**This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Steve Weber, who was selected as the winner of two free bags of delicious coffee!**
In a sad realization that I could fund a child’s college tuition with what I was spending at coffee shops, I decided it was time to make a small change. And by small, perhaps I should say a Venti change? {Eh? Eh? See what I did there?} I now make my own homemade lattes and they are easy, yummy, & doable. See for yourself!
Why I Make My Own
Cost. Gone are the days of swinging through the drive-through and dropping $5 on my beloved grande Vanilla Latte, my medium Northern Lite Latte, or my venti Cafe Latte. Even if I only purchase my lattes during the work week, that’s $25 per week, $100 per month, $1200 per year. A thousand dollars a year on lattes? Ouch. Sure, the convenience is great and I sometimes felt like I deserved the treat as a working mom of three. But the cumulation of it all over an extended period of time gave me extreme sticker shock. And reminded me why we still haven’t gotten around to the coveted kitchen remodel we’ve been wanting.
Taste. After I started making my own lattes at home, and went through the prerequisite Starbucks withdrawal, I realized I much preferred the taste of my own. No, seriously. I had a Starbucks the other day and couldn’t even finish it. Mine tastes MUCH better. I promise. Whether it was my exclusive use of my favorite bean – Driven Coffee – or the satisfaction of knowing I was saving so much money, I now prefer my homemade concoction.
Timing. Is it easy to grab a coffee on the go? Yes. Does it make me feel powerful to hold the well-known to-go cup as I breeze through my day? You bet’cha. As much as I thought the drive-through option was helping me go about my day, I reflected about all the time I was wasting in that line. Once I got past the putzy learning curve of figuring out how to do it on my own, I realized I could get my latte from start to finish within 5 minutes. 5 minutes. Anytime I wanted. In the morning to help me wake-up. In the afternoon when the sleepy-time lull hit. Even in the evening when I realized that despite the hour on the clock, I still had a long way to go before calling myself “done” for the day.
Supplies and ingredients
There are only three things you MUST have in order to create this delicious Homemade Latte: Coffee + milk + frother
Coffee. I’ve tried a lot of coffees while perfecting my recipe. A LOT. Through much trial and error, I’ve learned that there is one coffee that stands far and above the rest. Driven coffee is a MUST for the best latte on the block. And with free expedited shipping, you can get it to your house quickly. Oh, and if you’re someone that needs to sample first, then enter the giveaway below for your chance at WINNING TWO BAGS OF DRIVEN COFFEE.
Milk. Skim, 1%, 2%. Even cream. Your choice.
Frother. I researched the heck out of frothers before getting one. You can spend bookoo bucks on at-home frothers, or if you’re like me, you can spend the pocket change you find in your vehicle’s cup holder. The hand frother that I got from Amazon is less than $3 and includes free shipping. It is easy to store, easy to clean, and easy to use.
To complete the recipe, simply use what you already have at home.
If you’re in the market for new coffee toys, see some of my favorites below.
Grinder. Our trusted grinder of choice that we’ve relied on for the past several years is the KitchenAid Coffee Grinder.
Other options to check out are Cuisinart Supreme Grind, and KRUPS Coffee Grinder.
Coffee pot. We have a few different pots, depending on how much coffee we are making and how much time we have. The Sur La Table Fellow Coffee Steeper is our favorite. Others that we love are the Kitchen Supreme French Press and the Mr. Coffee 4-Cup Espresso System with Milk Frother.
Other frothers. Check out the PowerLix Milk Frother, Warm Homing Milk Frother, and the Epica Automatic Electric Milk Frother.
Syrup. I’m a fan of vanilla syrup, but as you know, there are TONS of options out there. Check out some of my favorite vanilla syrups here: Torani vanilla syrup, DaVinci Gourmet Vanilla Syrup, Starbucks Vanilla Syrup.
Steamer pitchers. These are wonderful things! X Chef Milk Pitcher, Update International Stainless Steel Frothing Mug.
All-in-one Latte Maker. I mentioned it above, but it’s worth mentioning again. In addition to the hand frother, my other go-to coffee toy is my Mr. Coffee 4-Cup Espresso System with Milk Frother. It is a one shot pot that beautifully brews your espresso, and at the flip of a button steams your milk with the connected milk frother.
**Keep scrolling – Coffee giveaway below!**
Homemade Latte Recipe
Homemade Latte
This homemade latte recipe is easy to make and even more easy to customize. Goodbye Starbucks!
Ingredients
- Driven Coffee (I prefer Impact Espresso, but you can use the bean of your choice)
- 4 oz milk or cream of your choice
Tools
- Hand Held Milk Frother
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Brew the Driven coffee flavor of your choice
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If you would like to add a flavored syrup, now is the time! From vanilla to caramel, peppermint to chocolate, add 2-3 squirts to the bottom of your mug.
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Pour prepared coffee into your favorite mug.
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Using a separate mug (or steam pitcher), heat your milk in the microwave. It doesn’t need to be boiling, but you want it to be hot. Then, using the frother, turn your milk or cream into frothy deliciousness. Using the hand tool, this will take about two minutes.
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Add frothed milk to your steaming hot mug of coffee.
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Using a spoon, scoop the remaining frothed milk onto the top of your latte.
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Whether you make it to drink at home or on the go… Enjoy!
If you’re still on the fence about whether or not Driven Coffee is an integral part of the best homemade latte around – which I promise it is – check out my full review and learn more about the company here.
***GIVEAWAY!!!!***
Better yet, if you want to try it for FREE, enter the giveaway below to win 2 bags {of your choice!} of freshly brewed Driven Coffee. It will be shipped directly to your door.
I love making homemade drinks. It saves to much money! I usually heat up the milk before the coffee though. The coffee/espresso needs to have the milk added within 10 seconds of brewing it or it separates and gets bitter. I’m going to have to try adding Vanilla to mine tomorrow!
Good tips!! Thanks for sharing! If you like vanilla, it’s a great add-in. That used to be the only way I would drink coffee, but now I only add it sometimes. Let me know what you think 🙂
I take my coffee with lots of cream!!!
I take my coffee with creamer.
Yum!!
I’ll drink it pretty much any way. Sometimes with cream and sugar, and sometimes black. I use my cappuccino machine every once in a while.
I love cappuccinos. I’d love to hear which machine you use!! Thanks for writing!
I take my coffee with cream and sugar. When it’s hot out I like iced coffee.
Oooooooh, I’m still anxiously awaiting my first iced coffee of the season. Delicious!
I liked iced coffee with flavored cream in it!
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
Yum! Yum! Thanks for sharing, and good luck with the giveaway!