A $14 handheld milk frother from Zulay Kitchen has become a reporter’s most-used gadget of the year, according to an account published by The Verge. Elizabeth Lopatto, who has written about technology, money and human behavior for the outlet since joining in 2014 as science editor, described buying the device after a February trip to Los Angeles. She said the purchase followed an obsession with a vanilla cream-topped iced Americano she drank at Stagger, a coffee shop in Koreatown best known for its matcha.
Lopatto wrote that she had taken her coffee black for more than 20 years, first because reheated black coffee would not curdle and later to appreciate expensive beans. A heat wave in Oakland in March led her to spend the $14 on the frother as a way to make fancy coffee drinks tolerable. The device resembles an immersion blender: milk goes into a glass, the frother is submerged, and the power button is held until the drink reaches the desired consistency.
With fresh disposable batteries, that process takes about 30 seconds to a minute, Lopatto reported, and it takes longer as the batteries degrade. She said the frother also beats eggs, mixes protein powder or creatine into drinks and makes hot chocolate, but that it has been used mostly for coffee.
The cream top traces to the Einspänner, a Viennese espresso drink named for a one-horse carriage whose whipped cream insulated drivers’ drinks in the cold, according to the account. Lopatto wrote that it is unclear how the drink reached South Korea, where it became popular in mostly iced variations, and then the US, where Starbucks’ cold foam drinks had prepared the ground. She described the cream top as lighter than latte foam but heavier than ordinary whipped cream, melting and dripping slowly into the coffee.
Lacking an espresso machine, Lopatto said she uses concentrated cold brew, which is strong enough to stand up to the foam, and noted that some recipes suggest powdered espresso instead. Her favorite variation, recreated from a Starbucks ad, is cold brew with coconut ube cold foam dusted with toasted coconut flakes.
Lopatto wrote that shoppers can spend a lot on a milk frother and that she relied on America’s Test Kitchen for guidance, while Wirecutter and Bon Appétit have their own preferred options. She said the cheap, simple model has served her well and questioned whether a device such as the Apple HomeView could match its pleasure per dollar.
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