How To Make Perfect Lattes At Home Without A Fancy Machine

Many people religiously order lattes at their local coffee shops, usually in flavors like vanilla, caramel, or mocha. However, while the expensive machines baristas use are designed to make perfect lattes, they're actually not necessary. In fact, if you're really jonesing for a latte at home, you can create one yourself using the power of your microwave. 

Now, that might sound like blasphemy, but hear us out. Not everyone has the money to spend on a high-end espresso machine and milk frother, but that doesn't mean lattes have to be off the menu. To be clear, you're not using the microwave to brew your espresso. That's best done using an Aeropress, moka pot, or French press, as these will produce brews closest to espresso (Fun fact: Moka pot is also known as the poor man's espresso maker!). Meanwhile, the microwave is for your milk foam. Not only is milk foam the secret to flawless latte art, but you literally can't have a hot latte without it. 

Creating perfectly frothed milk using your microwave is really very simple. All you need is milk (skim is better than full fat for latte art), a glass jar, and your trusty microwave. Once you pour your milk into the glass jar — about halfway full — shake it until foam forms and then quickly nuke it for about 30 seconds. This prevents the foam from collapsing in on itself, so it remains frothy and warms the milk. You can then add as much milk and foam as you want to your espresso.

Plain lattes are delicious in their own right, but sometimes, it's nice to spice things up a little. Naturally, we'd be remiss to leave out pumpkin spice lattes, which you can make at home with only a few extra ingredients. Likewise, you can coat your mug with peanut butter to create a super rich and nutty latte you won't find at Starbucks or Dunkin'. This method also works with flavored sauces like Torani Puremade Sauces, and it's an easy way to introduce a ton of flavor into your homemade lattes. 

If you're not a fan of thick sauces, you can use flavored syrups like Torani Syrup, which is available in many flavors, including peppermint, Irish cream, brown sugar cinnamon, almond, and many more. One combination you can make with these is a homemade peppermint mocha by mixing the peppermint syrup with the brand's dark chocolate sauce.  Of course, you don't have to use just fancy syrups and sauces if you don't want to, as even things like Hershey's chocolate and caramel syrups will work just as well for flavoring a latte. Once you start making lattes at home, you'll find many creative ways to spice them up!