I've come to prefer the Breville BMF600XL Milk Cafe over my steam wand. It heats the milk perfectly to just under 160 deg every time, when set at max. 2% froths too much, 1% too little. By mixing the two in equal amounts (which I do in a 1/2 gallon jug) beforehand, I am getting just swell froth that gives me microfoam mouthfeel. It always heats to 158 F on the button; so consistent and simple. ~5 oz of milk takes 2 min. or so, the time it takes for me to grind, tamp and pull. I no longer have to nurse my foam for lattes standing by the wand. If I set the temperature lower, like to 145 deg., I get less froth, because it shuts off earlier. I find 4-5 ounces of 50:50 2%/1% gives me the best foam for latte; the foam does not collapse over time. No skills needed, which some might see as a plus. Also, I read that it makes incomparable hot chocolate.

I also tried the Sherwood SMF-1000P. It's a good unit that has unique design features and some advantages over the Breville. Mainly, it froths 1% milk pretty well, but interestingly, it depends on the milk. Brands froth differently. It's capacity is much lower, but sufficient for a single latte serving. Overall, the Breville is the winner, tops the entire market in frothing. It should be because it's the most expensive. For someone that uses a moka pot, either of these frothers might make for a relatively inexpensive worthy combo. Not for me; just saying.

My Quickmill Carola and Breville BMF600XL make a nice combo that has far exceeded my expectations, with respect to the latter. Not saying a frother beats a prosumer steam wand, only that I've come to like the frothing approach a lot, even though I have access to a steam wand on another machine. That surprised me in the end.

Someone sent me this reply as a PM. He doubts, saying:

"I'm suggesting it's incapable of making microfoam suitable for a proper latte that requires homogenous microfoam."

I don't blame him for doubt.

I had doubts these videos were true, thinking they were shilling. I was very surprised, just like the folks in the video, with the output quality of this frother. I love it with my Carola.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsB-pCm5Cm8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St-_9nSp320
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jJPjZFDxII
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAoyl28lU4M

Has anyone actually tried this BMF600XL machine, specifically?

I have one on order.

We use a cheap Casa frother we bought on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond on sale for $40 and we love it - because I am on a low carb high fat diet we stay away from the sugar in milk by frothing:

Grass fed butter
MCT oil
Heavy cream
Fairlife reduced carb whole milk
Kroger Carbmaster milk

I want to try the Breville for two reasons:

1) better temperature control
2) capacity to froth enough for two drinks at once

Ps - we are pleased with the texture created by the Casa and the above mixture

I'll report back once we get the Breville

I have a Severin SM9688 which looks functionally identical to the Breville. (Unusually in this day of badge engineering they appear to be independent brands; no doubt the frothers come from the same Chinese factory.)

It works OK as a frother if you don't expect too much, but it does not produce good quality microfoam. Immediately after frothing you will have a mass of froth with no liquid content which is useless for adding to coffee. If you wait a minute or two some of the froth collapses and you can successfully pour it into a coffee and produce what passes for a cappuccino in many cafes.

I bought mine to use with an EspressoForge when the normal machine wasn't on. It's just about acceptable but doesn't produce milk with anything approaching the quality of steam foamed milk; your PMer was quite correct.

Clearly, the BMF600XL is a step up from a hand held, which you recognize. But, the cost of a hand held is ridiculously low. That's the main virtue. My guess is that hot milk froths poorly, and mic-ing frothed milk destroys microfoam, I find. So, handhelds seem not to be a solution for latte, I'm thinking.

As for Severin, it does seem to be just like the Breville. Thanks for pointing that out.

I avoid the mass of foam on top that you mention with two solutions. 1) can't let the milk sit after the ready beep for more than 20-30 secs. Swirling the jug gets the 'blob' nicely incorporated into 'microfoam', but only if done quite soon after the beep; the sooner the better. Better not to have the blob to start with; I avoid by not letting the milk sit for more than 20 secs or so. 2) If I use 2% only, the froth is too much; great for caps, not lattes. 1% gives little foam, and different brands of 1% yield different quality and quantity of foam. A 50:50 or so mix of 1% and 2% works well for me, and I mix 1 quart with another in a half gallon jug. Varying temperature also has an impact, because this affects the time the unit will froth for, of course.

All the above is with the Cap disk; I find the Latte disk not good at all, for me, with neither 2% nor 1%.

Thanks again for replies. I hope some of the info might be useful to some. I find this site fabulous for ideas and direction!