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Froth Au Lait

Customer Rating:
I have owned 2 of these Froth au Lait, I have given as gifts. I love this product, it makes perfect froth for my latte or cappaccino every morning and tastes as good or better than Starbucks!! I am very happy and would recommend this frother to everyone, I am going to move up to the Gourmet with the hot and cold switch. I am excited for the new product. I called the manufacturer once with a question and the owner of the company took the time to talk to me and explain everything I asked, it was excellent customer service!

Absolutely unbeatable Froth

Customer Rating:
The Froth au Lait makes the best possible froth. We have had our machine for nearly a year and it still is working like new. It is easy to clean with just a little dish powder. We have a Nespresso Coffee Machine, so the two greatly compliment each other. The frother is so easy to use. You just push the button and forget it. It stops automatically. I just ordered a newer model "The Gourmet" for my daughter. You will never regret this purchase!

Good froth but inconsistent plus unsanitary

Customer Rating:
Oh how I wish I could write a glowing review for the Froth Au Lait! In some respects, I think it is a fantastic machine that does a great job whipping up beautiful, light and creamy froth to just the right temperature for my morning cappuccino. In other respects, I can't wholeheartedly recommend it because of some significant design flaws.

The good news:
1. The froth au lait is quite easy and quick to use. Pour the milk in up to the desired amount (more on that later) and a few minutes later, beautiful froth emerges. Froth that isn't watered down by the traditional steaming method for whipping milk, froth that doesn't take a signficant amount of manual effort like my beloved bialetti tuttocrema (a stovetop manual frother that is indeed phenomenal, but I just didn't have the time to stand there for 20 minutes each day to make enough milk for two people).

2. The froth au lait provides sufficient foam in one use for two 16 ounce sized lattes.

The bad news:
1. If you are like me and my husband and want oversized lattes (I know, total gluttons), you will need to use the machine twice in a row to do this. This will require cleaning out the pitcher thoroughly and cooling down the plate, or the milk in the second batch will scald, separate, and burn on the bottom of the pitcher. Alternatively, you may want to spring for the larger size unit, which I think we would do if we had to do it again.

2. The froth au lait is completely impossible to keep sanitary. The location of the spout in the center where the whipping mechanism attaches makes it impossible to get your hand with a sponge very far down (unless you have tiny elvish hands), and if there is any scalded milk on the bottom, you can't get enough traction to scrub it off. Further information on the unsanitary nature of the machine below.

3. The machine output varies TREMENDOUSLY depending on what kind of milk you use. I'm not talking skim to whole. I'm not even talking whole regular to whole organic. I'm not even talking organic pasteurized to organic ULTRA pasteurized. I'm talking BRAND TO BRAND. If I use Stonyfield farm and fill it to just under 1 1/2 cups, it overflows every single time. If I use Organic Valley and fill it to 1 1/2 cups, it doesn't come close to making enough milk for the two of us. Very frustrating.

4. Speaking of overflowing, there is no way to turn this machine off mid process, except to unplug it. This, of course, is dangerous and may one day short the machine. Why no on/off switch? Bizarre.

5. And speaking further of overflowing, milk that gets caught anywhere in the machine mechanism (drops and drips are inevitable) is virtually impossible to clean. The machine cannot be immersed in water, and eventually, even if you are cleaning with q-tips, a strong cheese smell will begin to ripen. There are tiny little holes in several places that can be reached with normal cleaning tools, and it is awful to smell this rank, rotting milk smell when pouring the milk into your coffee.

I was in love with the machine at first, but inconsistency of output, the unsanitary nature of the machine, the difficulty in cleaning, the lack of an on/off switch and the horrible cheese smell are enough to dissuade me from recommending to others. Will I continue to use it? Yes, because it works well in general and there isn't a better alternative. Do I wish they would address the issues I report? Absolutely.

Coffee shop quality at home!

