The short answer: First decide whether the device should heat the milk itself, then look at the amount of foam per batch. According to the manufacturers, the small jug devices in our catalogue froth 115 to 150 ml at most, and the induction devices 250 to 350 ml. According to Stiftung Warentest (test 2/2018), whether a device heats by induction or by heating coil had no influence on foam quality.
How microfoam forms and which milk suits which purpose is explained in the guide How to froth milk.
What types of milk frother are there?
Seven designs, ordered by the amount of milk one batch handles according to the manufacturer. The figures come from instructions and data sheets of the models in our catalogue, not from a market overview. Where no fixed amount exists, the row is at the end.
| Design | Heats itself | Milk for foam per batch | Heating without foam | Examples and source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stovetop pump jug | via the hob | 330 ml jug, fill up to one third according to the instructions | on the hob | Bialetti Cappuccinatore, instructions per our German review |
| Small jug device | yes | 75 to 130 ml (Rafow), up to 115 ml (Simpletaste), 120 ml (Aeroccino 3 and 4, Milk Twister), 100 to 150 ml (WMF Stelio) | 240 ml (Aeroccino, Simpletaste), 250 ml (Stelio), 300 ml (Rafow) | Manufacturer data per our German reviews |
| Pump frother without electricity | no | Bodum Latteo up to the maximum mark, about 240 ml; Covvy: 400 ml jug according to the seller, no seller data on fill mark and maximum fill amount for frothing | Heat the milk separately beforehand | Bodum; Covvy according to the seller |
| Large jug device, heating method unknown | yes | 250 ml in the glass container | 500 ml | Morpilot 4-in-1 |
| Large jug device with induction | yes | approx. 250 ml (Tchibo), 120 to 350 ml (Severin SM 3586 and SM 3587), 150 to 350 ml (WMF Lono Silk) | approx. 475 to 700 ml | Instructions, Severin data sheet |
| Steam wand of the espresso machine | via steam | Milk jug with 350 ml, on the Newgf with an inner scale of 150 to 350 ml | yes, via steam | Newgf, De’Longhi DLSC060 |
| Cordless hand whisk | no | You choose the vessel and the amount | Heat the milk separately beforehand | Powerlix, Outin, Subminimal |
The dividing line that changes the most when buying runs between devices with and without heating. In 2018 (test 2/2018), Stiftung Warentest (Germany’s consumer testing foundation) examined ten electric frothers priced between 23 and 99 euros; eight scored good, two satisfactory. All ten also heat milk without foam. A battery-powered stick whisk and a hand frother were included for comparison, both “slightly worse” than the good electric devices.
How well devices without heating froth is therefore not settled. The Danish consumer magazine Taenk, whose results Stiftung Warentest took over in November 2024 (test.de, online as of 25 November 2024), explicitly recommends a hand device, the Bodum Chambord, but calls its cleaning “laborious”. Subminimal advertises its cordless whisk with microfoam and provides no measurement for it. Our assessment: a device without heating is a matter of convenience and budget, not a quality verdict. We have no measurements of our own, and the two sources available point in different directions.
With none of the devices in the catalogue is cold foam chilled foam. Simpletaste describes its cold programme as “without cooling”, Rafow as cold foam “at room temperature”. How cold the result gets therefore depends on the milk you take out of the fridge; Nespresso recommends cold, semi-skimmed milk.
Heating temperature: where the devices stop
There is no binding figure for the right foam temperature, and the manufacturers stop their devices at different points:
| Device or source | Temperature | Type of statement |
|---|---|---|
| Severin SM 3586 and SM 3587 | 45 to 65 °C, adjustable | Severin data sheet |
| Tchibo induction, cream white | approx. 60 to 70 °C, fixed | Tchibo instructions |
| Simpletaste 4-in-1 | about 60 to 70 °C, fixed | Manufacturer data per our German review |
| Philips Milk Twister | approx. 74 °C, fixed | Philips instructions, troubleshooting |
| Taenk, published by Stiftung Warentest 2024 | 64 to just under 70 °C for the good devices | Measurement on eight devices, target about 65 °C |
| Ho and colleagues, International Journal of Dairy Technology 2024 | 65 °C is close to what most household and café frothers reach | Assessment by the authors of a laboratory study |
A threshold at 65 °C above which milk tastes cooked or the foam collapses faster is not documented; an earlier version of this guide still stated one. Our assessment: a device that switches off at 60 to 70 °C is within the range that Taenk measured on the well-rated devices. If you prefer your milk cooler, for example for children, you need a temperature setting, and in the catalogue only Severin has one. How far the range can go downwards is shown by Warentest 2018: one device reached only 40 °C there.
