Almost every coffeeholic wishes he could make of making a caffè Latte at home. However, it seems impossible to make it without the aid of an espresso machine. This was the question I faced a couple of days after I bought the Kompresso.

Many products are claimed to froth the milk for Caffè Latte easily. The most famous one is Subminimal NanoFormer, which costs more than HKD 300. At that time, I was still unsure whether I would buy an espresso machine. If I bought one, the steam wand in the espresso machine would replace a milk frother. NanoFormer would then become a waste.

My high purchasing involvement forced me to search a lot about the pros and cons of NanoFormer. Later on, I found a YouTube video uploaded 10 years ago. The creator showed how he used a cheap milk frother to froth the milk for latte art. “Why don’t I spend 30 times less money and learn the milk frothing technique instead?” Impressed by the video, I gave up buying NanoFormer. Instead, I bought the cheapest milk frother available in the market – the Ikea milk frother, which cost less than $10.

The cheapest setup for milk frothing

Here is the milk frothing process:

  1. Heat 150 mL milk to about 60°C (or 600W for 1:30).
  2. Pour the hot milk into a preheated milk pitcher.
  3. Immerse the milk frother into the milk.
  4. Start the milk frother and keep squeezing it during the whole process.
  5. Pull up the milk frother so that half of the frother head is on the milk surface. Hold it for 2 to 4 seconds. This mimics the stretching in a regular espresso machine.
  6. Immerse the milk frother into the milk again to create a vortex. Hold it for 1 minute. This mimics the texturing in a regular espresso machine.
  7. Turn off the milk frother. Swirl the milk pitcher heavily to remove the large air bubbles.
  8. Ready for serve.

Initial position

Finish

My first attempt was, of course, failed. This technique is hard to master. I started with over-heavy milk foam, which couldn’t pour latte art. It also affected the texture of the drinks. Even worse, the cheap milk frother is composed of a cheap motor with an unstable rotation. A fully charged milk frother often rotates vigorously. These uncontrollable factors ruin the milk foam.

I practised milk frothing day and night. A drop of detergent and water can replace the milk on the first few trials (don’t microwave it). The UHT milk, tea and used coffee ground can also substitute the regular milk and coffee. With an espresso machine nowadays, I don’t need the cheap milk frother anymore, but I still remember how to froth the milk.

One of the first 50 attempts in April 2022

Earl Grey Tea Latte today using the same technique

Kompresso and the Ikea milk frother became my cheapest tool to mimic a caffè latte. However, the process is so troublesome. It requires a lot of steps and tools. It takes too much time to make 2 cups of caffè latte. To continue my coffee journey, buying an espresso machine was inevitable.

I started my research in purchasing my first espresso machine.

… (to be continued)