Homemade Lattes – use a mason jar and some muscle to froth milk, then pour over rich espresso or strong coffee and add in your favorite flavors.  Making lattes at home has never been easier, you’ll never need to leave your house for coffee again!

HOMEMADE.  LATTES.  The easiest solution to the real life struggle: go to the local coffee shop for a latte or stay in bed.

Even better, you can make whatever type of latte you want, and I have four favorite ways for you today.  What is your favorite way to enjoy a little espresso and frothed milk?  Chocolate? Caramel? Vanilla? Dulce de leche?

Since moving into my new apartment building, I have been obsessed with making lattes at home.  There’s a Nespresso Espresso Maker in the lobby (not this exact one but this would be my favorite for inside my apartment) so I’ve had espresso to enjoy, but I began to seriously crave frothy lattes.  What better solution than to figure out how to make one in my own little apartment?

So that’s what I did, and you can too.  No espresso maker?  No problemo!  Make some extra strong coffee instead.

You will need a mason jar, or a microwavable cup of sorts with a lid.  Microwave the milk, put on the lid, and shake, shake, shake!  Pro tip: put on your favorite tune and dance around while shaking to make it even more fun.

So you’ve shaken it up, it’s all sorts of frothy, and ready to blend with rich espresso.

Side note about the milk: cows milk does work best for frothing, but I’ve used almond milk before as well.

Ok – so pour in your frothy, creamy milk and watch your latte come alive.  If you’re adding a flavor to your latte, add it to the milk after heating.  Here are my favorite lattes:

THE ORIGINAL LATTE

As described above, shake up that milk, pour into the espresso, and devour.

VANILLA LATTE

Same beginning steps: make the espresso, heat the milk. Then stir in your favorite Vanilla Bean Paste, shake it up, and pour it in.  Sweet, sweet vanilla paste makes this latte extra special.  Not only is it better made at home, but with this vanilla you won’t have any weird chemicals or excess sugar added – bonus!

CARAMEL LATTE

Ok, talk about decadence.  Caramel lattes are to die for, aren’t they?  So rich, creamy, and sweet. Smucker’s Simple Delight Salted Caramel is THE BEST in homemade lattes, especially when we’re talking decadence.  Once you get on that salted caramel wagon, you’re never gonna get off.  Amiright?

So same deal, heat, mix in the caramel, shake it up, pour it in.  Oh, and of course you want to add loads of whipped cream and extra caramel drizzle on top.

MOCHA

Now, chocolate.  Ahhh so much chocolate.  Did you ever think you could have a creamy, chocolatey, mocha at home?  With ALL the whipped cream you want – at NO extra cost?!  This is living.

You know the drill by now: heat up the milk, add in the chocolate chips (use mini for easy melting!), shake it up, pour it in the espresso.  Extra whip, please, and more chocolate to top!

My favorite way to enjoy homemade lattes (besides with extra whip) is alongside almond croissants.  Now, this is the life.