| Product: |
Aerolatte Milk Frother |
| Date: |
04/11/07 (685 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Handy to have at the time, comes with batteries bought new.
Disadvantages: Expensive price, loses power and eventually rusts.
Way back in 2000 when I first worked as a barista and enjoyed the perks of a freshly brewed coffee with a thick crema, I got into drinking hot milk lattes and at times, cappuccino forms with thick white milk foam, fluff and froth. I was chucking away my daily mugs of tea and swapping them for thick home made coffee freshly prepared from a £15000 machine on the premises where I had just started working. Milk froth from industrial machines always carried a minimum temperature between 130°Centigrade to 145°C maximum and 150°C for additional syrup based milk drinks such as hot chocolate.
The same year, my mum had purchased her latest additional gadget in the kitchen, the "Thunderstick Pro" multi purpose electric hand stick from a shopping channel on satellite television; one of its underlying promises was whipping up cold skimmed milk into a thick fat free foam. The noise and eventual weight of the hand stick became all too annoying and my mum pined for something which could at least do something that the TS Pro was brilliant at - producing the thickest of milk foam.
** Price, Stockists and Product Promise **
So when Aerolatte arrived on the shelves at Lakeland's shop in Glasgow, I was eager to find out more about this little gadget. It looked like nothing I had seen before, because the latest gadget rival on the market was at least 10 times bigger in size and came with additional tools. I bought this initially as a stocking filler to my parents and at just 20cm long in its thin box, it made a suitable stocking filler - quite literally!
At £14-95 though I had to seriously question where my money was going on this hand held tiny whisk and knowing that Lakeland Plastics adore marking up their prices by at least a quarter added onto the original pricing, I began to make tracks in my own research.
* Stockists *
House of Fraser’s; John Lewis; Debenhams; all these home stores were selling the Aerolatte on the shelf at the standard price of £14-95. For an additional £7-95 you could also buy a natty little stand which mimicked the design of the standard Aerolatte whisk and held it in place if you bought one and stored it in the kitchen, ready to grab to hand. The last shop I saw these whisks on sale was at a "Whittards" store in Glasgow, now selling both the stand and the hand held whisk together at £21-95. That's quite a lot of money for a machine that is supposed to just froth up hot and cold liquids. Let's not forget here, there are multi hand sticks as the TS Pro and Braun's excellent Multi whisk hand sticks but they can perform other tasks that this hand held whisk cannot do.
** This is a long review based on longterm experience **
* Product Promise *
After all this is a mere battery operated whisk powered by 2 AA cells which creates a small cyclone effect the moment it hits water – yes the whole household appliance world seem hell bent in getting on the cyclone patent since James Dyson more or less brought the word to the masses. The makers claim that the Aerolatte can whip up a suitable foam for coffee, other hot drinks and produce thick foam and froth in cold drinks too, as well as whipping up a frappe based on instant coffee powder and mere water. All these claims and a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. The gadget also comes with 2 AA batteries already enclosed which means you can use it straight away the moment you get it out of its box.
Two versions are available; the standard chrome version which catches finger marks easily and the Satin finished Aerolatte which is the latest addition to the range. Both gadgets come priced at £14-95 which is surprising as brushed metal gadgets these days usually fetch a higher price than standard models alone.
You can additionally buy the machine online at Aerolatte's home site, www.aerolatte.com
But does it actually work?
The Aerolatte's construction is firstly made up of a chrome body (but closer inspection will reveal that it's a black plastic construction, which is clearly shown by the strands of plastic revealed in the base lock which holds the electrical seat where one end of the batteries will meet). If you lose this lock catch you will not be able to use the machine and replacements are not available either. By inserting opposite sides of the two batteries into the Aerolatte, you push the base onto the end of the hand whisk and push a black lock (which is ribbed) to lock the base into position. Once this is done, there is only a black slide on switch to worry about. There is also only one speed and you can slide the button down and leave the whisk spinning without having to keep your finger on the button.
Moving further down you'll find a central thin spindle which is permanently attached to the motor/battery casing and at the end a small 1 penny size circular whisk head.