Which capacity suits your household?
How much milk a cappuccino needs is answered differently by expert bodies and manufacturers. The Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano (INEI) specifies 25 ml of espresso and 100 ml of steamed milk for its certified cappuccino, Lelit likewise 100 ml for the Victoria, and De’Longhi about 100 g for the Dedica. Below that are the small jug devices: for the Aeroccino 4, Nespresso allows 60 ml of foam for one cappuccino, a 120 ml fill of the Aeroccino 3 yields two cappuccino cups according to the illustrated instructions, and for the Milk Twister, Philips allows 120 ml for two cappuccinos. A Tchibo manual (induction device 657 097, not our catalogue model) gives approx. 90 ml as the amount for one cappuccino. Above that, Severin uses 150 to 200 ml in the cappuccino programme of the SM 3587.
The range therefore runs from about 60 to 200 ml, depending on the manufacturer and cup size. We would calculate with 100 ml per cup, because three independent sources agree on that figure. A device of the 120 ml class is then enough for one large or two small cups; if you make two cappuccinos of 100 ml each in the morning, you need the 250 ml class. The same Tchibo manual gives approx. 250 ml as the amount for two latte macchiatos.
When frothing, the volume grows. For the steam nozzle of the Dedica, De’Longhi writes of two to three times, and Bodum writes of doubling for the pump jugs. That is why the jug devices have two marks: on the Aeroccino 4 the lower one is called “Max foam” (120 ml for hot and cold foam), the upper one “Max milk” (240 ml for hot milk). According to their instructions, Severin and Tchibo also have separate marks for foam and for heating. For the Milk Twister, Philips gives only the 120 ml.
The lower limit is at least as important, and the reason is a different one from what the earlier version of this guide suggested. For the SM 3586, Severin requires at least 120 ml; the spigot in the base of the jug must be covered, and with too little milk the device can overheat. For device 657 097, Tchibo sets a minimum amount of approx. 90 ml and likewise warns of overheating. On the WMF Lono Silk the foam range starts at 150 ml, on the Rafow at 75 ml. Nespresso requires the whisk to be covered. A large induction jug is therefore the wrong device for a single espresso macchiato with a spoonful of foam. According to Warentest 2018, three of the ten devices also frothed less than 100 ml, and one large one managed up to 350 ml.
Cleaning: dishwasher, coating, wording of the instructions
Clean straight after every use; the manufacturers agree on this. In the instructions for device 657 097, Tchibo gives this reason: “Milk is a quickly perishable food and therefore prone to the formation of germs.” Severin requires that no residues be left in the container.
The instructions in their wording, summarised from Severin (SM 3586) and Tchibo (657 097):
- Wash the milk container, lid and whisk insert in warm water with a little washing-up liquid or, where approved, put them in the dishwasher. Severin cleans the ribbed whisk insert with a brush if necessary.
- Wipe the base only with a soft, damp cloth and never immerse it; with Severin this also applies to the cable.
- Do not use sharp, aggressive or abrasive cleaning agents. Nespresso, Philips, Simpletaste and WMF also rule out abrasives; only Nespresso and Simpletaste give the inner coating as the reason.
- Dry the parts so that no limescale marks remain (Tchibo).
- Optionally, Tchibo cleans with milk system cleaner: 50 ml, left to act for about 15 minutes.
Whether the container may go in the dishwasher is the question on which the devices differ most. Warentest found in 2018 that many parts may go in, usually lid, seal and whisk, sometimes the container too. Never suitable are containers with a permanently attached cable, and the base. In our catalogue it looks like this:
| Device | Container in the dishwasher? | Price per our price box (on Amazon.de) |
|---|---|---|
| Nespresso Aeroccino 3 | no, jug only with a soft cloth | approx. €79.00 |
| Nespresso Aeroccino 4 | yes, all parts except the base, 70 °C at most, despite the inner coating | approx. €89.00 |
| Philips Milk Twister | instructions forbid it for base, jug and lid, data sheet says “Yes” | approx. €39.00 |
| Simpletaste 4-in-1 | no part | approx. €29.99 |
| Rafow 4-in-1 | no, according to the Amazon care note hand washing only with the brush supplied (no manufacturer statement found) | approx. €29.97 |
| WMF Stelio | no, jug only wiped damp; lid, seal and disc yes | approx. €45.99 |
| Morpilot 4-in-1 | removable cup part yes | approx. €45.99 |
| Tchibo induction, cream white | jug, lid and whisk insert yes | approx. €49.00 |
| Severin SM 3586 | container, whisk inserts and lid yes | approx. €99.99 |
| WMF Lono Silk | lid, jug and Milk/Choc system yes | approx. €129.99 |
| Bialetti Cappuccinatore | yes, but Bialetti recommends hand washing | approx. €35.58 |
No simple rule by coating follows from this. The coated containers of the Simpletaste and Rafow should be cleaned by hand (for the Rafow, only the Amazon care note says so); the Stelio jug and the Aeroccino 3 jug you wipe out, according to the instructions, only with a damp or soft cloth respectively; the likewise coated Aeroccino 4 may go in the machine. For the four induction devices in the catalogue (Tchibo, Severin SM 3586 and SM 3587, WMF Lono Silk), the jug is consistently dishwasher-safe, as the technology sits in the base there. In 2024, Taenk marked down the Gastroback Latte Magic because its loose parts are not meant for the dishwasher.
