Cappuccino Espresso Stovetop Machine Froths 18/10 Steel

OK, so, this item was so cheap, I thought what have I got to loose. I was able to froth milk with no problem, and after years of using only a whisk to make my lattes, I was definitely impressed at how frothy milk gets when it's done right! HOWEVER, the first... say... 5 attempts from this machine made extremely bitter burnt-tasting coffee. I tried changing coffees, changing how fine it was ground, altering the temperature, brewing with and without milk, brewing with or without the frother in, turning off the heat as soon as brewing began.. and still... the coffee was always so bitter I could hardly drink it (and often didn't). I'm no coffee snob either. I've only ever owned a typical aluminium stove-top maker and never had a problem with coffee tasting this bad. I'm guessing that it's the way the steel conducts heat that's the problem. I was on the verge of deciding that the device would only ever be used as a milk frother (albeit an affordable one, so I wasn't complaining)... when I decided to try one last method. After frothing pre-warmed milk as directed (the directions say froth the milk cold, but I've found it doesn't really warm that well unless you do it ahead of time), I set the flame on the lowest level it could be without blowing out. I set the timer for 5 minutes, and walked away. When I came back, it hadn't started bubbling yet, but it was only a minute or 2 more before I saw an air bubble. I immediately turned the flame off, and even though the milk to coffee ratio was a little higher than I would have preferred, the coffee was delicious... so delicious in fact, I didn't even need to sweeten it, which I usually do.

So, now that I got the machine to make a good latte, my main complaints are:

1. No audible way to tell when it's done. Unlike a normal stovetop maker, there's no gurgling sound to signify when it's done, so be sure and set a timer and then hover over it till you see some air bubbles emerge out of the milk. Also, there's always a ton of water left in the bottom tank even after it starts bubbling, and I don't dare let it go longer for fear of burning the coffee again. This makes me think that it's probably not necessary to fill the coffee canister full since you're only really making one shot, not two.

2. takes a long time to use the method I found, which makes it impractical for serving more than one person. Fortunately, I'm the only one in my household who drinks lattes, so it's not a problem, but if you need to serve more than one, you will probably do better with a 6-cup stove-top espresso maker plus frother.

3. Takes a lot of pumping to get the milk to froth. Since I've never used a pump-style frother before, I don't know how normal this is.

4. The coffee basket holes are bigger than normal, so the coffee should be ground slightly courser than with a normal stove-top maker. With the normal powdery expresso-ground coffee, the grounds tend to leak down into the water tank and also into the latte iteself.

OK, I admit I was a little leery b/c this item looked like a sketchy product from an off-brand distributor (cornballer, anyone?), but so far I've been pleasantly surprised.

1. It makes EXCELLENT milk foam--it's so creamy, it's almost like whipped cream. But a warning or two: first, you must manually pump the top to make the foam. Not a big deal, but I bought the unit thinking it was a "fill it up, turn it on" kind of thing. You only have to pump for about 20 seconds, but still, I'm lazy. Second, if you like warm foam, you should heat the milk first. If you make it as directed, the foam will be cold b/c the milk is straight out of the fridge.

2. The directions were very easy to follow. I am by no means an expert at making coffee drinks, but I found the process pretty basic: fill the bottom tank with water, fill the filter with espresso, screw the top on, insert the frother, add milk, close lid, pump milk and then heat.

3. This is a stovetop unit, not an electric one. I assumed it was the latter, for some reason.

4. It was pretty easy to clean. Just rinse off, and if there's any milk residue, wipe while rinsing.

I would've liked to give it 4.5 stars--it would've been 5 if I could plug it in and didn't need to manually create the foam, like the williams-sonoma bialetti one. but i did just watch their video on the williams-sonoma website, so i might just try not pumping it to see if it creates some foam on its own.

LOVE IT!

------UPDATE: 2/12/2012------

1. the foam is best when the milk is cold. i tried heating 6 oz of milk for 1:30 minutes which brought it to a good temp, but the foam was not as good. i heat the milk for 1 minute now before frothing and it warms it enough to be acceptable and get a decent foam (but still not as great when it's cold). and it does need to be pumped in order to create foam.

2. i made the mistake of forgetting to pull up the knob before setting on the stovetop. so i pulled it off too early and most of the water was still in the bottom tank. so then i put it back on, but left it on too long. the coffee sank into the bottom tank and burnt on the bottom! it took forever to get most of the burnt crud off...i used hot water, barkeeper's best friend and scrubbed. still no luck. repeated a couple times and then had to run vinegar thru a few cycles and it no longer tastes like burnt coffee. bottom line: REMEMBER TO PULL UP THE KNOB.

Buy Cappuccino Espresso Stovetop Machine Froths 18/10 Steel Now

Love, love, love it. Works great. Better than star bucks. Saved myself a ton of money buying a stove top maker instead of an electric one. Shipping took to long to have payed for express. Next time I will just go with normal shipping.

Read Best Reviews of Cappuccino Espresso Stovetop Machine Froths 18/10 Steel Here

This is one of those hidden gems that I love to find when shopping. It's a dead ringer for a similar Stella brand stovetop cappuccinera but at a tenth of the price!

It is basically a moka pot with built-in mechanical milk frother. First you froth the milk, then coffee brews right into the foamed milk making a nice cappuccino. Is it real espresso with steamed milk? Can you do pretty latte art? No. But it makes a delicious drink, is very compact, and can be used on top of a gas stove, making it excellent for camping off-grid living, power outages, or occasional users. If you don't have room for a full-size espresso machine or are on a tight budget (or both!) this economical machine fits the bill perfectly.

I notice that some folks report problems using this if you read the instructions and follow them carefully (especially the part about the ball valve in the handle) you should be able to get it to work correctly with just a bit of practice. You'll also need to be careful about quantities of milk, water, and coffee used. Two lids of milk, water up to the safety valve, and a full basket of coffee. You may have to dial in the grind, experimenting with finer and coarser grounds until you find what tastes best. I find that somewhere between fine drip and espresso grind works best.

Want Cappuccino Espresso Stovetop Machine Froths 18/10 Steel Discount?

Well made and sturdy! Especially given the price. I was a little wary of all the other similar makers, but I took a chance on this one because of the price and it turned out well. The handle is well constructed and isn't hot off the stove, even though it's metal. It's a little squeaky when you screw out the bottom attachment, but it's fine.