’t have a built in grinder so you’ll need a burr grinder to sit alongside it.
The Boiler is one of the stand out features of this coffee machine and milk frother, weighing in at 3 litres it has the capacity to pump out top draw espresso coffee and steam milk as if you were a pro.
3. Sage - Bambino
Dimensions: H31 x W20 x D32cm
Tank Capacity: 1.2 litres
Features: Adjustable drip tray, programmable dosing, removable water tank.
Pros: ✅ 3 Second Heating System
Cons: ❌ No grinder
Control ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
Ease Of Use ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Value For Money ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
The Sage Bambino is great value for those that dream of homemade lattes.
The design is very typical of Sage coffee machines which is user friendly and unintimidating to use which is backed up by high quality engineering that you can trust will deliver great coffee every time.
The Sage Bambino is a great way to get into making espresso based coffee at home, it is small and compact and doesn’t break the bank but does extract delicious espresso while having the power to also steam you milk so you can practise latte art and becoming one step closer to instagram fame.
Be aware that this is only a coffee machine with a milk frother and there is no grinder built-in, so you will either need to grind your own or purchase pre-ground coffee.
4. Melitta - Barista
Dimensions: H37 x W26 x D47cm
Features: Bean to Cup Coffee Machine with milk frother.
Pros: ✅ App control
Cons: ❌ Rather large..
Control ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Ease Of Use ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Value For Money ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
The Melitta should actually be called and Bean and Milk to cup coffee machine.
Probably one of the smartest coffee machines with milk frothers on the market today.
The Melitta Barista has been designed to automate the process of making a latte as much as possible.
The detachable milk frother is a great attribute because you can store the tank in the fridge and then simply clip it in when you’re ready for a coffee.
That’s about all that is required from you in the brewing process.
You can then magically control the coffee machine from the downloadable app so you can lay in bed and wait until the coffee has been made.
Keep in mind that you may need a bit of space to house this bad boy, especially with the milk tank clipped on.
5. Delonghi - Elita
Dimensions: H23.8 x W35.1 x D43cm
Tank Capacity: 1 Litres
Features: Bean to Cup Coffee Machine with milk frother.
Pros: ✅ Controlled Milk Frothing
Cons: ❌ Espresso can take some tweeking
Control ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
Ease Of Use ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Value For Money ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
The Delonghi Elita is a great choice bean to cup machine with a built in milk frother for those short of time latte lovers.
Similar to many other bean to cup’s, just load the beans into the top hopper and with a push of a button you have a delicious espresso.
Obviously, as always with any machine or product, convenience usually means you’re compromising quality so you won’t be able to reach the level of espresso as some of the espresso machines above.
However what I particularly like about the Delonghi Elita is that you have the option to froth the milk yourself so you have control over the texture and you are then able to make anything from a flat white to a cappuccino.
6. Sage Creatista Uno
Dimensions: H31 x W16.8 x D41.4cm
Features: Coffee Pod machine with milk frother.
Pros: ✅ Automatic Milk Frothing
Cons: ❌ Price Tag higher than many Pod Machines
Control ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Ease Of Use ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Value For Money ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
Another top draw coffee machine from Sage.
This time it comes in the form of a coffee pod machine with a milk frother.
The Sage Creatista Uno has been built with convenience in mind and uses the Sage ‘advanced micro foam technology to froth the milk automatically where you are able to select the level of foam you desire for your coffee.
In terms of size and functionality it ticks many boxes.
The price tag is the lowest of all the Sage nespresso machines but still high in comparison to other pod machines, rest assured that Sage design their products with high quality materials that have been expertly engineers to produce exceptional coffee.
7. Breville - One Touch
Dimensions: 8.7D x 14.6W x 12.8H
Features: Coffee Pod machine with milk frother.
Pros: ✅ Super automatic
Cons: ❌ Milk can sometimes lack texture.
Control ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Ease Of Use ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Value For Money ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
Probably the easiest latte on the market.
The Breville One Touch coffee pod machine with a milk frother is as you would have guessed by the name focussed around ease and convenient coffee brewing.