In terms of instruction (and the instruction is a fold out 6 page affair with recipes and general do's and don'ts which have been clearly marked) for the most basic of froth, for example making up froth for hot coffee, the makers advise to heat up milk to 70°C before pushing the whisk into a large mug and in a circular motion whisking the outsides of the liquid to allow air inside the liquid. Once this is done the whisk can then be pushed in and out slowly so that the liquid gets a chance to thicken up. And what a surprise you will get, because hot milk with this gadget will thicken up the milk considerably. The manual suggest between 15 to 20 seconds and to be fair to the makers, yes you do need that amount of short time before you see results. The more you "pull out" with the whisk, the thinner the froth will be but the more you push in, under the milk, the thicker the froth becomes. I was really desperate to see if the froth produced by this gadget bettered the froth that comes out of the industrial steamer at work.
I also tested the Aerolatte on milkshakes and experimented with my own ideas, using low fat semi skimmed milk which had been chilled from the fridge, a couple of table spoons of low fat yogurt and a handful of berries. The fresh berries had been halved and I was interested to see if the machine could blend everything together. Well, as the milk and the berries began to blend together, and the yogurt began to fold in, the milk started to get quite frothy; end result a very thick and lumpy "fruit shake." Don't go thinking that steel whisk head will blend and puree fruit into milk or yogurt - the batteries can only cope with so much and the whisk is not engineered to slice through berries let alone other general fresh fruits.
And as for that instant frappe idea? Well it works and it works to a degree where I was pleasantly surprised; by adding milk instead of water you get a thicker, creamier taste but it does depend on the type of milk used - another factor which the makers seem to have left out. Their claim is that any milk can be used. But there's a wee problem with that as I'll point out;
** Milk Types **
Creamier, heavier and thicker consistencies in taste and preference will be found most definitely in full fat cream milk. As I'm a fan of semi skimmed and skimmed milk in general I found that getting a thick head out of the semi-products wasn't as successful compared to full fat cream laden milk. However, when skimmed milk for example is heated, it can develop a beautiful light and frothy foam compared to full fat milk - but it all depends on the temperature you heat your milk at!
All types of milk though can be used; including Soya milk which when tested with the Aerolatte at a hot temperature produced a similar effect to the semi and skimmed milk product results. Aerolatte claim that full fat milk gets thick froth compared to semi skimmed milk which gets the same type of froth when its cold - not possible I'm afraid - the constituents of semi or skimmed milk cannot produce a thick foam for a long duration - compared to semi or skimmed milk which has been hot steam frothed.
** Does It Impress? **
Well, the Aerolatte seems to be able to produce different types of foam and froth but at the cost of one all important aspect; time - and this includes the temperature gauging. Times on heating milk for example are based on an 850 watt microwave oven and the manual suggest that the owner should just find a correct temperature duration for their own preference of heating milk.
If for example you heat milk as preferred by the instruction manual at 70°C I found that the milk cooled down a lot faster and a thick foam could not be perfected, no matter how many times I stirred and pulled the whisk out of the mug. The manual suggests using a large diameter mug as opposed to a thin vessel to allow air into the mixture. At 120°C however the milk frothed to a good degree, slightly better and thicker but no match for a steamer from a machine, industrial or domestic with a 15 bar pressure minimum. This is taking into consideration the 15 to 20 whisking rule as set by the Aerolatte's makers.
Similarly, hot milk at 70°C isn't really that "hot" by standards set in cafes which use industrial machines. 100°C should be able to give you a full hot cup of milk which is satisfying to drink aided by thick foam and suitable froth. That's really the more ideal temperature you should think about when it comes to using this gadget for hot drinks.
When it comes to making a hot coffee, say instant coffee I've found that making a normal black coffee and then putting the foam on top is better than the other way around, say if you are going to make an espresso and then add the milk. Again steamed milk works better here because it is thicker the moment it pours from a jug as opposed to the whisk pushing air through the espresso and mixing the milk in together.
