Experiencing issues with your Keurig K-Cafe frother?
This guide provides clear troubleshooting steps to fix the frother and ensure it works properly again.
How To Fix A Keurig K-Cafe Frother That Is Not Working?
There could be several reasons why your Keurig K-cafe is not working:
- The heating process takes all the power.
- The whisk is stuck.
- The frother switch is not engaged.
- You’re using the wrong type of milk.
- There is too much milk in the frother cup.
To resolve these issues, one should wait for heating or coffee to finish, clean and grease the whisk, ensure the basket is clean and the microswitch is not stuck, use 1% or 2% milk at room temperature, or call Keurig customer service if all else fails.
Let’s go into a little more detail below.
Wait For Heating Or Coffee To Finish
When you turn on the K-Cafe, it first heats the water. During this phase, the machine dedicates all its power to heating, so the milk frother won’t activate even if you press its buttons.
Once the K-Cafe has completed heating the water, the frothing process will automatically start if you have previously pressed any of the frothing buttons.
I’ve encountered an inconsistency with my coffee machine when trying to brew coffee and froth milk simultaneously. Pressing the ‘coffee’ button followed by the ‘latte’ button doesn’t work together.
However, using the ‘latte & capp’ button before the ‘latte’ button sometimes allows both functions to operate at the same time.
This method is hit-or-miss, and reversing the order doesn’t improve the results. It seems best to use the brewing and frothing functions separately.
The Whisk Is Stuck
When the frother makes a buzzing sound but doesn’t work, and the three lights on the frother flash after about 10 seconds, it usually means the whisk is stuck or too stiff.
To fix this issue, first, wash the whisk and the frothing cup separately to remove all milk residue. This helps prevent the whisk from getting stuck.
Then, apply some butter to the black whisk. This will lubricate it, allowing the spinner to move freely again. Spray butter is ideal for this purpose.
The Frother Switch Is Not Engaging
In the basket where you place the frothing cup, there’s a steel microswitch. This switch must be pressed for the frothing cup to activate. The frother may not turn on if this switch gets stuck, which can happen due to milk residue, or if the frothing cup isn’t positioned correctly.
Ensure that the basket is clean and that the microswitch is not stuck.
The frother cup contains a small magnet that helps secure it in place. Over time, this magnet can weaken, failing to draw the frother cup down sufficiently to engage the microswitch. This can prevent the frother from starting.
To address this issue, you can either manually press down the frothing cup while frothing milk or replace the frothing cup with a new one that has a stronger magnet.
Use The Right Milk For The K-Cafe
Usually, whole milk is considered the best for frothing due to its high-fat content, which creates a rich and creamy froth. However, this is not the case with the K-cafe. If you use whole milk or heavy cream, the K-cafe simply refuses to froth.
For best results, you want to use 1% milk at room temperature. Sometimes 2% and semi-skimmed milk work as well. While the foam may not be as stable or creamy, the K-cafe can usually handle this amount of fat percentage in the milk.
With oat or skim milk, the frother will also work. But, oat and skim milk have even less fat and are therefore not recommended for frothing, as it produces a weak and watery froth.
What To Do When The Frother Keeps Beeping
When the Keurig K-Café starts beeping randomly, there may be several issues with your coffee maker. Here are a few different things you could try:
- The black whisk is not in place. Ensure the spinner is positioned correctly in the middle.
- There is something wrong with the K-cafe software. Hold the cold button for a few seconds to reset the frother.
- There may be something inside the machine that is broken, your best bet is to call Keurig customer service.
What To Do When The Frother Lights Are Flashing
When the lights on your Keurig K-cafe start flashing, there could be two things wrong with your coffee maker:
- The black whisk is not in place. Make sure the spinner is positioned correctly in the middle and that it is also clean and not rigid so it can’t get stuck, as discussed previously.
- There is too much milk in the frother cup, make sure to always keep it just below the maximum level.
The Last Thing You Could Try
The last thing you could try is to call Keurig customer service. Usually, they will troubleshoot your Keurig coffee maker with you.
If they conclude that the problem is not easy to fix or if they cannot find the problem. they will usually offer you a new machine, sometimes even when you are out of warranty.
I heard of other cases when the warranty was long past. Keurig gave a 20% discount on a new machine.
Conclusion
If your Keurig K-Cafe frother stops working, it might be due to power issues during heating, a stuck whisk, a non-engaging frother switch, incorrect milk type, or too much milk.
Fix it by waiting for the heating to complete, cleaning the whisk and basket, using room-temperature 1% or 2% milk, or contacting Keurig customer service for potential replacement or discounts on new machines.
Don’t hesitate to check out this article if your Keurig K-Cafe shows any error codes on the screen.
Hopefully, these tips will help you enjoy your cappuccinos again!