Heat, Foam or Both? The Best Milk Frother Steamer

A handheld wand makes foam. It does not heat anything. If what you really want is a mug of hot milk with a cap of foam on top, poured in one step while the coffee brews, you want a jug that heats and froths at the same time: a countertop milk frother and steamer. In our kind of kitchen that also means café con leche, warm milk with canela, and a pot of hot chocolate for the kids.

The best milk frother steamer for you depends on how much milk you heat at once and how much control you want over the temperature. This guide covers eight jugs from Instant, Smeg, Maestri House, Capresso, Secura, Nespresso, De’Longhi and Cuisinart, with the capacities, settings and care each maker states. It sits under our broader best milk frother guide and avoids repeating its picks.

Julia’s earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. Recommendations are based on what a restaurant kitchen looks for, product specifications and verified buyer reports.

Quick verdict: which milk steamer to buy

Below, five standouts side by side, then all eight reviewed in full.

Five milk frother steamers compared

One pick for each kind of buyer, with the capacity and controls each maker states. All eight are reviewed below.

Product images from Amazon. Capacities and settings are as stated by each maker or listing; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best milk frother steamer

Every jug here heats milk and froths it, and every one can heat milk without much foam for drinks that should stay smooth. They differ in three ways that matter: how much milk they hold, whether you can choose a temperature, and what the inside of the jug is made of. Two jugs from our main frother list, the Breville Milk Café and the small Instant 4-in-1, are still good steamers; we have left them out here so this list adds new options, and the Aeroccino 4 appears because it is a newer model than the Aeroccino 3 recommended there.

How to choose a milk frother steamer

Heating capacity, not frothing capacity. Most makers give two numbers, and the frothing figure is always smaller because foam takes up room. If you mostly want hot milk, look at the heating figure: about 8 ounces (Aeroccino 4, Cuisinart) is one large mug, 17 to 21 ounces (Instant, Secura, Smeg, Maestri House, Capresso) is two to four.

Temperature control. Most jugs heat to one fixed temperature. The Maestri House lets you choose 120, 140 or 160°F, and the Instant gives cold, warm and hot. That matters if you heat milk for children, or if you find a jug’s single hot setting too hot or not hot enough for plant-based milk. The De’Longhi adjusts temperature too, but does not publish the figures on Amazon.

A setting with no foam. For café con leche, warm milk with canela or hot chocolate you often want heat without a head of foam. Instant calls it stir, Capresso and Secura list hot milk, and Nespresso and Cuisinart list heated milk. Check that the jug you choose has one.

Coated or bare steel. A nonstick lining (Nespresso, Cuisinart) wipes clean but needs gentle cleaning to keep the coating intact. Bare 304 stainless (Secura, Maestri House) can take a scrub but milk can stick if it scorches. Smeg and the Secura 8-in-1 heat their steel jugs by induction.

Cleaning. Milk left in a jug sours quickly, so wash it after every use. A jug that lifts off its base and goes in the dishwasher (Instant, Secura, Maestri House, Capresso, Aeroccino 4) is easiest. Never put a base with electrical parts in water.

How we chose these eight jugs

We looked for standalone electric jugs that heat milk as well as froth it, from makers that sell under their own name, and we checked that each was in stock on Amazon in the United States when we wrote this. Capacities, settings, materials, care and warranties come from each maker’s Amazon listing, with Nespresso’s own product pages and retailer spec sheets for the Aeroccino 4 and Smeg figures; we wrote “not stated” where a maker gives no detail. We searched the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall pages for these brands’ milk frothers and found no recall. We left out the picks on our main frother list, unbranded jugs sold under changing names, and the Philips Baristina frother, which was out of stock. We have not used these products ourselves.

Milk steamer questions, answered

What is the best milk frother and steamer?

For most kitchens, the Instant Pot MagicFroth 9-in-1: a large jug with separate temperature and foam settings. The Maestri House DualFro 600 is the choice if you want to set a temperature in degrees.

Is a milk frother the same as a milk steamer?

Not quite. A handheld frother whisks air into milk you have already heated. A countertop frother and steamer heats the milk and whisks it at the same time, and most can heat without foaming. An espresso machine’s steam wand uses steam instead; for those, see our guide to the best espresso machine for beginners.

Can these jugs heat plant-based milk?

Several makers say so. Capresso lists non-dairy milk, Nespresso says to use any variety of milk you prefer, and De’Longhi has settings meant for plant-based milk. How well a plant milk foams depends on the milk itself.

Can I make Mexican hot chocolate in a milk steamer?

Capresso says its froth Select melts chocolate chips or chunks as it heats. It does not mention tablets, so chop Mexican chocolate small and stay within the fill line. Other jugs have a hot chocolate setting for cocoa powder or syrup.

How do I clean a milk frother steamer?

Rinse the jug and whisk as soon as you finish, then wash them. Put only the parts the maker lists as dishwasher safe in the dishwasher, and keep the base dry.

The steamer we would put on the counter

Start with the Instant MagicFroth if you want one jug that heats enough milk for two and lets you choose the temperature and the foam. If you only need foam on a single cup, a wand costs less; see our best handheld milk frother guide, and for the full range of frothers, our main best milk frother guide. For mugs to pour into, see the best coffee mugs.

When you would rather someone else made the drinks, see our drinks and call to order.