Good milk frothers are interesting! We wanted to know: is the DREO BaristaMaker Milk Frother good? Because if so, there are countless uses for making cappuccino with latte art.
Maybe you have a manual espresso brewer at home like the Flair, the 9Bar or a Picopresso? Who hasn't stood in front of one frustrated and wanted to make a cappuccino for their best friend? Maybe you also have a single boiler like the Quick Mill Carola, because you don't drink milk yourself? The DREO could be a solution. And even next to the Moka pot, the DREO milk frother could make a good impression, if… yes if the milk foam works.
Microfoam in Various Creaminess Levels
The DREO essentially has two main uses, but only one is interesting for us. It can froth milk and milk alternatives and it can heat and mix milk. Mixing and heating is intended, for example, for making hot chocolate. The practical thing about DREO is that the milk doesn't burn because it's constantly stirred.
For us, however, the milk frothing function is especially interesting, which can be set on the left side of the BaristaMaker. There are four foam levels to choose from:
- Thick
- Cold
- Cappuccino
- Latte
- Flat White
While Thick, Cappuccino, Latte, and Flat White produce progressively thinner foam in descending order, "cold" allows you to froth cold foam, which has an airy texture that is not suitable for latte art.
There is no one-size-fits-all recipe for using foam thickness. Basically, we can say that all levels produce excellent microfoam. This is very silky and creamy and shines with a closed surface when poured as cappuccino or flat white. The quality of the milk foam is excellent.
Frothing Tips and Recipes
Depending on your choice of milk and amount of milk, we recommend different frothing levels. You will definitely need to try this yourself with your own milk or milk alternative.
Basically, we can say that for larger amounts of milk over 200ml, firmer milk frothing (Cappuccino or Thick) worked better for us. With oat milk, we also went for thicker frothing levels.
With a 150ml amount of cow's milk frothed on Cappuccino setting, the foam was on the other hand almost too thick and we would advise using a less strong frothing level.
You can find a list of good oat milk here.
According to the manufacturer, the following milk alternatives can be frothed:
- Milk
- Almond
- Oat
- Coconut
- Soy
- "Half and Half"
Milk Temperature
After extensive testing, we conclude that the milk is consistently heated to 64 to 67 degrees. In our view, this is at the upper limit of what we recommend. Such a temperature is not too hot; however, sometimes frothed milk at temperatures above 65 degrees can tip slightly into a somewhat dry flavor and thereby lose some sweetness.
It is important for us to emphasize that we have probably tested the first DREO device with a Shuko plug and a voltage of 220/230 volts for the European market. It is not unlikely that the device can still be slightly recalibrated here.
Our YouTube test colleague Aramse tested the DREO BaristaMaker with 120 volts for the American market and found temperatures that were somewhat too low. We are curious to see how the DREO performs when it is also rolled out in Europe.
At the moment, we would recommend not closing the supplied lid, as the DREO would then heat up another two to three degrees higher. Also, the milk pitcher should be removed from the heating plate immediately after heating.
The DREO is currently not available in Europe, but can be pre-ordered via Amazon*.
The Big But: Frothing Time
The DREO has largely impressed us. The only drawback is the slow frothing time, compared to a classic espresso machine. 3:30 to 3:45 minutes are needed for heating and frothing.
- The slowest espresso machine we have tested so far achieves a frothing time of around 1 minute and 45 seconds.
- Many classic machines require between 45 and 75 seconds.
- Faster machines froth in 20 to 40 seconds.
- The DREO needs three minutes for this.
On the other hand, espresso machines themselves need time to heat up. So if we start the DREO BaristaMaker in parallel with the preparation process when brewing with the Flair or after 4 minutes of brewing time with the 9Bar, our milk foam will probably be ready when the espresso is in the cup.
If you want to learn how to pour and froth latte art and cappuccino yourself, our latte art classes are the right place for you!
Wishlist for the Future
Nevertheless, we are putting a somewhat faster frothing time on our wishlist. But this goes to the bottom of the list. At the top, we would like the ability to adjust the temperature when frothing milk. It shouldn't be that hard. The function is already implemented in the DREO for the mix mode. If this could now also be applied to the frothing function, that would be a dream.
💡Want to learn how to pour latte art on a cappuccino? Here we explain how to do it.
Cleaning a Major Pro
Cleaning the DREO BaristaMaker is simple and practical. The removable pitcher, which by the way could theoretically also be used for pouring latte art, can be removed and washed in the dishwasher. That's already very practical. The same applies to other parts such as the impeller attachment for microfoam and the disc attachment for "bulk foam".
Since the handle of the integrated pitcher is relatively bulky and the spout is not well-guided, we used our own pitchers for pouring latte art. Our barista trainer Michel Indelicato has developed his own pitcher, which he used in our tests.
Energy Measurement
The power consumption of the DREO is 0.0239 kWh for heating 240 ml of milk. Thus it is usually above the measured value for frothing milk with a portafilter machine (San Remo YOU: 0.0213kWh, Ascaso Steel Duo PID: 0.0118 kWh). However, if you include the heat-up time, the power consumption of espresso machines is far above the DREO. (San Remo YOU: 0.2431kWh, Ascaso Steel Duo PID: 0.06612 kWh). But of course, we don't just want hot milk but cappuccino. Here the most economical combination would be: turn off the steam boiler of the machine and froth milk with the DREO.
If we compare dual boilers, two-group machines or thermoblocks with the DREO, heating the milk with a milk frother is more efficient than heating the steam boiler.
Conclusion DREO BaristaMaker Milk Frother
We have a very positive impression of the DREO milk frother. Especially the result, the milk foam is really excellent and sets no limits to your latte art!
Yes, the frothing process takes time. But if the espresso is prepared or the espresso machine is heated up during that time, it doesn't seem like a real obstacle to us.
A temperature setting that can be adjusted when frothing milk would be desirable. Foam frothed a bit cooler is often sweeter and goes well with many coffees!
We really like the dishwasher-safe cleaning option. The removable pitcher, on the other hand, is somewhat bulky, as is the entire frother with dimensions of 13.5 cm in width and 24.5 cm in height, which is rather large.
The name is equally awkward, which in the English original is DREO BaristaMaker Milk Frother. The short form fits well though. We'll simply call our milk frother affectionately the DREO.
Where to Order and Commission Link
As always, we also purchased this test device, directly in the USA. In the meantime, DREO can be pre-ordered via Amazon. According to the manufacturer, delivery to Europe is planned for later this year.
Attention, make sure that you order a variant for Europe with 230 V and alternating current.
* This is a commission link. If you order the DREO through this link, it won't cost you any more. However, we receive a small commission, which we reinvest in test material. 
