Shortly after moving to Berlin, Stefan and I discovered the wonder and deliciousness that is a latte macchiato. Actually, for me, it was a bit of a rediscovery since I used to drink caramel macchiato’s from Starbucks all the time when I was working at Dadeland Mall during college. That was until I realized that I was paying out nearly an hour’s worth of pay to drink one…which kinda made me hate Starbucks for being so greedy.
These days, I love to start my morning out with a nice latte — but I honestly don’t have the time to head out to a coffee shop and wait for them to make one for me. And I also am not so crazy with the price tags which range from €2.20 to €2.80 — and generally the ones that cost more are in the tiniest glass. What gives?
As regular NOH readers know, I have been on a really big intentional living kick — especially since we moved to Berlin and could only take a limited amount of the stuff we had at the farm with us. This was especially true in the kitchen, where we lost quite a bit of storage space (both a blessing and a curse).
At any rate, I decided it was time to start making better use of the Delonghi Nespresso machine that Stefan’s parents bought us a few years ago, as well as a gadget from Tupperware that I just had to have a while back. It’s a milk foamer that I love, mostly because it doesn’t need anything but a little bit of hands on muscle and it makes a great foam.
The process of making your own latte at home is much, much easier when you’ve got a machine to make espresso quickly for you (like a Nespresso or any of the other machines) but you can also use an old fashioned pot like the ones you put on the stove top (which also makes killer espresso). We basically had reached a state where we were only using our machine once a month or less, like when we cooked a big multi-course meal at home or had friends over for dinner…or when Stefan’s parents came to visit. So when we got the latte bug and started drinking them on a regular basis, I was extremely thrilled when I realized I could make them really simply at home.
Do keep in mind that if you’re going to substitute in soy milk (which is a healthier version in many books), your latte will take on a nutty, soy milk flavor. I sometimes go half-half on soy milk with regular milk. Oh and don’t use skim milk or 2% if you want a good foam. The foam comes from the fat so don’t cheat yourself. Plus it’s healthier to drink the full since your body will crave less of it and fill up more quickly. I’m just sayin’.
Ready to get your latte on? Here’s how…
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- 1/2 cup milk or soy milk
- 1 shot espresso (Arpeggio Volluto, Roma and Livanto are great Nespresso tab choices)
- Sweetener & flavored syrup if desired
Ingredients
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- Heat milk in a small saucepan on low / medium-low for 1-2 minutes. Do not scald or let boil.
- Foam milk with foamer and pour into glass.
- Add shot of espresso.
- Sweeten as desired. Add flavored syrups like caramel or vanilla if you like.
For a Grande-sized latte, use 1 cup of milk and a double shot of espresso -- or a Lungo tab for your Nespresso. I prefer the blue (Vivalto) and green (Fortissio) ones. And with that, I’m going to go make a latte for myself now…all this talk about them has made me thirsty! 
Have you figured out how to make a special dine out treat at home with little effort? What is it and how can we make it too??
