Here are the most important things I think prospective buyers should know:
1. The machine does not heat the milk to scalding temperatures. You know how when you get a latte at Starbucks, it burns your mouth at first? Yeah, this doesn't do that. The milk is warmed, but you won't have a hot drink for as long as you would at a coffee shop.
2. Size. This machine is meant to be paired with a single-serve coffee machine. It makes enough milk/foam for a single cappuccino or a single latte. That means 1.5 oz of espresso and 5 or 6 oz. of milk. If you want to make drinks for more than one person at a time, or if you want to make the equivalent of a "Venti" latte, you may need more than one of these or a different machine (Froth Au Lait).
3. Cleanup is EASY. This is one of the most important features, IMO. All you do is rinse it out, wipe the bottom with a sponge, rinse again, and you're done. You can clean it while your Nespresso machine is pouring your espresso shot. For making yourself a cappuccino in the morning, this thing can't be beat when it comes to simplicity, ease, and convenience. You do need to wipe the bottom (of the inside of the container), because as others have said, burned milk can appear on the bottom. This is easy to remove if you let the machine soak or just wipe it immediately.
4. Reliability is this machine's achilles heel. Thankfully, Nespresso has amazing customer service. However, the reliability issues seem to be inherent to the machine's design. When you look at the picture, you should realize that the black bottom is a plastic stand that the stainless container sits on. The bottom of the stainless container is plastic with a metal power jack in the middle that fits into the base. When you clean the unit, you remove it from the base and rinse the inside of the jug/container. You can run water into the stainless jug and rinse it out, but you are not supposed to get water on that bottom plastic area. This is difficult. When you wipe your countertop with a sponge, often streaks of water linger. If you place the container on the counter after it's been wiped, you may have an issue.
Final Thoughts:
My unit has just stopped frothing, and Nespresso says this is because the frothing whisk isn't moving fast enough. Their explanation is that some water may be in and around that plastic base. I've been advised to turn the jug over and let it sit for 48 hours to allow any moisture that may have made it inside to evaporate. If this doesn't work, they'll replace it. I'm not upset, as I read the many experiences already posted here and elsewhere. In fact, the time this malfunction occurred I was thinking to myself how lucky I was to have gotten a machine that works well. Obviously I was wrong, but I still really like this machine. Even if you know how to use a proper steam milk frother, you just can't get this kind of great foam in so little time with so little hassle and cleanup. However, if every few weeks I need to give it a 48 hour time out... I don't know how I'll feel. The Froth Au Lait machine, which I own, is fantastic, but much larger and more difficult to clean as you need a brush of some sort to clean the bottom. There seems no doubt that the Froth Au Lait FAL-W Frothing Unit, White machine is more reliable, but it is not as pretty on the countertop or as easy to clean for a single serving of coffee/espresso. Hence my 3 star review of the Aeroccino. Good machine with some serious flaws. If you have the appropriate expectations going in, and have the money to spend, this machine will make you happy, as long as Nespresso continues their great support.
Update: It appears my machine wasn't broken at all, though I can't explain what's going on. It seems either some kinds/quality of milk don't froth, or else different outlets in my kitchen are giving different amounts of power. I tested this by using my Froth Au Lait, which also only heated the milk without frothing it. Moving the machine to the outlet I had originally used it on, with fresh milk, fixed the issue. I suspect FRESH MILK might be the takeaway. When you get a week into a carton of milk, you might not be able to froth it, even if it seems fine for cereal. Hope this helps someone.
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When Aeroccino works, it works great. It is quick and quiet, and produces excellent foam. Clean up is very easy. But, there is something inherently unstable about Aeroccino machines. Since August, I managed to kill three of them and I am not sure why. Part of it is the nature of the machine: because it is constructed like a water kettle, one should not submerge it into water. But because it is designed to heat milk, the manufacturer allows putting it under running water as long as the bottom of the machine remains dry. If you get the bottom wet (and you will), the machine either trips (and heals itself after fully drying) or dies. I suspect, my first two Aeroccinos died such deaths. My third one died today. I frothed milk with it, refilled it and tried again (without cleaning in between) and the machine did not work. I tried again and it worked for 20 seconds and stopped. I tried again a couple hours later and it worked for 10 seconds and stopped. I am not sure why it is so, but I suspect it has to do with the magnetic foaming brushes you must insert into the machine to make it work. If anyone has ideas why this is so, let me know.
On the positive side I keep calling the company and they keep sending me new machines. I really like Aeroccino when it works. But I suspect it will be the good old microwave when I finally run out of warranty.
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I have owned several different espresso makers from krups to capresso to nespresso. I have also had a capresso frother which I had to return because it didn't work. While I have enjoyed the coffee, I have always been "frothingly" challengedexcept on the lower end krupsa fact I find mildly interesting. Anyway, this aeroccino is so simple as to make you wonder and the froth is perfect, as is the steamed milk. So far I have not run into the problems of it shorting out and neither has a friend who has also purchased one, but I am glad to know they will replace it. The greatest thing since sliced bread for the consumer who likes gadgets and is willing to pay for them
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It looks like we are not alone in our experience with this product. When we first got it we were infatuated with how clean, neat and easy it was. The design was elegant and the frothed milk was fabulous. Then, after about a week of regular use it just quit frothing the milk. Everything still functioned apparently, but no froth. Ever.
I read the manual and saw the year warranty. I figured, there's no way that anyone would warranty a product for a year that breaks so easily. We turned it in for a replacement, and brought the new one home, excited to have gotten rid of the fluke defective product. No such luck.
The replacement neatly and quietly whirs away, without producing any effect but warm, frothless milk.
Oh well.
Williams and Sonoma had better give me my money back.
AMMENDMENT:
Ok, so after significant frustration with this product we struck on a hypothesis. What if it was the change in milk that caused the lack of frothing and not a change in the device?
We switched back to the milk which we were using when the device worked (from a local dairy) and lo and behold! The device worked again just fine; we had delicious frothy milk. So we compared the two milks and the second milk (the one that didn't work) had a preservative in it (a salt of some kind) that was specifically designed to keep the milk fat from separating in hot liquids; in fact it said this right on the carton. After repeated testing our observation appears to be correct and since watching what milk we use, the frother has worked fabulously.
Barring further problems I am prepared to change my rating to four stars. I will keep this review up to date if anything of further note occurs.
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I saw this at willamson-sonoma and thought would be nice to have in addition to my machine so I could do coffee while frothing and not have to switch over while the coffee cooled... fantastic quick easy and good. I rinse out the top and use a wet paper towel to clean to avoid getting the bottom wet. and simply let it dry on the rack to be sure. so good am getting one for my neice's anniversary. a bit pricy but worth the ease.
