Frothing Milk Using The Aerolatte Milk Frother

I work from home and drink, on average, 3-5 cups of coffee per day. I love heading to cafes and sitting down to enjoy a Cafe au lait or a cappucino, but for convenience purposes, I've started to experiment with making different coffee drinks at home.

The first major purchase I made was my Keurig. It makes the best cup of coffee and just the right amount. I switch between using K cups and using the Keurig filter to add my own coffee, but I like the fact that I get a fresh cup of coffee every time I want coffee, instead of making a pot that may sit around all day.

One of the best purchases I've made is the Aerolatte Milk Frother. Cheap, small enough to fit into my silverware drawer, and simplistic in that it only requires batteries and doesn't need to be plugged in anywhere in order to work.

I've also had the Ikea Milk Frother, but found that it only lasted a few months before breaking down. At $1.99, I didn't expect much from it, but as any coffee lover knows, a glitch in your coffee routine can set an unhappy mood for the rest of the day, and waking up to a frother that doesn't work is not a glitch I enjoy. I've had the Aerolatte Milk Frother for about 2 years now and it still works great.

On my wishlist would be the Keurig Milk Frother, but I've yet step it up to that level yet.

Any purists should leave now, as I am a milk frothing cheater.

I love latte's from places like Starbucks and cafe au lait's from local cafes (in Detroit, I am obsessed with the cafe au laits from Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes). Sometimes I'll take milk and add flavored syrups to it before frothing, but I've found that coffee creamer works best for the flavor that I've grown to love.

My most recent coffee creamer find is Coffee Mate's Cafe Latte creamer. I also love their holiday Sugar & Spice creamer, as well as International Delight's Breve Creme in hazelnut and the Sweet Buttercream flavor.

It's the Cafe Latte creamer that I used today, though. 

I use 1/4 cup of creamer per a glass of coffee. I've tried more and less and found that 1/4 cup works best for me.

While the coffee is brewing in the Keurig, I heat up the 1/4 cup of creamer for approximately 40 seconds. After that, I use something as simple as a plastic cup (I don't have a metal frothing cup!), place the Aerolatte Milk Frother in, and turn it on. It takes approximately 2 minutes of frothing to achieve a thick, cloud like froth usingn the Aerolatte. 

To achieve maximum froth, add a bit of sugar to the heated milk, and move the frother up and down, from the bottom up, much as you would with a muddler. You can also tilt the cup you are frothing your milk in a bit so as to let in a bit of air.

Once the ideal froth level is achieved, I take a spoon and place the froth on top of my fresh cup of coffee. I'm a fan of just a bit of froth, not too much, so if you would rather have froth that looks like whip cream on top of your coffee, go for more than 1/4 cup of cream to start with.