Here's something else they won't tell you in the manual or website. Milk when it is boiled starts to soil between 185°C and 200°C. What do I mean by "soil"? Well, the nutrients in milk start to evaporate when milk reaches 185°C and 200°C or anything above this!! Then the milk on its own goes rotten. This in effect means that milk starts to allow bacteria to set in if it is boiled to that temperature and over.
** What Blunts The Experience? **
Aerolatte is a very good gadget to keep in the home, but there are some downsides which blunt a very well thought out gadget. Firstly, it is not a machine that I consider to be a direct replacement for frothed milk. Morphy Richards who make filter coffee machines similarly discovered that consumers who had bought their machines with the added milk frother whisk were not satisfied with the results - you really do need a steam gun which thickens and froths up milk properly - or to a proper standard that Italians and Americans prefer, which by all accounts in cafes such as Starbucks and private Italian coffee shops, you can easily sample and compare.
The battery power is woeful if you try the gravy recipe. Traditional or made up gravy needs to thicken over time and you don't need a whisk such as this to cut your time - who wants froth on gravy anyway? The TS Pro stick on the other hand which uses electric power thickens gravy and pushes the fat onto the steel head - which this gadget cannot accomplish - at all. Remember the head on the Aerolatte is a circular design and being a whisk it has wrapped coils which allow air to enter into the food product you are mixing. Gravy when it thickens starts to burn the batteries down and the result means you have to replace the batteries and think again.
A battery power level indication light would have been handy to know when the batteries were losing power. There's nothing to let you know when your power source is failing other than the speed and sound of the motor - and there's nothing worse than realising you haven't got any spare batteries lying around to show off to your friends! More often than not, the small "whine" that the motor produces when fresh batteries are installed is minimal and the gadget doesn't interrupt low conversation in the kitchen when friends are around! When the batteries are losing power, the motor lessens in pitch sound and of course power starts to decrease. Forget using rechargeable batteries too as the little motor in this whisk demands full power all the time.
Additionally, the handle on the Aerolatte gets quite hot over time and that is all down to the pressure and strain the batteries have been put under. I got a shock once when I grabbed the handle with wet hands, so it has to be said the Aerolatte isn't double insulated for safety. Even if the batteries aren't under strain the heat of the user's hand can heat up the motor casing and from time to time, the chrome body (or Satin if you so choose) can slip out of the hand which knocks the batteries the moment it hits a hard surface.
The spindle and whisk are not removable from the motor. Although the metal used on the latter are stainless steel and are apparently of food grade metal, the casing on the motor isn't and you have to be extremely careful when cleaning this gadget. I found the worst food type to be hot chocolate which clung to the spindle and the whisk head and it took several hours dipped in hot water for the stick to become completely clean.
The stand that comes with the Aerolatte is near useless. No attempt has been made to allow the stand to accommodate a mug, which seems silly since the gadget can be switched on and left on without holding your finger on it. The stand also has a tendency to fall over if it has not been put on a flat surface and it cannot be wall mounted either.
** The Difference with the £1-00 pound line shop whisks **
The £1 whisks don't generate enough power in the motor to produce enough speed for the similarly designed whisks to operate and that is the only difference.
** And So....***
At the end of the day, the Aerolatte is a little gadget for those who can not go without trying the latest gadget. However after three years of using this handy little whisk, my Aerolatte began to rust at the end of the motor casing which then caused that food grade metal to discolour. This did not heighten consumer confidence and whilst I no longer work at a coffee shop I can do without the "half" froth that this gadget works up.
The gadget is upon average safe, but only just - the spindle stops on a safety cut out if anything gets tangled up into it - and it's a great gadget for children to use, but watch that safety aspect because the machine is not built for all weathers. And that price just doesn't seem to be falling either.
If you adore froth/fluff then buy an espresso machine which has a minimum of 15 bars of steam pressure. At least frother guns don't rust! Ultimately then, the Aerolatte will whip up a suitable ripple of froth in a mug, but not a storm in a tea cup. ©Nar2 2007
www.aerolatte.com (You’ll need Java supported software)
Summary: Handy expensive stocking filler for the fan who loves to whisk.
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