As part of my ongoing mission to test out the best milk frothers on the market, I decided to bite the bullet and shell out $158.37 for the Breville Milk Cafe.
As part of my ongoing mission to test out the best milk frothers on the market, I decided to bite the bullet and shell out $158.37 for the Breville Milk Cafe.
Sure, that’s quite a lot of money to spend on a standalone milk frother. Still, the Breville Milk Cafe has enough special features to set it apart from the competition. So, if you want to create beautiful milk foam without having to buy a home espresso machine, you might feel like this baby is worth the investment.
Accurate and versatile
Breville Milk Cafe
Produces exceptional results
High-quality build
Sleek, modern design
Intuitive user interface
Produces superb milk foam
Easy to clean
Rather pricey
Table of Contents
Breville Milk Café Electric Frother Design and Features
Regular Coffeeness readers will know how much I love Breville espresso machines. In fact, the automatic steam wands on machines like the Breville Barista Touch Impress and Breville Bambino Plus can easily make barista-level microfoam.
Suffice to say, I was expecting pretty great things from the Breville Milk Cafe.
As you might imagine, this milk frother sports the sleek, modern aesthetics of all Breville products. Plus, I wasn’t surprised to find an abundance of stainless steel in its construction.
Overall, the Milk Cafe feels solid and durable, although it is on the larger side. That’s going to be great for those wanting to whip up specialty coffee drinks for the whole family – the Breville has a generous 25-ounce (739-milliliter) capacity. However, if your kitchen counter space is limited, be warned that this frother isn’t exactly compact.
Comprising a large base and a dishwasher-friendly milk jug, the Milk Cafe uses induction heating to make milk froth. It also comes with two frothing discs, one for “Cappuccino” texture and another for silkier “Latte” foam. I’ll discuss my experiences using those a little later.
What immediately struck me about the Milk Cafe is its intuitive control dial, which allows you an impressive amount of control over the temperature of the finished product. Plus, the dial’s cool blue LED lighting is the kind of classy touch that I’ve come to expect from the Australian manufacturer.
Another thoughtfully designed component is the tightly fitting lid, which has a ring pull and an opening for adding ingredients while the frother is running. Oh, and the Milk Cafe’s power cord is nice and long, which isn’t always the case with small devices like this. Lemme tell ya, little things like that can really make my day!
Breville Milk Cafe in Use
Setting up the Breville Milk Cafe is about as easy as it gets. In fact, during the testing phase of my review I had the thing going in a matter of minutes. Still, I’d recommend cleaning the milk pitcher thoroughly before using it for the first time.
Seeing as I named the Breville “Best for Hot Chocolate” in my milk frother guide, I decided to start by putting it to the test in that regard. I opted to use the “Cappuccino” frothing disc and set the temperature to around 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius). Incidentally, this is nicely labeled within the “Optimum Milk Temp” range on the control dial.
Once I’d added cold milk and pressed the center button to start frothing, I was able to add chocolate powder and sugar through the lid opening and then watch as the Milk Cafe did its thing.
I will say that it took longer than I’d expected, but the results were worth the wait. Seriously, that will go down as one of the most luxurious hot chocolates I’ve ever had.
Next, I experimented with the “Latte” frothing disc, which produced completely different results. Instead of thick, pillowy foam the Breville created delicate and silky milk froth that was actually rather convincing. In fact, I was just about able to make latte art.
Sure, the pitcher doesn’t lend itself to delicate pouring, but I’d say with a little practice I’d be able to draw something approaching a rosetta.
Overall, I was very impressed by the Breville Milk Cafe. This frother certainly justifies the financial investment through its versatility, ease of operation and superb results.
How to Clean the Breville Milk Cafe Frother
As I mentioned earlier, the Milk Cafe’s stainless steel pitcher is advertised as being dishwasher-friendly. Then again, if my experiences are anything to go by you can simply rinse the pitcher after each use. And if there’s any stubborn milk residue hanging out in there just give it a quick scrub.
Of course, if you’re regularly using the Breville Milk Cafe to make hot chocolate it’ll be a good idea to use a little mild detergent. And I guess throwing it on the top rack of your dishwasher once a week wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
The only other components that need regular cleaning are the frothing discs. They’re dishwasher-safe too, but again, I’d recommend simply rinsing them under warm water after each use.
Verdict: Breville Milk Cafe Milk Frother
Accurate and versatile
Breville Milk Cafe
Produces exceptional results
High-quality build
Sleek, modern design
Intuitive user interface
Produces superb milk foam
Easy to clean
Rather pricey
At this point in my Breville Milk Cafe review you will have cottoned on to the fact that this device really does deliver the goods. Sure, there are more affordable electric frothers out there, many of which are very convincing. But in terms of construction, accuracy and versatility, the Milk Cafe is hard to beat.
Trust me, this thing can make seriously good hot chocolate. What’s more, it’ll definitely appeal to those who love a cafe au lait or a moka pot cappuccino. And as a bonus it’ll look superb sitting next to your Breville Precision Brewer!
That’s a wrap on my Breville Milk Cafe review. What’s your experience using this fancy milk frother? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!
