If you’ve ever been in the market for an easy solution to at-home latte making, chances are you’ve come across the Nespresso brand at least once or twice. Its machines are intuitive to use with a consumer-friendly design perfect for those wanting quality coffee without undergoing a steep learning curve. However, any coffee enthusiast knows that milk can make or break your morning pick-me-up. Enter: Nespresso’s line of Aeroccino milk frothers, the company’s foolproof solution to achieving well-textured milk.
Nespresso’s foray into the milk-frothing sphere began with the launch of its first Aeroccino in 2006, a solution to easy latte-making for those with Nespresso machines that didn’t have a steam wand. The Aeroccino has gone through a few iterations since and is now on a redesign of its fourth, dubbed the “Aeroccino 4 Refresh.” It’s a sleek, chrome pitcher-style frother that wouldn’t look out of place on any kitchen countertop. Best of all, you don’t need to be a barista who can pour stellar latte art to use the Aeroccino machines effectively. We got our hands on one to test out and see if it’s worth the buy (or the upgrade, if you currently have an older model) — after all, aesthetic doesn’t always equate to functionality.
Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.
What’s new with the Aeroccino 4?
Nespresso’s Aeroccino 4 (both the original and the Refresh) stands in stark contrast to its Aeroccino 3. Whereas some models of other machines can look virtually indistinguishable from each other, just the visual difference between the Aeroccino 3 and 4 is as stark a contrast as night and day. The former comes in a black cylinder that has neither a handle nor a spout for pouring. I had the 3 several years ago and always considered it a sleek addition to my kitchen, but when placed next to the 4, it hardly compares. The Aeroccino 4 (pictured above) boasts a shiny, reflective surface reminiscent of a high-end espresso machine. It also has a handle and a pour spout, which seem like necessities for any frother.
The Aeroccino 4 also gives you twice as many milk-steaming options. Whereas the 3 has one tactile push button that can be used to froth either hot or cold milk, the 4 has four touchpad-style “buttons,” each with pictures for easy and intuitive frothing. Personally, I’m a huge fan of the touchpad design. It has the clean, untextured appeal of a touchscreen without any digital clutter, and its aesthetic alone would easily endear me to this model. The main difference between the 4 Refresh and the original 4 is that the Refresh puts the touch buttons on the pitcher rather than on the base plate.
Unboxing and setup
Not a super-fan of DIY projects? Then you’re in luck — the Aeroccino 4 Refresh is ready-to-use out of the box (after you give the pitcher an initial wash), which only contains four components: the pitcher, base plate, frothing attachment, and instruction manual. Plug the base plate into the wall and pop the frother onto its magnetized cylinder in the pitcher, and you’re all set. Should your handle come loose, there are visible screws you can tighten yourself.
The instruction manual is easy to follow and the machine is already pretty intuitive to use, so you shouldn’t experience a huge learning curve with this one. Best of all, you’ll find a card tucked inside the manual with a diagram telling you how to foam milk for different coffee recipes (and even some QR codes to YouTube videos if you’re a visual learner). Stick the card to your fridge with a magnet if you want easily accessible instructions to make whatever coffee drink you may be craving.
How to maintain the Aeroccino 4
If your hatred of hand-washing has been enough to keep you away from the Aeroccino 3, fear not — the Aeroccino 4 is surprisingly dishwasher-safe, as its chrome exterior doesn’t risk the wear that the plastic casing of the 3 does. Obviously, don’t put the base plate in the dishwasher; if it gets dirty, wipe it down with a damp cloth. How often you give the pitcher a thorough cleaning is up to you. Personally, I’m a fan of a quick rinse and sponge wipe after every use, and running it through the dishwasher once a week. This makes cleaning the Aeroccino a piece of cake, so maintenance should’t be a deterring factor in your decision of whether to buy.
Should your Aeroccino not froth milk properly, it’s covered by Nespresso under warranty for one year from the purchase date. The manual has some troubleshooting guides for specific problems. Fortunately, the relatively simple design of the Aeroccino 4 makes me think that it doesn’t pose as big of a risk of malfunctioning as more complicated machines might.
How does the Aeroccino 4 work?
Now, onto the fun part: frothing your milk. You can get four different types of milk foam with the Aeroccino 4: cold frothed milk (for iced drinks), hot and airy frothed milk (for cappuccinos), hot and dense frothed milk (for lattes), and hot non-frothed milk (for hot chocolate). The machine is foolproof when it comes to dosing your milk. There are two lines inside the machine — pour milk to reach the lower line if you’re doing a froth preparation, while the top line should be used for non-frothed hot milk.
That’s really all there is to it, and the picture buttons on the pitcher make using it even less of a guessing game. Left to right in the photo above they’re as follows: cold milk froth, hot milk, airy hot milk froth, and dense hot milk froth. The pitcher’s lid even has a small triangular attachment covering the spout, so you don’t have to worry about any milk escaping during the frothing process.
Testing the Aeroccino 4
I’m testing each of the Aeroccino 4’s functions (taking the temperature of the milk each time) to make sure it does what it’s purported to do. I’m testing the machine with whole milk to get results comparable to how I normally steam milk. You may experience different results when using milk with different fat content. All settings of this machine took about 30-90 seconds to complete.
The cold foam button produced a thick and creamy cold foam without injecting too much air into it. The foam is thick enough to leave a pucker when I stick my finger in it, and will be dreamy to spoon atop iced lattes in the summertime. The hot milk setting got my milk up to 152 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a slight layer of microfoam on top, but on the whole, it was thin-textured. Up next, its light and airy setting was just that — it produced a gentle froth atop a layer of fairly thin milk. Finally, the dense froth button gave my favorite results. Its resulting froth (pictured above) was voluminous, pillowy, and remarkably thick, letting me easily draw lines through it with my finger. I was actually pretty surprised by the variations in foam this machine produced, and seeing the results firsthand would make me way more inclined to purchase the machine than just going in blind.
Is the Aeroccino 4 worth the buy?
I don’t tend to recommend coffee equipment lightly, and I think the worth of this one will vary from user to user. At the time of publication it currently retails at $119; not cheap for a milk frother. But given the different froths you can achieve with this machine, it may be worth the buy if you can swing it, particularly if members of your household have different coffee preferences.
If it goes on sale for, say, $80 or less, I’d definitely snatch it up. It’s a good machine, and if you’re in the market for a milk frother that can do it all, you likely won’t find a better one. On top of being sleek and easy to use (and clean, for that matter), the machine was incredibly quiet while it was frothing — though I haven’t used the Aeroccino 3 in a while, I don’t remember it being quite as quiet. Will I be keeping this around? Definitely, and I’ll probably be using it more often than I initially anticipated. Personally, I wouldn’t splurge for it, but that’s just because of my own financial situation. I’d be more than happy to get it as a gift or to buy it on sale, though.