Non-stick coating and PFAS
In 2024, Taenk compared eight electric frothers, and Stiftung Warentest published the results without examining them itself. The WMF Stelio frothed best. It was marked down anyway, because of its non-stick coating containing PFAS. Bodum Bistro and Rig-Tig Foodie also contained PFAS, according to Taenk with no advantage over uncoated models.
What this is about is stated in the same article. The substances do not pass from the coating into the milk: “At the usual operating temperatures of 60 to 70 degrees, no PFAS is released.” The problem is production, in which PFAS enter the environment. Anyone who owns such a device can keep using it; Stiftung Warentest advises against buying one new for environmental reasons. The BfR (German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) sees no health impairment from PTFE coatings when used as intended, but points to the proposal of the European Chemicals Agency ECHA from February 2023 for a far-reaching PFAS ban, intended to prevent further release into the environment.
For buying, this means: if the environmental point matters to you, ask about the material of the inner coating before you buy. For Aeroccino, Simpletaste, Rafow and Philips, according to our German reviews, it is not stated in any manufacturer document.
Power consumption, standby and running time
In the 2018 Warentest, two otherwise good devices lost points because in standby they drew more power than an EU directive allows. In 2024, the Taenk comparison reports high standby consumption for the Severin SM 3585 and for the Smeg device and advises unplugging the Severin after use. Wattage figures appear in neither of the two freely readable articles.
For our catalogue models there are some manufacturer values. According to the review, the WMF Stelio draws 0.2 W when switched off and has no standby mode. For device 657 097, Tchibo gives less than 0.5 W when switched off, and it goes into standby after about 3 minutes. The Severin SM 3586 switches off after two minutes without operation.
The running time per batch varies widely:
- Aeroccino 3: hot approx. 70 to 80 seconds, cold approx. 60 seconds
- Philips Milk Twister: 130 seconds
- Simpletaste: warm foam 80 to 140 seconds, heating 150 to 250, cold foam 55 to 60
- Rafow: about 2 minutes per foam programme, approx. 3 minutes for hot milk
- Tchibo 657 097: up to 5 minutes, depending on type of milk, temperature and amount, followed by a cooling phase in which a restart is not always possible straight away
- Powerlix Pro (cordless whisk): auto-stop after 120 seconds according to the catalogue
Taenk measured about a minute and a half for the good devices. The Bodum Bistro was faster at about 50 seconds, but its foam was only mediocre. For noise, Tchibo gives a sound pressure level below 70 dB(A) for device 657 097.
