Simple Better than Starbucks Latte

cassclay

2 years ago

If you enjoy coffee, you’ve likely spent your fair share of money at a coffee shop, like me. While I still enjoy getting a drink from Starbucks or another local shop on occasion, I have gotten really happy with my homemade better than Starbucks latte. The ingredients are simple, using only coffee beans, water, your favorite flavored syrup, and oat milk (or other milk of choice).

What I love about having an espresso machine at home is that I can make fresh espresso with whatever beans I like. I was EXTREMELY fortunate to be gifted an espresso machine off our local Buy Nothing group. I’d wanted one for quite awhile and couldn’t justify spending over $100-200 on one being I used to solely drink cold brew. It had a plugged pump, so I pulled it apart and fixed it up and bam! Espresso for lattes, mochas, cappuccinos, and a milk steamer/frother at my fingertips. The machine I linked above is almost the same features to the one I have and it works amazing. I scored the older Cuisinart version but I’d imagine they all work quite similarly.

Things to consider when making a better than Starbucks latte

Grind of coffee matters. While I have a coffee grinder at home it is not a Burr mill. Small countertop grinders *CAN* work but it’s going to be a lot of work and produces waste. If you only have a countertop grinder, you can grind and sieve it to get the large chunks out. Then dump and spread on a paper towel to get the fines out. The hack I discovered is to get beans at Costco because they have a grinder in store that does espresso grind! You can just grind your bag there and don’t need to buy a special grinder.

You’ll also want to make sure you have a flavoring to add. If you don’t have any syrups, you can easily make vanilla syrup at home. Check out the directions in this post on making vanilla syrup at home. Otherwise Torani makes GREAT flavored syrups that will get you Starbucks flavor at home.

Other Recipes To Try

Nutella Blended Coffee
Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
Starbucks Salted Cream Cold Foam

Better Than Starbucks Latte

This easy homemade latte recipe is super easy, and tastes better than a $6 drink from Starbucks!

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword copycat starbucks coffee, latte, starbucks drink, starbucks recipe, vegan

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings drink

Equipment

Espresso Machine You can also use other espresso prep options

Ingredients

Make the Espresso

2 scoops espresso ground coffee

Latte

2 shots espresso 3 oz
1.5 tbsp flavored syrup Torani are widely available
⅔ cup oat milk

Instructions

Make Espresso

Make your espresso according to your package directions.
You can also use strong brewed coffee, but it will have a slightly different taste.

Make the Latte

Steam the milk (or froth). Oat milk gains a lot of volume so make sure you don't fill your mug more than half full. If using a frother, follow the directions of your specific frother.
If using an espresso machine steamer, make sure to spin your mug around so you evenly heat the milk prior to it foaming.
In a mug add the espresso, syrup, and top with steamed milk.
Give it a stir to ensure the syrup gets mixed well.
Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes

You can substitute other types of milk for oat milk, I just prefer the texture and flavor of oat milk.

If you don’t have flavor syrups at home, you can always sweeten with maple syrup, or make a vanilla syrup by boiling 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1-2 tsp vanilla extract.

If you don’t have an espresso machine or a frother, heat your milk in the microwave or boil on the stove. You can give it some bobbles with a whisk if you like.

This can also be made iced by skipping the step where you steam the milk and serve the whole drink over ice.

Nutrition

Serving: 1drink

If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy your better than Starbucks latte! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Happy Fall Y’all!

Cassie