Customer Rating:
I purchased my Froth au Lait after a friend of mine made me a frothy latte with her new $500 espresso/capuccino machine. I absolutely loved it and started searching the internet for less expensive alternatives. I came upon the Froth au Lait which was reviewed very well by customers, purchased it from Amazon, and have been using it every day since. I just love it! If you read the manual and follow the directions it will make perfect froth every time. I used to stop at coffee shops occasionally for a specialty coffee drink, but now I'd rather have my latte at home! Well worth the money!

Warm and unbelievably thick froth

Customer Rating:
The Froth Au Lait produces the very best and thickest milk froth I have ever tried hands down - thicker than at most speciality coffee stores. It comes out warm (not hot) and holds its shape for at least 30 minutes no problem. It would be an insult to even begin to compare this froth to that produced by Aerolatte or other hand-held, batter-powered tool. For me it's been about a month and I absolutely love this machine. Admittedly, however, some of the other users' reviews have me a bit worried. Here are the main criticisms I have seen in the reviews:

1. BREAKS DOWN / DOES NOT LAST -- This is a disturbing trend that many people have observed. The 30-day manufacturer warranty is not reassuring either - I would have expected a year! Then again, most specialty electronic gadgets of this sort (particularly those with a motor and moving parts) tend to have a short life. The last really neat kitchen gadget I owned was the Cooper Cooler Cooper Cooler Rapid Beverage Chiller, Brushed-Silver, which also suffers from durability issues. In the case of the Cooper Cooler, mine lasted about 4 years or roughly 50 bottles of wine chilled. Time will tell how long the Froth Au Lait lasts, but I'm not optimistic. That's the nature of purpose-built electronic gadgets with moving parts.

2. CLEANUP IS DIFFICULT / HYGIENE ISSUES -- The inside of the Forth Au Lait looks like a small blender. It has a removable blade with two whips on it that spins at a very fast pace and incorporates air into the milk. The other important factor is the heating element. The bottom of the Froth Au Lait looks identical to the inside of an electric kettle. This device not only froths milk, but heats it up at the same time and at a very past pace (in about 2 minutes you go from cold milk to warm froth). Anybody who has heated milk knows how nasty it can be to clean up, even if you're using a non-stick pot you've got a mess on your hands. The clean-up is an expected part of the process and, needless to say, if you don't do this correctly you will end up with a stains, bacteria and a rotten smell in your unit very quickly. Immediately after enjoying my frothy drink/coffee, I fill up the Froth Au Lait with warm soapy water. About 30 minutes later I dump the water and use a no-scratch kitchen sponge with dishwashing liquid to clean it up. However, you cannot put the Froth Au Lait into a dishwasher. You also cannot submerge it, as the bottom of the unit has a circuit "plug" that fits into the base, which can be damaged if it gets wet. It takes about as long as it would to wash a pitcher. No big deal. Make sure you use non-fat milk, which gives you a thicker froth and makes clean-up easier.

3. NOISY / LOUD -- I have not observed this. In fact, I find that the Froth Au Lait is whisper quiet during its entire 2-minute cycle. So I have to assume that for other reviewers either: (A) The whipping blade is not installed correctly, which is highly unlikely; (B) Their unit was submerged in water or otherwise damaged from neglect; (C) Quality control is not up-to-par in the manufacturing process, hence yielding some good units and some bad ones; or (D) The internal moving parts must be low quality and not designed to withstand the test of time, which would be consistent with the first set of issues discussed.

All-in-all, my personal experience with this device is 5-star, but since I've only used it 7 or 8 times I'm giving it 4 stars because it does not appear to be a machine built to last. At about $60, a 30-day warranty is pretty horrible.

Lastly, on the outside of the Froth Au Lait pitcher there are measuring markers at 0.5 cup, 1 cup, and 1.5 cup (maximum) intervals. My observation is you can only get a really nice thick froth if you add milk to between the 1.0 and 1.5 cup lines. Anything less just produces foam, not froth.