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I’m a coffee fan and amateur bean snob. I rely on real-life café baristas to make beverages for me, but when I’m left to my own devices, I need a proper, well, device. That’s why I have the Dreo BaristaMaker—a small appliance that can do the cappuccino, latte, flat white-thing that baristas do. Specifically, it heats, microfoams, and stirs milk so I don’t need a steam wand or actual skills.
I’m a fan of the Dreo BaristaMaker because it’s the best at-home appliance I’ve tried yet that can make truly silky, super-fine microfoamed milk. That’s primarily due to its programming to handle different types of milk (dairy and non-dairy) by changing its settings to account for the optimal temperature of a given milk. Additionally in a practical sense, it’s a small appliance so it can tuck away easily in my small apartment kitchen, and as an extra bonus, it’s extremely quiet. (Read my full review of the BaristaMaker here.)
I’ve been using my BaristaMaker for about a year now, and besides the fact that every coffee fan should have one, these are the top three things I’ve learned.
You can make entire drinks in the BaristaMaker
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
My partner and I use the BaristaMaker primarily for foamed milk and cold foam for iced lattes in the summer, but when the weather cools down I concoct a wide variety of warm, coffee-adjacent beverages.
The BaristaMaker is just a heated pitcher with a little spinning fan or mesh frothing screen inside, so it’s capable of heating and foaming a variety of liquids, not just milk. You can use it to make chai lattes, matcha cappuccinos, mochas, or spiked lattes, for example.
Keep in mind that the Dreo will heat and froth, but isn’t equipped to blend chunky ingredients into a smooth liquid—it’s not an immersion blender. I usually blend, whisk, or otherwise dissolve the major flavoring ingredients before adding it to the pitcher along with milk. Blend matcha powder, chai concentrate, or cocoa powder with a small amount of hot water first, then add it to the pitcher with the bulk of the liquid.
Select the milk you used along with the type of beverage you’re making. If you want it to have a thin layer of bubbles like a flat white, choose that. If you want a thick foam, then select that. If you’d rather just stir the beverage and heat it up, you can select the stir mode and temperature with the panel on the right side.
Don’t ignore the fill lines
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Inside of the pitcher you will find clues. Do not ignore these, as they are crucial to your beverage’s success. If you go below the minimum line or above the maximum lines, you’ll be disappointed. In fact, you may think to yourself, “What a hunk of junk! You foam one day and not the next.” This is wrong.
What do you think so far?
Pay attention and adhere to the pitcher’s rules. If you are only making one latte, you still need to use the minimum fill line. If you’re making cappuccinos for five people, do not fill the pitcher to the top with milk. I speak from experience. It’s not like the foam won’t be great, it simply won’t work. No foam. Just hot milk. Which is fine, but it’s a job for the microwave.
When poured immediately, the foam is fine and silky.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
I feel this way about eggs too—it’s best when it’s hot. Pour your foamed milk or drink immediately. Your Dreo BaristaMaker has this lovely, big, bright display with the countdown timer on it. The heating process never takes more than a few minutes, so don’t wander off to start a project.
The microfoam is gorgeous and silky when it has finished its business in the BaristaMaker. If you let it sit in the pitcher, the liquid and foam cools and becomes less flexible. When you go to pour it out and try to make a latte-art swan the foam might be clumpier, might stick to the edges, and it won’t pour as fluidly. No, it’s not the end of the world, but I’m an amateur snob and you might be too, so this matters.
Pouring the foam out immediately, while the liquid is still lightly steaming, gives you the best, creamiest texture for your drink. The hot mocha I made this morning had a lovely, creamy texture, and the foam is so fine my camera focus almost couldn’t grab it. I had to scoop a bit of foam away to show the difference.
Carry these practices with you every time you plug in the Dreo BaristaMaker and you’ll have incredible hot and cold drinks every month of the year.