Lattes

Unlike many of my contemporaries, I never discovered a taste for coffee until I was well into my thirties. My husband was late to coffee as well, using it to stay awake the year he earned his MBA, which was also the year we had our first child. Coincidence? Nu-uh.

So. Coffee. I would not thank you for a cup of straight black coffee, which is what my husband favours. I'm a designer drink girl, something that began when I had a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks a few years back. Starbucks lattes are expensive. Some lattes (yes, I mean you PSL) are also a bit hefty in the calorie department. PSL are seasonal and a sometimes treat, so no biggie, right? Then Starbucks introduced the Cinnamon Dolce Latte.

This Summer I drank way-y too many CDLs. Sure, the calories aren't so bad (when you order skinny) but the cost per day was getting a bit out of control. Last Mother's Day my husband had attempted to make me a CDL as part of my 'breakfast in bed' and it was passable. It needed some work - the cinnamon was a bit gritty, for example, and left a rough after-taste but overall it was a respectable fascimile of the real thing. So I recently decided to try and find a way to make a good CDL at home. And it wasn't that hard. Here is the recipe -

1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Combine the sugar and cinnamon with the milk and heat. I did this on the stove top. I strained the milk mixture through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the gritty cinnamon problem of Mother's Day memory. Add the coffee and voila. It's pretty darn close to the real thing.

For the gadget-happy crowd, a slight variation on the above. Go get yourself a Keurig Milk Steamer / Frother. Put the milk, sugar and cinnamon in this bad boy and it will steam your milk in about 90 seconds. Oh yes. Steamed, slightly frothy milk at the touch of a button. And the nifty little stirrer thing-y that whirs the milk around does a great job of dissolving the sugar and cinnamon...so no need to strain. I haven't even tried the frother yet. It had me at steamed.

Now I realize that to save myself a few bucks I went and invested in a not inexpensive gadget. Thank you, kind husband, for pointing this out. I've made peace with my purchase. Up next - the homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte. Oh yes, you can!