The Best Way to Froth Milk at Home To Get Café-Style Foam (No Frother Needed)

I love enjoying a warm, handcrafted latte or cappuccino at a café, but I don't love spending $5.59 on coffee. I wanted to find a way to recreate that same elevated experience at home—namely, that iconic foam on top of each drink. However, I had zero interest in buying a milk frother, let alone high-end equipment.

I set out to find an effortless way to create that delicate foam for the top of my coffee. I didn’t want anything expensive, difficult to use, or a pain to clean. It turns out, the key to an at-home barista experience was already in my cupboard.

What Is Latte Foam?

The ideal warm, café-style foam comes down to the size of the air bubbles. Here, we're not looking for giant bubbles that pop and deflate quickly; the goal is delicate, velvety microbubbles. Foamed milk with this kind of bubble is about more than volume. It offers the ideal texture and mouthfeel we've come to love in our Starbucks beverages. It’s what you look for atop the perfect latte or cappuccino.

While there are several tricks for foaming milk at home, I prefer the mason jar method. There's no investment in yet another tool, and it offers the easiest cleanup, plus it’s a way to jump-start your arm muscles in the morning. This method works shockingly well, simply by heating milk to the right temperature and then incorporating air as quickly as possible.

How To Foam Milk in a Mason Jar

• Grab a mason jar with a lid. It also helps to have a dish towel nearby since the jar can get hot in the microwave.
• Pour the desired amount of milk into the jar, but don’t fill it more than halfway. This allows room for the milk to move around and incorporate that important air.
• With the lid off, microwave the milk for 60 seconds, or until it reaches about 150°F. Use a Thermapen for this task.
• Screw on the lid, hold the warm jar with a dish towel, and shake vigorously, as if you're making a cocktail.
• Tap the jar on the counter to pop the larger air bubbles. Hiding just below them are the delicate microbubbles we want.
• Gently pour the warm milk into your coffee and spoon that gorgeous foam on top.

Important: Don't heat the milk above 175°F. At this temperature, the milk proteins will break down, and the milk won’t foam properly.

The Best Milk for Mason Jar Frothing

This method works best with skim or 2% milk rather than whole milk, half and half, or cream. Lower-fat milks are fortified with additional whey protein, and this acts as a stabilizer for the foam when using the mason jar trick. 

If you prefer your coffee drinks with non-dairy milk, this hack will still work, but I recommend that you look for barista-grade versions of oat, soy, or almond milk. These products are specifically formulated with emulsifiers and stabilizers to build and maintain foam. 

DIY Frothing FAQs

• Can you froth cold milk? Yes, it's possible to froth cold milk using a mason jar, but the bubbles might not gain as much volume and will disappear a little faster.
• Can you froth milk in the microwave? The microwave is perfect for warming the milk, but you will still need to get those muscles going and shake up the mason jar to achieve the froth.
• Does this work for iced drinks? Yes, you can make your own customized iced coffee with a cold foam topper by using cold milk, your favorite sweetener, and then giving it a good shake in a mason jar. However, for the most foamy cold foam, you'll need a special tool. Try whisking with a small battery-operated frother or even an immersion blender to incorporate air.