Coffee lovers dream tool !! Awesome ! 
I must admit when I first heard of these immersion frothers I was very skeptical. I had tried many frothers cappuccino machines with built in frothers (work great first 2 times then they always clog) and plunger frothers (can you say carpal tunnel syndrome??) etc. After much time AND much effort there was very little reward almost no froth and much frustration not to mention cleanup. I tried the plunger types repeatedly to the point where I was sure I'd have blisters. Did I mention having to disassemble & clean all the frother parts after? :o)
So began my quest for an easy effective way to obtain cappuccino style froth for my morning java. I searched java junkie message boards and decided to give the Aerolatte a try. I couldn't have been more amazed and pleased.
This little gadget runs on 2 AA batteries (included) and comes with a metal counter stand so it's easily accessible. I unboxed it and gave it a whirl seemed sturdy and surprisingly fast. Now for the coffee test. Hmmm. So I brewed a pot (french press) of strong coffee and poured a little half & half in my mug and let 'er rip. All I can say is AWESOME!! I was totally shocked at how quick and easy the Aerolatte whipped it into froth. Seriously comparable to the froth from Starbucks. I couldn't believe it.
The instructions recommend skim or low fat milk which also frothed up just as thick and rich. Wow!!!! When you are finished run the unit under under the faucet or in a cup of water to clean. Incredibly cool that you create the froth right in your coffee mug. Simple as that no extra equipment to clean.
Be brave experiment a little. I prefer heating my mug with sugar & half & half in the microwave for 30 seconds froth for about 30 seconds & pour in coffee. Voila Coffee house quality cappuccino and no pots or tubes to clean. Pretty spectacular!
Details: Gotta admit the stand that arrived with mine is cool to look at very high-tech but poorly designed & a tad annoying as you need 2 hands to remove the frother or put it back in. Ok but not ideal. Luckily Aerolatte must have realized this as they have since redesigned the stand & replaced with an even cooler (hopefully more functional) design.
The battery life is excellent (at least 4 weeks of daily use) however I would recommend investing in rechargeable batteries and charger as the unit is much more efficient and faster with strong batteries.
My first Aerolatte burned out after a little over a year of heavy usage. I loved it so much I purchased another. The price is reasonable as my unit was packaged with the unit stand and matching shaker for toppings (cinnamon cocoa etc)
Highly recommended. You will not be disappointed! Bravo Aerolatte
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Sure beats the other brandsI thought my Hamilton Beach percolator was decent for the price I even wrote a review about it in December 2006. One week later this 1-year old coffee maker was barely keeping the coffee hot. Then I visited my son in Alaska at Christmas and noticed that his 6-yr old Presto percolator was still delivering great hot coffee in record time. I returned home ordered my Presto 12-cup percolator and am highly impressed. It's lighter easier to load easier to pour easier to clean perks ultra-fast and makes a great hot cup of coffee. Because of its lighter stainless steel pot it cools down faster if you want to make a second batch of coffee right away. (We make two pots and pour the first batch into a thermos for back-up when company comes) Based on its performance I'm surprised the price is so reasonable.
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This works so well it's INSANE (see my photos)I just got the box from Amazon pulled out my new Aerolatte removed the protective cover from the battery compartment (yeah it even comes pre-loaded with a pair of "aerolatte" double A's!) and put about 2 oz of NON-FAT (skim) milk in a glass.
I nuked the milk for about 20 seconds pulled it from the microwave stuck the aerolatte in the glass and pushed the switch.
DANG!!
Nearly INSTANT foam. GOBS of it. It formed PEAKS!! You could make small milk-animals out of it.
I really can't believe how well this thing works. The only thing that would ruin it for me is if it simply fell apart after a few uses but frankly with a little bit of care it looks like it'll hold up. We'll see.
But in the meantime call me Doctor Foam.
-Jonathan Sabin
UPDATE ***9 MONTHS LATER***
Notwithstanding the complaints of people who claim that their aerolatte lasted about 5 minutes I just replaced the batteries for the first time since buying it back in January. (Yes it still works but I was disappointed that I was no longer able to make foam-animals!)
Well a couple of fresh Duracells later and I sound like a deranged dentist with this thing in my hand. The "buzz" I had become accustomed to is now a high-pitched whizzing sound that actually made my molars uncomfortable.
But I'm back to making some seriously decent foam again!
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Best value for the money - Awesome coffeeI was initially reluctant to buy this based on the fact that they use proprietary pods. Had that reluctance stuck with me I probably would've spent a few hundred more on a high-quality manual espresso machine or over a thousand on an automatic machine. $.52 a cup is reasonable when you consider that grinding your own works out to about $.30 a cup but yields a greater mess and requires more soap and water for cleanup each time. With two little kids at home - who has time to clean? I was absolutely giddy the first time I used both the machine and the frother. Separately and together both machines match or rival what all too many of us pay $3-5 for from the local coffee shop. I'm convinced that our friends will like us more if we decide to share some of this with them. I bought this at Williams-Sonoma based on loyalty as I had sampled it 3 times over a two week period and finally couldn't take it anymore. I had to have one! Consumer reports also ranks this machine highest in its class. The only machine that offered comparable taste was larger cost about a grand and requires more cleaning.
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Perfect for families with 1 coffee drinkerWe all know that too much coffee is terrible for the body in several ways. So instead of using the 12-cup coffee maker we decided to go with a smaller one - to force me to drink less coffee. I love this product for a number of reasons.
Pros:
- Perfect size for a single coffee drinker.
- Timer is great. Every other 4-cup maker that I found were switch based without a timer setting. Timer settings are really helpful when you want to just get your coffee and go.
- Easy to clean. This product has a removeable filter cup for easy cleaning. Also the auto-pause in brewing is helpful to both allow for quick removal and less spilling.
Cons:
- It takes a little longer to brew 4 cups with this maker as it does in a larger maker. This may simply be due to the size of the product.
Summary:
- I really like this product. It makes coffee perfectly. It is compact and takes up very little space. It is perfect for my coffee needs.
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Perfect for families with 1 coffee drinkerWe all know that too much coffee is terrible for the body in several ways. So instead of using the 12-cup coffee maker we decided to go with a smaller one - to force me to drink less coffee. I love this product for a number of reasons.
Pros:
- Perfect size for a single coffee drinker.
- Timer is great. Every other 4-cup maker that I found were switch based without a timer setting. Timer settings are really helpful when you want to just get your coffee and go.
- Easy to clean. This product has a removeable filter cup for easy cleaning. Also the auto-pause in brewing is helpful to both allow for quick removal and less spilling.
Cons:
- It takes a little longer to brew 4 cups with this maker as it does in a larger maker. This may simply be due to the size of the product.
Summary:
- I really like this product. It makes coffee perfectly. It is compact and takes up very little space. It is perfect for my coffee needs.
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Zojirushi's EC-BD15BA 1.5 Liter Fresh Brew Coffee Maker with Vacuum Stainless Steel Carafe is gorgeous and functional and will look spectacular on your countertop. It has many wonderful features.
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This state of the art coffeemaker lets you fine tune the process from filtering the water you brew with to keeping the brewed coffee at the precise temperature you desire. If you're the impatient type you can grab a cup before brewing is complete (or program your coffee to be ready and waiting at wake up time) and if you tend to be forgetful this appliance has auto shut off. Seems as though Cuisinart has covered all the bases in this deluxe coffeemaker.
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Wouldn't this make a great gift for a student or a commuter? The machine brews right into the thermal travel mug and then shuts itself off so your favorite coffee lover can simply grab and go!
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