Milk frother for the particular

Coffee drinkers are a particular bunch. The easiest of the pack to deal with is, of course, the coffee drinker who prefers the beverage to be served in its natural state: black, no cream, no sugar. But when it comes to those who like to embellish coffee with particular proportions of milk, froth, and sometimes sugar, it is telling that there are names for such things, such as cappuccino and caffe latte (not to mention what the barista might mutter under his or her breath about a particularly precise concoction).

Those who would rather forgo the trip to the coffee shop may settle for something more basic when preparing coffee at home, as producing the proper proportion of milk and froth for your beverage of choice can appear to be something best left to the pros. Perhaps it was so in the past, but now milk for a professionally finished cappuccino or caffe latte can be prepared at the press of a button.

The Krups XL2000 Milk Frother promises simple operation with its no-nonsense controls. After pouring in the desired amount of milk (the interior has measurement lines), you select one of three buttons. In addition to the buttons for cappuccino and caffe latte, a third option delivers hot milk without the froth. The all-round rim makes pouring from any angle a breeze, which might be too imprecise for some coffee drinkers, but they'll get used to the idea--and maybe even try one of the other buttons.