602983 Wed Mar 11 14:52:37 -0700 2009 15 41 Cookware 0 4495574 We add soy creamer or CofeeMate creamers to our morning coffee and like to get that cappuccino-style froth on top if we can. We've have had two of the $2-$4 plastic ones with wood plunger from Ikea and now have a battery operated one (mini immersion blender type) that we found online at around $15. The Ikea ones used to work very well and now take forever to do anything or just don't froth at all. The battery-operated unit gives a small layer of froth but not as much as the Ikeas used to. [Last time we were at Ikea they no longer had the plastic ones.] So............ we've begun wondering whether it's the frothers, the creamers, the even the coffee, or maybe some of each that's the problem. Any thoughts, experiences, wisdom???? Wed Mar 11 14:52:37 -0700 2009 11405 Midlife 1 4496896 coffee+creamer doesn't have the right mix of stuff wherein you can froth it using the stuff that you have. like, you can't use water and expect to make bubbles! The only way I know to get what you're doing to work, you would need a pump to force your coffee through a small aperture. But, frothing milk actually serves a purpose... it changes the taste and texture of the milk. Frothing coffee+creamer? Doesn't really serve a purpose. Thu Mar 12 03:03:21 -0700 2009 4495574 74905 jaykayen 2 4498775 "Frothing coffee+creamer? Doesn't really serve a purpose." I get your point but, if it works right, it gives you the sensation of a cappuccino without the work (or taste, but that's understood). Thu Mar 12 13:33:05 -0700 2009 4496896 11405 Midlife 1 4497101 Not all milk froths. If you wanted to make froth from a powder the best I have found that even works better than fresh milk is Carnation instant dry nonfat milk. It froths extremely well. Sometimes they also change something in the product. We used to get good froth with a 1% milk and now that milk will hardly froth all all. Another one that froths well is the Parmalat sp.?) treated milk that doesn't need refrigeration. It's what they use in the Nespresso stores. Not sure if you wanted just a non dairy solution though. Thu Mar 12 06:15:28 -0700 2009 4495574 63331 blondelle 1 4497596 I can't help with a non-dairy solution but I have an aerolatte and it works amazingly well - but only on certain products. I get amazing foam when I use organic 2% milk that has been ultrapasteurized. I had recently starting buying milk that's natural (no organic certification, but no antibiotics, no hormones) because it was a $1 cheaper, but it wasn't frothing nearly as well as the milk I had been previously using. I realized that this milk was pasteurized, but not ultra-pasteurized, so maybe that was the difference. I don't think the organic vs. non-organic has much to do with it. (I haven't compared it to use with 1% or skim because I bake a lot so the 2% is kind of an all-purpose solution for me.) Thu Mar 12 08:44:33 -0700 2009 4495574 63569 flourgirl 2 4498810 The unit I described looks just like an Aerolatte but it may not be as powerful though it seems to be about the same price (if my pounds>$ conversion is correct from the UK site I came up with from Aerolatte's site). The plastic Ikea frothers used to work quite well but I bought the battery-operated one when they stopped producing results. It seemed to work for while, then the froth got less and less. Now it's just a bit on the top and is gone when you're had just a few sips. As I responded above, I'm looking for the sensation of cappuccino without the work. If the Ikea ones had never worked I wouldn't be on this issue at all. I just got to thinking it was probably the creamer but am not aware of anything that could have changed in our favorite Coffemate World Cafe Hazelnut variety. Thus this topic in case anyone else might have had the same experience and solved the issue. We also change coffees between a couple of different varieties of Starbucks we grind at home (but that seems less likely). Last time I looked Ikea no longer carried the plastic ones or we'd start back there at 'ground zero'. Thu Mar 12 13:41:17 -0700 2009 4497596 11405 Midlife 3 4499065 I realized I forgot to mention one other thing. I have noticed that my aerolatte goes through batteries fairly quickly. And it can be hard to tell the batteries are dying - it looks like it's working the same but it won't be able to froth much. Thu Mar 12 14:39:27 -0700 2009 4498810 63569 flourgirl 4 4502099 Put in new batteries and it was no different. Actually worse because my wife tried a new brand of flavored creamer. Will try again with the previous creamer soon. Fri Mar 13 12:36:33 -0700 2009 4499065 11405 Midlife 5 4502612 Do you like the milk heated too, I assume? The aeroccino by Nespresso works well. You just put milk in and turn it on and it bring the milk up to the right temp and turns itself off. You can just have steamed milk, for lattes or add a little spring to the agitator and it froths the milk. It's $99. at SLT but you could probably find it cheaper elsewhere. It does work well though. Fri Mar 13 14:45:01 -0700 2009 4502099 197919 sandih 6 4502708 Wow!!! A bit pricey but it would appear to be exactly what would get the job done. The only drawback to the manual units (when they actually did produce enough froth) was that the frothing action + cold milk or creamer would cool down the whole cup. Thank you!!! Fri Mar 13 15:18:28 -0700 2009 4502612 11405 Midlife 7 4502757 It's the only small unit I know that heats and froths and turns itself off. Pricey but very functional. Fri Mar 13 15:36:39 -0700 2009 4502708 197919 sandih 1 4502735 Just don't buy the frother from Williams Sonoma, which sells for about $10 (I got mine from a WS outlet). The power is so low, that when it is immersed more than 1-inch deep, it really struggles. So, you have to froth the milk at the surface, which is, a bit messy. Total. Crap. Fri Mar 13 15:29:27 -0700 2009 4495574 65673 monavano 1 4504281 I use the Ikea battery operated one one and the success seems to be related to the type of cream/milk, not the wand itself. I find that if I use organic 1%, it froths up better than regular 1% or 2%, for some reason. It may be that non-milk creamers don't froth as well as the milk ones. Sat Mar 14 09:20:57 -0700 2009 4495574 107671 queencru 2 4504752 Yes, that's basically been my experience as well. Except that I use 2% organic milk and it froths amazingly well. The organic milk (as I said earlier) that I purchase is ultra-pasteurized. The non-organic but natural 2% milk that I would actually prefer to buy is pasteurized, not ultra-pasteurized. I think it's the ultra-pasteurization that makes a difference, at least in my case. Sat Mar 14 13:06:52 -0700 2009 4504281 63569 flourgirl 1 4510842 So.....................we went to Sur la Table and treated ourselves to a Nespresso Aeroccino. Works perfectly for what we wanted. Heats the milk/creamer and gives thick foam in 50 seconds. Not inexpensive, but perfect!!! Had all we could do to walk away from the Nespresso Essenza single cup machine. $249 for single cups from mini-capsules in a lot of different flavors. Where were these things when we bought our dust-collecting expresso machine years ago? Mon Mar 16 16:25:48 -0700 2009 4495574 11405 Midlife 1 4511638 They had the battery operated frothers the last time I was at the local IKEA. They move around in the kitchen cookware department; I've seen them next to the coffee cups, and also next to the kitchen whisks. Root around a little bit, ask one of the People in Yellow, they should point you in the right direction. Mon Mar 16 20:32:06 -0700 2009 4495574 10996 JK Grence the Cosmic Jester