How to Make a Latte at Home Without a Coffee Machine
Café lattes are super delicious milk-based coffee beverages. However, many coffee lovers seem to shy away from making them at home as they think they are too complicated. And this is even more so for those that do not have espresso machines.
But, the good news is that you can still make top-notch quality lattes at home even without a coffee machine as there are countless other methods of brewing the strong coffee and also steaming and frothing milk you need for this drink.
In this piece, we show you how to make a latte at home without a coffee machine by taking you through all the steps of the process from brewing the coffee to assembling your latte.
How to Make
It is a fact that espresso machines will make some of the best lattes. But, if you do not have one, you do not have to splash money on expensive lattes at your local café as there are still many other ways of making lattes, and here is a step by step guide.
What You Need
- 2/3 cups of strong coffee
- 2 cups of milk
Ingredient Ratios: 1/3 coffee, 2/3 steamed milk, thin foam layer
Brew Time: 10 Minutes
Photo: Shutterstock
Step 1: Brew your Coffee
The first step in making a latte whether you are using a coffee machine or not is always to brew the coffee. And if you do not have a machine, you can make your coffee using a French press, Moka pot or the AeroPress depending on what you have.
French Press
With the French press, you will only need to add grounds and hot water to the beaker, steep for around 4 minutes and push down the plunger to filter your coffee before you can use it to make your latte.
Moka Pot
Moka pots provide one of the best ways of brewing espresso without a machine. They are multi-chambered stovetop coffee makers that will work by forcing hot water through finely-ground coffee the same way an espresso machine would and they produce strong and bold coffee. Also, they are small and portable and highly affordable.
AeroPress
If you prefer a more hands-on approach to making your latte, you should brew the coffee with AeroPress which works by pushing hot water and grounds through a filter mechanism to produce some rich coffee.
Step 2: Steam your Milk
You will also need steamed milk to make your latte, but this should be easy to make as it is just heated milk. And so you should not bother your brain trying to figure out how to steam milk for lattes at home.
To make steamed milk you can either heat the milk in the microwave or over the stovetop. The microwave makes things fast and easy, but the stovetop will be more preferable as it will give you more control over the amount of heat applied.
Step 3: Froth your Milk
The other important thing that you will need to do when making a latte without a machine is to froth the milk. Unlike the espresso maker that comes with a frothing wand attachment, you need to get innovative when you do not have a machine. Luckily there are also many ways of frothing milk such as with a French press.
Frothing Milk with French Press
Many latte lovers do not know that besides helping you brew the coffee you need for your latte, a French press can also help to froth the milk. And the process is quite straightforward as you will only need to add some milk to the beaker and keep pushing the plunger up and down continuously until the milk is frothed.
Frothing Milk with Wand and Pitcher
You can also froth your milk with a wand and pitcher. After steaming the milk you should transfer it to a large pitcher and use the wand to froth it. And if it is a steaming wand it will do both the steaming and frothing simultaneously. Although this means an extra expense, steaming wands are quite affordable.
Frothing Milk with Glass Jar
If you have a regular ball jar or even any other glass jar that has a tight-fitting lid, you can also use it to froth milk for your latte. All you need to do is pour your steamed milk into the jar, place the lid and make it as tight as possible and then start shaking until it forms frothy bubbles.
Read More: 12 Best Milk Frothers
Step 4: Assemble Latte
Now that you have everything ready, the final step is to assemble your latte. And for the best presentation, you will need a small ceramic latte cup.
Start by adding the coffee and then pour in the steamed milk by using a spoon to hold back the foam before finishing by scoping some foam and placing it at the top. Also, if your barista-skills are up there, you can try to spice up things with some nice latte art.
Conclusion
Making lattes at home does not mean you need to spend thousands of dollars to get a coffee machine as you can still make them without one.
All you need to do is find a coffee brewing method that can make strong and bold coffee such as the French press, Moka pot or Aeropress and also a means to froth the milk like a steaming wand or glass jar. For steaming the milk, your microwave or stove should do the trick.
The only other thing to know as you try to figure out how to make a latte at home without a coffee machine is the proportion of ingredients as this will also affect the taste and quality of the latte you make.
Sources
- How to Make a Latte at Home Without Espresso Machine - Kitchn
- How to Make a Latte - WikiHow
