The Best Milk for Frothing, Hot or Cold
Not all milk froths the same way. The amount of fat and protein changes how much foam you get, how long it lasts and how creamy it tastes.
Dairy milk
- Skim or nonfat milk: makes the most foam, and the stiffest. Great for cold foam and dry cappuccinos. The taste is lighter.
- Low-fat (1% or 2%) milk: a good balance of foam and flavor.
- Whole milk: less foam, but creamier, sweeter and silkier. The favorite for lattes and latte art.
- Cream or half-and-half: rich and dense; often mixed with skim for a richer cold foam.
Plant milks
Plant milks vary a lot by brand.
- Barista-style oat milk: usually the easiest plant milk to froth, with a creamy result. Look for "barista" on the carton.
- Soy milk: froths well, with good stability.
- Almond milk: often makes thin, quick-collapsing foam, unless it's a barista version.
- Coconut milk: light foam with a strong flavor.
Barista editions are made with added ingredients that help them foam.
Tips for better foam
- Start cold. Milk straight from the fridge froths best, for hot and cold foam.
- Use fresh milk. Milk close to its date foams less.
- Don't overfill the frother. Milk can double or triple in volume.
- Clean the frother right away. Dried milk residue makes the next batch foam worse.
Hot or cold foam?
- Cold foam: skim, low-fat or barista oat give the thickest, longest-lasting foam.
- Hot foam for lattes: whole milk or barista oat for silky microfoam.
Frothers with temperature and foam level settings, like the Instant Pot MagicFroth, make it easy to match the milk to the drink. For five compared, see our milk frother for cold foam comparison.