Cinnamon brown sugar latte (vegan or no, choose your own adventure!)

How much do you love lattes? A lot, right? Me too. How much do you love paying $4-5 a pop? Yeah, not so much.

I saw a recipe for the dreaded (at least, for me) pumpkin spice latte and figured making myself a cinnamon brown sugar latte at home couldn't be too hard. It would also save me from dropping serious money at Starbucks every time I get a craving. 

Yay for cheap things that still taste awesome! I recommend using espresso blend coffee and I really love using an Aeropress to make the coffee. It produces coffee that's pretty close to espresso and it's easy to use. I bought mine from Amazon and let my brother borrow it to see whether he wanted to get his own. He has been "borrowing" the Aeropress for quite some time now, but I'm hoping I'll get it back soon. I think I just have to withhold baked goods and he'll do the right thing and return it. :)

To get a syrup that would deliver the flavor, I found a post on how to make a bunch of different kinds of syrup for coffee. Oh, Internet. How did we ever get by without you? 

First, I boiled brown sugar, cinnamon, and water together to make my syrup, which yielded enough syrup for three or four lattes.

I brewed the coffee and foamed the milk. To get warm, foamy milk, I used an immersion blender to whip up my milk, then microwaved it for about a minute and a half. If you don't have an immersion blender or a whisk, you can put the milk in a leakproof container (like a mason jar) and shake it vigorously for a minute and then microwave it.

Pre-microwaved almond milk

Just blend/whisk/shake up the milk until it is really foamy and then microwave it. Be sure to use a much larger container than you would think you would need. Like, I used a really big (20oz) mug to heat my 1/3 cup of milk because the milk foams up as it heats and will create a sticky mess in your microwave is you don't keep an eye on it.

Post-microwave almond milk.

I used a spoon to hold the foam back when pouring the warmed milk into my coffee. I stirred the milk in, then topped the latte with a nice amount of foam, et voilà. 

Confession time: I much prefer soy or almond milk in my lattes. I know. I know. I just do and you'll have to get over it. Fortunately, you can make a latte at home using traditional, from-the-cow milk too. Cow's milk also makes for a prettier latte, because you get better foam and it blends with the coffee much, much better.

Latte made with whole milk. Dreamy, right?

Latte made with almond milk . . . not so pretty, so don't be a dummy like me and serve it in a clear glass!

Give it a whirl, kids! You can brew some strong (preferably espresso or dark roast) coffee however you usually do it, and it still tastes pretty swell, no fancy machines or aeropresses required.



Cinnamon brown sugar syrup
(makes enough syrup for 3-4 lattes)
from how sweet it is

In a small saucepan, stir together 1/3 cup water, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Put the saucepan over medium high heat on the stove and let it come to a boil. Boil for a couple minutes, until the syrup has reduced slightly. Set aside. If saving to use for later, pour into a lidded container/jar and store in the refrigerator.


Cinnamon brown sugar latte

Brew 6 oz strong coffee (preferably espresso roast) or make a double shot of espresso.

Stir 2 tbsp cinnamon brown sugar syrup into coffee.

Place 1/3 cup (cow/soy/almond) milk in a large microwavable container. Use an immersion blender or whisk to blend the milk until foamy (lots of bubbles on the surface). If using a leakprook jar, pour milk into the jar and shake for a minute or two until the milk is foamy. Microwave the milk for one and a half minutes, until milk is very foamy and has increased in volume.

Use a spoon to hold back the foam as you pour the warm milk into the coffee. Stir the milk into the coffee and then spoon the foam onto the latte. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top, if you're feeling especially fancy. Serve immediately!