Common faults and what the manufacturers write about them
| Symptom | Cause according to the source | What you change |
|---|---|---|
| Milk overflows | Fill above the relevant max mark (Nespresso, Severin, Tchibo) | For foam, fill only up to the foam mark: 120 ml on the Aeroccino 4, 350 ml on the Severin SM 3586, approx. 250 ml on Tchibo |
| Device overheats or stops | Too little milk (Severin, Tchibo) | At least 120 ml on the Severin SM 3586, approx. 90 ml on the Tchibo device 657 097; the spigot or whisk must be covered |
| No restart straight after a batch | Cooling phase after a batch of up to 5 minutes (Tchibo 657 097) | Wait until the fan is off; the instructions give no duration for this |
| Foam stays thin | Dirt on the whisk insert or in the jug (Tchibo) | Clean the whisk insert and jug, with Tchibo optionally with 50 ml of milk system cleaner |
| Plant drink hardly froths | Mechanical whisking instead of steam (Tarasov and colleagues 2025) | Froth warm (65 °C) rather than cold (10 °C), try a lower-fat variety or switch to the steam wand |
| Coating damaged | Syrup, sugar or cocoa powder in the container, abrasives, brushes or sharp objects (Nespresso Aeroccino 4); abrasives (Simpletaste); sharp-edged metal objects when skimming (WMF Stelio) | Put ingredients in the cup, skim foam with a non-metal spoon, do not place the Aeroccino 4 container directly above the spray arms in the dishwasher |
The row on plant drinks needs an explanation, because it concerns the device. In 2025, Tarasov and colleagues compared ten barista plant drinks with barista cow’s milk in the journal Food Systems. With steam at 65 °C, foamability was between 93 and 202 per cent (milk 197); with mechanical whisking at 65 °C between 15 and 262 per cent (milk 258); with whisking at 10 °C between 0 and 196 per cent (milk 200). The authors consider all drinks usable alternatives with steam, but not with whisking. A higher fat content went along with poorer foamability when whisking. The products came from Russian production, and whether German brands react in the same way is open. Whisk and induction frothers froth mechanically, so the result is relevant for them.
What does a milk frother cost?
In our catalogue, the price boxes (as of September 2026) range from approx. €12.99 to approx. €129.99. Sorted by design:
| Design | Models and price per price box |
|---|---|
| Pump frother without electricity | Covvy 12.99 euros |
| Cordless hand whisk | Powerlix Pro 19.99; Subminimal NanoFoamer Lithium 49.95; Outin LattoGo 49.99 euros |
| Stovetop pump jug | Bialetti Cappuccinatore 35.58 euros |
| Electric jug device without induction statement | Rafow 29.97; Simpletaste 29.99; Philips Milk Twister 39.00; Morpilot 45.99; WMF Stelio 45.99; Aeroccino 3 79.00; Aeroccino 4 89.00 euros |
| Induction | Tchibo 49.00 (no documented comparison date); Severin SM 3586 99.99; Severin SM 3587 114.00; WMF Lono Silk 129.99 euros |
| Milk jug for the steam wand | Newgf 11.04; De’Longhi DLSC060 16.99 euros |
The external comparisons are in the same order of magnitude. In 2018 (test 2/2018), Warentest cited prices of 23 to 99 euros, the 2024 Taenk comparison about 45 to 140 euros, with the best devices there “from just over €60”. In front in 2024 at Taenk and Warentest was the Severin Spuma 500 (SM 3585) at approx. €95 with up to 260 ml; that is not our catalogue model SM 3586.
A cordless whisk under €20 is the exception in the catalogue: only the Powerlix is below it, and the other two cost almost €50. You pay least for a pump frother. Our assessment: the price mainly buys capacity and convenience. A heating jug device is available in the catalogue from around €30, and the Nespresso devices cost more than twice as much as the Rafow or Simpletaste, with a comparable amount of foam (120 ml against 115 and 130 ml).
Which device suits which need
For one cup a day, a small jug device is enough. The Rafow 4-in-1 and the Simpletaste 4-in-1 have four programmes, and you clean their containers by hand (Simpletaste according to the instructions, Rafow according to the Amazon care note). If you want to use the dishwasher, in this size you end up with the Nespresso Aeroccino 4, ten euros above the Aeroccino 3, whose jug must not go in.
For two cups at once you need the 250 ml class. The cheapest there according to the price box is the Morpilot 4-in-1 at approx. €45.99. It has a borosilicate glass container and 600 W; the manufacturer leaves the heating method and temperature open. The cheapest induction jug is the Tchibo induction jug at approx. €49; no comparison date is documented for this reference price, and on 15 September 2026 the model was not available in the Tchibo shop. The Severin SM 3586 has an adjustable temperature, and the SM 3587 adds 13 programmes with an OLED display. The WMF Lono Silk works with 650 W induction; a figure in degrees is missing from the documents.
Without electricity or on the go, three routes remain. You pump the Covvy for about 30 seconds according to the seller. The Bialetti Cappuccinatore heats on every type of hob including induction according to the instructions and Amazon (the German Bialetti product page rules out induction; we follow the instructions), Bialetti names foam for 6 cups, and the Amazon catalogue lists 3 cups. The cordless whisks Powerlix Pro, Outin LattoGo with a mesh frothing disc and Subminimal NanoFoamer Lithium with two sieves do not heat; Subminimal recommends preheating the milk to 55 to 65 °C.
If your machine has a steam wand, by our assessment you are more likely missing a jug than a device.