Purchasing Decision

Last summer (June 2005) I received a Kenwood New York Smoothie Maker, which was chosen to enable me to create and mix my own smoothies and cocktails. Following on from this, I recently spotted the Kenwood Frothie Maker being advertised which although able to mix cold drinks, was also able to heat and mix the perfect frothy drinks. Being a sucker for a new marketing gadget for the kitchen I quickly persuaded someone to purchase this for me for Christmas (December 2005).


Kenwood Frothie

The Kenwood Frothie Maker is a unique machine designed to create hot and frothy drinks by mixing your chosen ingredients and heating them at the same time. Uniquely it is also designed to mix cold frothy drinks.

It has been designed with a specific "Frothy Mix" button that is pressed before serving, ensures your drink is dispensed perfectly whilst maintaining a level of froth. This is also ideal when mixing cold drinks such as milkshakes or specific cocktails.

The Frothie Maker is ideally packaged in polystyrene in a neat little box coloured similar to that of a cappuccino, whilst retaining a design of the product and several produced drinks on the exterior.

Alongside the product are a recipe booklet, and an instruction guide…as well as a quick cappuccino reference recipe.


Product and Design

The Frothie Maker is basically a large mixing/measuring goblet secured onto a power unit. Included also are the lid, a dispensing facility and a brush to aid cleaning the inside of the goblet. This brush I find indispensable especially when cleaning the goblet after making hot chocolate, as I often find pieces of dried chocolate clinging to the base of the unit, and the brush enables me to easily clean them off.

On the power unit are 3 buttons:

Off switch
Heat & Mix switch
Frothy Mix


Instructions

Within the instruction guide are important details on safety, instructions before first usage, how to use the appliance, cleaning guidelines and service and customer care guidelines.


Safety

Before using the Frothy maker it's recommended by Kenwood that the instruction booklet is read carefully and retain for future reference. Key safety points include:

1. Never immerse the Goblet or allow the underside to get wet, and ensure the goblets thoroughly dry before use.
2. Never let the power unit, cord or plug get wet
3. Never leave the appliance unattended especially if young persons are around
4. Beware, the appliance does become very hot during application
5. Only use the appliance for its intended use


First usage

Before using the appliance for the first time it is recommended that it is cleaned thoroughly. This I found to be true as the product had become slightly dusty whilst in transit and before purchase.


Using the Frothy Maker

Now for the fun part! To use your Frothy maker, ensure everything is assembled correctly and check the dispensing lever is in the off position. This is a wise move, as unlike me you don't want to spill milk all over your kitchen counter!

Place the liquid ingredients inside the goblet first, this I found prevents the dried ingredients from clinging to the sides of the goblet and aids the cleaning process.

Secondly add the dried ingredients, such as cocoa powder and sugar. Ingredients such as cinnamon sticks or vanilla pods can also be added but purely to retain flavour. The Frothy maker isn't a blender so doesn't chop solid ingredients, and they would become stuck in the dispenser.

Cover the goblet with the lid, and secure tightly.

Press the heat & Mix button, and the mixing and heating operation will commence. The appliance will automatically stop once the optimum temperature has been reached. Although I haven't yet timed this exactly I have found that this takes approximately the same time as a kettle takes to boil.

When the heat and mix program is ended, place a cup/mug underneath the dispensing tap, press the frothy mix button and lift the lever to dispense the drink. This is slightly noisy than the heat and mix program (which incidentally is louder than a kettle, but quieter than the Kenwood New York Smoothie maker) but the end result is a delicious frothy drink. Once the drink has been dispensed you just need to press the off button to end the frothy cycle.

Kenwood recommend a few hints when sing the Frothie Maker to ensure you achieve the optimum results from your product.

