Homemade Lattes that Kick Butt

Being half-Brazilian, I have had a close relationship with coffee since I was a toddler. In fact, one of our favorite family stories was when my mom got called into the principal’s office when my first grade teacher discovered that my mom was putting coffee in my thermos for lunch. I distinctly remember the principal telling my mother that it’s simply not good for children because it will stunt their growth (one look at me today and you know that was a lie). What was even funnier was my mom going home and then recounting the story to her sister and mother (two other Brazilians). They all looked at each other and wondered “If it’s not coffee – what DO you put in your kid’s thermos??”

Fast-forward 30-odd years and I was living in Tampa, FL with my wife (a tea drinker) and my kids. Our first floor flooded because of a burst pipe and we had to live without a kitchen for several months. During that time, we discovered the various Cuban cafés as we went on a quest to find good breakfast. La Teresita, Pipo’s, El Fogón, Arco Iris and our absolute favorite: El Pilón (since bought by Pipo’s). The Cuban toast at El Pilón was crispy and fresh, but what was truly to die for was the café con leche (a.k.a. latte). In that short period of time, my tea-drinking honey became addicted to Cuban café con leche and we frequently indulged ourselves since El Pilón was right near our kids’ school. All fine & dandy until we moved to Raleigh, NC – a wonderful place to live, but hundreds of miles away from El Pilón.

So this is the story of how I came to make a respectable café con leche at home with my humble drip coffee maker. And I assure you – if I can make this, anyone can. The key is in the details.

The key to a good latte is the coffee, the milk and the process. All three are critical, so try not to improvise until you’ve made your first perfect cup.

The coffee:

• Use an espresso roast coffee – dark and finely ground. The brand I prefer is “Café Bustelo,” which is available at most grocery stores. “Lavazza” and “Illy” are two Italian brands which will also deliver similar results.
• For each cup of water, use a rounded teaspoon (not level and not heaping). You can find the strength that works best for you, but we use one rounded teaspoon per cup.
• If your city has good water (like Raleigh or Tampa), you can use tap water. You might even want to filter it like we do, but I am not sure that matters for the best flavor. If your tap water tastes bad, no amount of filtering will help – use bottled water in that case.

The Milk:

• Pour milk into a pyrex measuring cup – 2 oz for every one cup of coffee. My travel mug holds appx. 2.5 cups of liquid, so I use 4 oz. of milk per travel mug.
• If you sweeten your coffee, put the sugar/splenda/equal/whatever in the bottom of the mug before you put any liquid into it. Once you’ve poured the coffee, do not stir it. The way you pour will do the stirring for you.
• Microwave the milk until it boils and almost overflows with bubbles. On our microwave, it takes 1 minute 20 seconds on power level 9.
  • Once boiled, remove it from the microwave and let it sit on the countertop while the coffee finishes brewing.
  • In order to get a true latte flavor, you have to scald the milk fat and aerate it. In order to do that, you need at least 2% milk. 1% and skim milk do not work – not to mention soy “milk,” non-dairy creamer or any other milk substitute. If you use any of those, don’t read further because this won’t work for you.

The Process:

• Once the milk has sat for a minute or so, it will form a skin on the surface. Pull the skin off with a fork and throw it away.
• Place your mug into your kitchen sink and then slowly pour the milk into the mug from at least 18 inches above the mug. Bubbles will form on top, so leave them alone and do not stir them.
• Next, pour the coffee into the mug from the same height – at least 18 inches above the mug. That will cause still more bubbles so that there is a frothy head on top like a beer.

Pouring the liquids from such a height allows them to become aerated before they land in the mug. The bubbling of the milk in the microwave and the aerated pouring are the steps that complete the distinctive latte flavor that begins with the scalding of the milk.

If you follow these simple steps, you can serve a delicious latte that will turn your tea drinker into a coffee addict. Be sure to serve the coffee freshly poured with the froth still on top, or enjoy it yourself.