It was Prime day, July 2017. This slightly fancy battery-powered frother, called Bean Envy, popped up the Amazon specials. On sale it was only a few bucks more than the generic discount store option I’d been using, which needed to be replaced. I thought, why not?
I’m a fan of gizmos, especially in the kitchen. I have so much stuff in my kitchen, though, that it has spilled into the basement and onto living room shelves. Lately, I’ve tried to be more selective about the gizmos I buy. The struggle is real.
I’ve been using a little battery-powered frother from the discount store to blend my coffee for a few years now. It’s handy and it gets the job done. The problem is that they tend to die. Frequently. I’ve replaced several over the space of a year. They also fall off the counter a lot, which might have something to do with why I am replacing so many of them.
This frother has a stand so it mediates the problem of it falling off the counter. The stand gives it a place to live when you aren’t using it. I’m not sure how I feel about having to keep another thing on the counter, but I find I use it every day so it would probably end up on the counter most days anyway. It has a nice ergonomic handle that feels comfortable in your hand. You turn it on with your thumb at the top, holding it a bit like a game joystick. Because you hold the device upright while using it, I find there is much less coffee flinging happening in my kitchen.
The biggest drawback I have is how the batteries are inserted. It’s incredibly awkward. The first time I tried to get the batteries in, I almost got them stuck until I read the instructions.
It’s not a bad little gizmo. I probably wouldn’t have bought it at full price, but depending on how long it lasts, I might buy it again. It’s definitely worth giving it a look. Keep an eye out for sales and snag one if it goes on sale again.