How to Make A Perfect Cafe Latté
If you’re tired of paying four to five dollars for a mediocre café latte at your neighborhood coffee shop, then you might want to make your own at home. The word “latte” means milk in Italian, so when you order a café latte, you really aren’t ordering some kind of artisan drink, but a simple coffee with steamed milk. This means that you can make your own perfect café latte at home without having to spend money at the coffee shop again.
Things You'll Need
- Espresso maker
- Steaming wand
- 1 shot of espresso
- Rag
- Whole milk
- Steaming cup
- Temperature gauge
- Large mug
Instructions
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1
Make a shot of espresso on an espresso machine that also has a steaming wand attached to it. Though café latte literally means coffee with milk, remember that to Italians, espresso is the only kind of coffee worth drinking.
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2
Put a rag over the steaming wand and turn the wand on and off quickly to get rid of any water.
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3
Fill the stemming cup of the espresso maker halfway with whole milk. You can use other milk alternatives if you prefer, but whole milk will make for the creamiest, sweetest latte and therefore, the perfect latte.
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4
Insert the temperature gauge and the steaming wand into the milk. The steaming wand should break the surface of the milk, but should not go all the way down to the bottom of the steaming cup.
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5
Power on the steaming wand, but only to half power. If you power it on all the way, you will create too many bubbles on the milk. A bubble-less steamed milk cup is best for the perfect café latte.
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Heat the milk until the gauge reads 100, and then push the steaming cup up so that the wand goes all the way down to the bottom of the cup until the gauge reads 140.
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Power off the steaming wand, and pull it out of the milk.
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Dry off the wand so that no milk is left on the tip, and then pour the espresso shot you made into a large mug.
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Remove any bubbles from the steamed milk by gently tapping the steaming cup on a flat surface, then pour the steamed milk into the mug, over the espresso. Try to pour the milk into the center of the mug. The perfect café latte will have a creamy, white center that is created by the milk, and will have a frothy, light coffee-color to the rest of it.
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References
- Photo Credit espresso image by Stephen Chaplin from Fotolia.com