Simply push a button and you have a coffee pod espresso which then gets topped with textured milk.
This guys is slightly different to other coffee pod machines with milk steamers as you fill a tank with milk that is then detachable and can be kept in the fridge.
You then preselect your micro foam level and the machine does the hard work while you carry on getting ready for work. Bear in mind that the milk may not always be barista standard, but you are saving lots of time steaming the milk yourself.
AVOID - Anything Over 9 Bar Coffee Machines
If a coffee machine is advertising a high pressure tank and pump like 15 or 20 bars, I would stay clear as high pressure does not always result in better coffee.
The perfect pressure to brew espresso coffee in 9 bar, the more expensive espresso machines that go up to 5 figures are able to deliver 9 bars of pressure consistently (Imagine in a busy coffee shop, this is harder than it sounds).
Machines boasting about their pressure output are more than likely using pressurised baskets, which have one hole at the bottom rather than many tiny holes.
This will appear as though it is extracting a espresso with a nice crema but the reality is that the espresso is poorly extracted and will taste bitter or sour.
FAQs
What coffee do you use with a milk frother?
Espresso coffee is typically used with a milk frother.
A milk frother never comes into contact with the coffee however.
The method in which you would make a latte for example is to extract a shot of espresso from an espresso machine and then froth the milk in a jug separately.
The steamed milk is then poured over the espresso coffee to create a delicious latte, cappuccino or flat white.
You can of course use other types of coffee with a milk frother for example many people order Americanos with hot milk.
Otherwise you can essentially add the frothed milk to any black coffee you desire.
Which coffee frother is best?
Does a frother make coffee taste better?
A milk frother will make your coffee taste better as you’ll have more control over the temperature of the milk so you won’t overheat it which can happen when you heat milk in other methods.
The texture of the milk is the most noticeable difference though and is undisputedly better when steamed with a milk frother.
What machine do you need to make latte’s?
An espresso machine.
Essentially you need a milk frother to texture and heat the milk and then a machine to make espresso.
These obviously come as one machine and you are able to make lattes with the majority of domestic espresso machines today.
Are milk frothers worth it?
Yes, if you want to create a milk based espresso drink (such as lattes, cappuccinos, etc) at home.
Without a milk frother it is very hard to create the microfoam milk that gives a latte the head.
They are also great to heat milk up from straight out of the fridge to 64 degrees (perfect temperature for a latte) in a matter of seconds.
What kind of milk froths the best?
Whole milk - As a barista I always much preferred steaming whole (full, bluetop) milk.
This is because the micro foam is much more velvety and consistent which make it much easier to pour latte art.
Skimmed milk or skinny milks are a little more challenging to texture and the milks texture isn’t always as light and fluffy as whole milk.
Alternative milks can also be challenging, here’s what I find in order of ease:
Oat milk - I find oat milk the easiest to steam out of all the alternative milks on offer (that I have tried to steam), especially the barista versions (the team at Oatly are doing a grand job).
Almond Milk - I find that it really does depend on the brand when it comes to almond milk. I remember using a fresh organic almond milk at one coffee shop I used to work in that would not foam. I would recommend using Almond Breeze Barista Blend if you’re serious about the Almonds.
Soy Milk - Soy milk can be a cruel mistress sometimes. Not only can the milk not texture properly but the moment you think you’ve nailed it, you pour it over your espresso and the milk separates from the coffee and congiels into what looks like a shot you once found at Vodka Revs. My advice would be to froth the milk to a slightly lower temperature and use less acidic coffee beans. For me you can’t go wrong with the OG soymilk Bonsoy.
Can you froth cold milk?
It is actually better to froth cold milk than room temperature or warm milk.
This is because there is more time to heat the milk when it starts off cold and you’ll avoid over steaming and the milk tasting burnt.
When we froth milk we place the tip of the steam wand on the top of the milk frothing jug and texture the milk by adding air into the top of the jug.
Cold milk produces smaller bubbles than warm milk which is the foamy, textured layer at the top of the steamed milk that we refer to as micro foam.