These include:
- Consume the drink straight away as this is when its at its richest and frothiest
- For added richness include a dollop of cream - this increases the thickness of your drink, and I find goes really well when make a deluxe hot chocolate.
- The maximum capacity of the goblet is 1.2litres, but remember some ingredients increase in size when heated so be careful not to overfill


When mixing cold drinks you obviously don't need to press the heat and mix button. I tend to pour some milk into the goblet, add a large dollop of ice-cream and a few spoonfuls of strawberry syrup press the frothy mix button for approximately 1 to 2 minutes to ensure the ingredients are mixed together and then dispense into a tall glass. This results in one instant strawberry milkshake!


Cleaning

Unfortunately after the fun part of making and mixing the frothy drinks comes the cleaning part. The Kenwood Frothy maker must be cleaned after each use (unless your making the same drink consecutively) to ensure that food doesn't become dried to the goblet and the product remains fresh.

Remember the underside of the goblet and the power unit must not become wet, as this could damage the product. Instead use the brush provided to clean the inside of the product and fill with warm water, allowing it to slowly dispense through the tap. The unit should be wiped carefully with a damp cleaning cloth.

As I mentioned above food does become stuck to the goblet, but if you find the brush doesn't remove it easily, fill the goblet with water and run the heat and mix cycle, as this generally loosens the dried on food particles.


Service and customer care.

Found inside of the instruction booklet and details on the service and customer care of the Frothy Maker. These include a phone number to ring for customer care, and an alternative number for spares and attachments.

The guarantee offered by Kenwood is one year, although this doesn't cover neglect, misuse or modifications. You will also need your receipt to as proof of purchase.


Recipes

Okay after the sensible instructions, safety, usage and cleaning guidelines, you really need to know some recipes in order to make the most of the Frothy Maker.

Included with the product is a comprehensive recipe booklet including such recipes as:

Cappuccino
Vanilla and Cream Coffee
Gourmet Hot Chocolate
Chilli Chocolate
Apple Lemon Punch
Chocolate Milkshake
Pineapple Spice Tea

Although there are many other recipes included, you are also encouraged to adapt and change recipes to suit your personal tastes.

The Cappuccino recipe is the one I have used the most often as this is extremely simple:

1. Ingredients - 400ml (1/2 pint) milk
2. 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
3. 1 tbsp sugar
4. Cocoa powder to serve

And the instructions are as follows:

1. Put all the ingredients (liquid first) into the goblet
2. Press heat and mix
3. At the end of the cycle, press frothy button and dispense into two cups

And Voila! You have the perfect cappuccino.

It doesn't matter which brand of coffee you use, that's all a matter of personal taste, although I would recommend using full-fat milk for some of the creamy recipes to guarantee that level of richness and taste.


Conclusion

Since receiving the Kenwood Frothy Maker for Christmas (December 2005) I have used the appliance on a regular basis, generally making hot chocolates and cappuccinos for myself and friends. The drinks have always been well received, and we were inclined to agree that the quality and taste (again dependant on your ingredients) far surpassed the coffee we were drinking at work.

Although I received mine as a gift it can be purchased from most good kitchen outlets including Argos where it retails for GBP 39.99 (January 2006)

I do find the actual usage of the appliance very simple and although I tend to keep the recipe booklet to hand, find I don't actually use it very often now, unless I wish to try a new recipe out.

Cleaning hasn't been too much of a problem, although after making several hot chocolates in a row, I did find I needed to use the cleaning brush more than normal.

One observation I have made though, is that when switching between drink types you need to leave the machine for around 15 minutes to cool down. This I think is a safety mechanism within the product, and would also be applicable if you were making hot then cold drinks. However as we all tend to drink the same drink (which takes longer than 15 minutes) we haven't found this has been a problem.

Unfortunately I do think that has relegated by New York Smoothie Maker to the back of the cupboard for a while, especially while the cold weather is still with us. By the time the summer comes I'll be stuck for choice as to which appliance to use.

Overall this is definitely a product a recommend, as it produces quick, easy and satisfyingly brilliant drinks.