My husband loves his homemade coffees and we spend a stupid amount on coffee beans each month. When I bought him his current coffee machine, we didn't ever really use the milk frother arm on the side of the machine, but recently he has a thing about frothy milk whenever we go to the local coffee shop, so when we tried to use the arm on the coffee machine and discovered it didn't work we were suitably disappointed! I had read reviews about this product and heard good things about it, so we made a trip to the local Ikea (we needed other bits too) to buy one.

At £1, the value of this milk frother cannot be disputed, especially when it works! Taking two double AA batteries, this will probably cost more than the product does, as batteries seem to have really gone up over the last few years, but still the price cannot be scoffed at, and it is understandable that the product doesn't come with any.

We use the frother to froth hot milk before going into a cappuccino or a coffee, but it can also be used for cold milk too. It froths easily and only takes around 15 - 20 seconds to create really bubbly frothy milk. People always commented on our homemade coffees anyway, but now people have started making these weird noises while drinking them! The texture of the milk obviously heightens the experience somehow!

For the price, don't get expecting a high end product, but it seems well made and we haven't ever had any problems with it. I would say that you need to be careful what item you will be frothing the milk in. We had one of those stainless steel milk jugs which is perfect but a faff if you want to heat milk as this item isn't ideal and then it means you are going to have to wash up loads of items just so you can have frothy milk. I have started using a Pyrex jug which is perfect for the frother and won't damage the jug either. Don't make the mistake I once did of turning the frother on and then putting it in the milk, it went absolutely everywhere. Simply put the frother in and then turn it on, use the same process for turning it off too and make sure this is done when the gadget is still in the milk. The frothing starts immediately and for some strange reason I find it quite satisfying to watch!

One thing I will say about the milk frother is not to leave it sat in a sink unwashed. It's easy to do, we don't have a dishwasher and I don't wash up after each item I use (I already wash up around 4 times a day anyway and refuse to do it anymore!), but if the milk dries on the frother, it does get quite difficult to remove and requires that extra bit of washing, it's so much easier to just give it a rinse as soon as you have finished with it. If you do have a dishwasher, then you will be pleased to know it is also dishwasher safe.

For an extra tip, when you have frothed your milk, hold the froth with a spoon as you pour the milk into your drink and then pour the froth to sit on top of your drink. We stole this idea from watching the baristas in the local coffee shop, but it just makes using it feel more authentic and all adds to the perfect coffee!

Other similar products will set you back about £10. Don't bother, buy this.