I am a mug for pretentious coffee (excuse the pun) and I love to go out for a tall half-skinny half-1 percent extra hot split quad shot latte as much as the next person but if I can save the trouble of taking out a mortgage for one hot drink and make it myself in the comfort of my own home even better. We already have a coffee machine at home that uses pods to make reasonable Espressos and Americano’s but it really sucks at Cappuccinos and Lattes as the milk pods are UHT, sweet, tepid and most importantly NOT FROTHY!! When we got the chance to test the Hostess Twin Milk Frother I was really excited to give it a whirl and see what it could do, unlike a handheld milk frother the Hostess heats the milk as well as frothing it up (if that’s the appropriate terminology).

My first impression was surprise at the high quality construction for a modestly priced item, in the box you get the plug in base, two 250ml jugs with lids, four frothers and two stirrer attachments and the instruction manual. It’s simple to use with 3 buttons to choose between, cold drinks (milk shakes) which will froth or stir (depending on which attachment you are using) before switching off automatically, the second will heat it to 60 degrees, 70 degrees if pressed again and the third is for making hot chocolate, heating it to 70 degrees and up to 80 degrees if pressed again. 80 degrees is the max temp it will heat the milk to so if you are a fan of extra hot lattes you are out luck but I have never understood who these asbestos mouthed people are anyway. It can take up to 4 mins for the milk to heat up to the desired temp depending on the temp it starts at but you can switch it on, walk away and let it do its stuff.

There is room to store two spare attachments under the base which seems odd and there are 6 attachments altogether so the other two have to go in the draw. Sadly two or three times now it has started to froth the milk but then the attachment stops spinning and the machine emits a loud high pitch noise, the trouble-shoot in the instructions suggest removing the attachment and replacing it again firmly, doing this a couple of times got the machine working again fine but it is a hassle pouring out the milk so you can remove the attachment especially if the jugs are already hot. So what’s the verdict? Overall I was impressed, 90% of the time it works straight away and it works really well. It doesn’t quite replicate the silky micro-foam you get from a steam nozzle in your local coffee shop, it lacks a little thickness to pull off the perfect cappuccino but it makes a lovely latte, mocha and hot chocolate so in my eyes it’s the next best thing. RRP £65

4.3 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Heats to 3 different temps

Cold setting for milkshake

Jugs, lids and attachments all dishwasher proof

Jugs made from not stick material so they clean easily

Can make hot and cold drinks at the same time

Cons

Can be temperamental

Only room for two attachments under the unit