How to Make Your Own Delicious Homemade Lattes Without an Espresso Machine

Guest post by Anne at The Modern Mrs. Darcy

I love a good latté; my husband’s a cappuccino guy. He works in the coffee industry and recently he went to a trade show in Seattle and enjoyed one coffee shop so much he felt guilty about leaving me at home, so he brought me a bag of their espresso. In our house, that spells l-o-v-e.

As much as we both love espresso drinks, I can’t afford $4 lattes everyday (even if he gets his at work). So we make it at home.

Believe it or not, we don’t own a traditional espresso machine, though (mostly because a good one costs at least $400). Instead, we found an altogether different type of espresso machine: the Aerobie Aeropress. This little machine has only been on the market since 2006, but it’s quickly gained a cult following. I totally get why: it’s simple, portable, it makes amazing coffee–and it’s only 24 dollars!

We own a coffeeshop’s worth of brewing equipment, but it’s the Aeropress that’s the real workhorse in our kitchen. I use it twice a day (more when my husband isn’t working). It only takes three minutes and it’s so easy I often do it with a baby on my hip.

Here’s how to make a latté at home that’s as good as going out.

Items Needed:

1. Finely ground coffee
2. Milk
3. Aerobie Aeropress (comes with the press, filters, coffee scoop, and stirrer)
4. Coffee mug
5. Small cup for brewing
6. Frothing tool (whisk or aerolatte)

How to make a latte using the Aeropress:

1. Set up the aeropress by putting a paper filter into the cap and screwing it on to the chamber, then stand the chamber on a sturdy mug.

2. Put two aeropress scoops of coffee into the chamber.

3. Heat 4 oz water to 175 degrees. (This takes 45 seconds in my microwave.)

4. Pour hot water over coffee and stir for 10 seconds.

5. Wet the seal on the plunger and place plunger in chamber. Press down gently, and continue to press steadily until plunger is fully depressed. (Don’t worry if the plunger doesn’t budge for the first 20 seconds. It will depress.)

6. Heat 10 ounces of milk to 150 degrees. (This takes 60 seconds in my microwave.)

7. Froth milk. I use an aerolatte ($10.42 at amazon). It’s a mini-immersion blender that creates generous foam in about 10 seconds. (You can froth your milk manually by holding a small whisk tightly between your palms and twirl back and forth for about 30 seconds.)

8. Gently pour your espresso into your frothed milk. Add syrup if desired.

Those two lattés I said I make every day–they cost me $0.69 each. If I paid $4 for each one it would cost me $2934 a year. Of course, I could never afford to spend that much on coffee, but I can enjoy top-notch lattés at home every single day and still only spend a fraction of that amount.

I really enjoy my coffee–and when I stop to think about it, I really enjoy saving $3000, too!

Anne blogs about all things feminine at The Modern Mrs. Darcy, a different kind of blog for women. As the mother of four, a part-time employee, and a voracious reader she’s working to redefine what success looks like for the modern woman.