some people pay 4 dollars for one...

The perfect latte. Not exactly a dessert, but still worthy of a special post. On days like today when I find myself faced with a month's worth of research and powerpoints to do in 12 hours, I might head to Starbucks or Panera, buy a latte, and take advantage of the free wifi. But to save money and avoid the "Oh crap I forgot my (insert important learning device here)!", I am going to make a caramel latte of my own.

The only unusual item here is a french press. Usually for brewing coffee, these contraptions consist of a carafe section and a complex top thingy. The part of the top that sits in the coffee is made of wire mesh to let the brewed drink go through the top while the grinds are stuck in the bottom. Our french press was given to my dad by a drug rep. Though they make pretty good allergy medicine, their coffee makers are a bit faulty. I like to reducereuserecycle, so I decided to use it as a frother. As I said in the hot chocolate post, froth rocks. I am sort of obsessed with it. A legit Mexican hot chocolate frother is on my Chanukah list if you want to get me one :) . In any case, this will work for now.

If you have a good french press, use that to make your coffee. I hear they produce some great stuff. I am going to use an average electric coffee maker.

Make a cup of coffee. Leave about a sixth of your cup for milk. You may want to measure out the milk first so you can see it in relation to your cup.

Pour your milk into a microwave safe cup with about a teaspoon of caramel sauce. Add more or less to your taste. Heat them up for thirty seconds. Traditionally, this would be done on a stove or in a fancy coffee maker, but I'm lazy.

Next, put the milk and caramel into the french press. Use little pumps to froth the mixture to your liking. On the top of the frother piece, you should have a small amount of very whipped "cream". Save that for the end.

After you have poured in all of the milk, mix the coffee part of the drink to see if you need to add any caramel. Drizzle some caramel on top, and you have a perfect caramel latte.

Take that Starbucks.

xoxo,

allie