Recommendations for a milk steamer

[ChrisnSteph]

I love chai tea. It's the nectar of my life! My addiction is expensive, since they're over $3 a pop at Starbucks. I can buy the Starbucks concetrate, but since I don't have a milk steamer/frother it doesn't taste the same at home. I've shopped around for one, but all I can find are the big espesso machines and I don't drink espresso. Anyone know where I can find something that just steams/froths milk?

 

[mickeyboat]

I think I have met my "separated at birth" twin. I love chai, and my friends all think I am nuts. It just doesn't taste the same when I make it at home.

Denae

 

[Karel]

Do a google search for Frother. There are several inexpensive ones, either an electric hand held device or a glass container with a whip like device that goes up and down and froths up the milk.

Amazon had some.

 

[chrissyk]

It's tough to froth milk well w/o a really substantial frother. The best ones are plumbed in, which is not what you're looking for I'm sure. DH bought me this super-automatic expresso machine from Starbucks maybe 5 years or so ago, and it froths milk pretty well. Even this frother has had it's issues, though, and it's a pretty serious machine. I wouldn't spend too much on a hand-held one, because I just don't think that it would hold up. You may be better off paying $3 a pop at Starbucks unless you want to invest in a really good expresso machine, unfortunately.

 

[golfgal]

I just buy the canned stuff at Sam's club but since the first kind of Chai I ever tasted was from there, it tastes just the same at home . I won an espresso machine is a drawing of somesort and broke the pot about 2 days after I got it. It had a frother thing on it and it worked great. I used it to froth up my powered cappuccino mix stuff. It was probably a $20-30 machine from Walmart or where ever.

 

[KT27]

OMG I am addicted to chai. I bought the tazo chai concentrate (not the type that Starbucks sells, the type that they actually use, its not as watered down) and a hand held milk foamer. Its the closest I can get to a real Starbucks Chai.

Ever try a shot of vanilla in your chai...absolute heaven!!!!!


~Katie

 

[ChrisnSteph]

OMG I am addicted to chai. I bought the tazo chai concentrate (not the type that Starbucks sells, the type that they actually use, its not as watered down) and a hand held milk foamer.

~Katie

Where can you buy that?

 

[KT27]

I actually found it in a health food store in Austin. But I have bought it on ebay. There is an auction now (Item number: 170039476041), I just did a search. I have seen it priced a little lower too. But if you are paying 3.00-4.00 a drink it will save you in the long run. Make sure it's the concentrate.

I got my dh & mom hooked on the stuff.

~Katie

 

[KT27]

here is a web page I just found:

http://www.nmrc.org/~thegnome/chai.html

 

[DMickey28]

I LOVE CHAI tea. I used to get it at Starbucks all the time... With a shot of sugar free vanilla. I have been really good with the caffine since the PG, but I might have to get one soon. Panera's is decent too.

I have that concentrate but it's not the same, i think I ended up tossing...

 

[Imzadi]

One year for Xmas, I bought everyone this:

LINK: Bodum Milk frother It works fabulously for one cup of tea or cappuccino - even at the office - if you have a microwave. It doesn't take up any counter space like an expresso machine and you only heat as much milk as you need.

The way it works is you fill the frother up to the line (about 2 oz of milk,) then pump it about 25 times to get it foamy. Then you heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. While it's heating, it froths up even more. You let it sit for another 30 seconds & gets nice & thick - EXACTLY like at Starbucks. Then you pour the milk in & spoon the foam on top.