[Julie]

What’s the most frugal way to make lattes at home? Pls state what’s involved in any method you mention. We currently have a French press.

My teen dtr has talked abt an espresso machine and a k-cup maker.

I don’t want the waste from k-cup packaging. ISO of home latte making knowledge.

TIA!

[Rena]

You need an espresso maker or machine to make lattes. A french press isn’t the same process. You need high pressure. I bought a nespresso maker when I was on maternity leave with my first baby. It lasted about 6 years before it broke. If you go that route make sure you buy one that takes capsules and not pods and doesn’t have a scanner/reader. The pod Nespresso versions read the barcodes and will not run if there’s none. Basically forcing you to buy their partner brands and spend more money. They’re double or triple the cost of off brand compatible ones you could buy off Amazon. When my nespresso broke I bought a cuisinart brand. It was $146. I’ve had it almost 3 years with no issues. I recommend checking Goodwills and even FB market place. Larger espresso machines work but there’s some crappy ones out there too. You have to do a lot of research and it also depends on your budget. Black Friday is a great time to buy if you want it from a store. My biggest gripe with them over the years are the steam wands break or get clogged so easily. You can also buy electric milk frothers. My Nespresso came with one and it only broke last year. Now I just heat milk on the stove and use a $5 frother wand. Oh and the same thing applies to k cup makers. Be careful the model if you buy a Keurig. They have versions that only read barcodes and won’t work with off brands.

[Becca]

Get a moka pot to make espresso ($25ish), and you can use your French press to froth milk! Just heat up some milk, put it in the French press, and push the plunger up and down to froth the milk.

Just make sure that the plunger is perfectly clean, otherwise you might end up with little bits of coffee grounds in your milk.

[Sherry]

I have a Nespresso machine and I bought a lid on Amazon that you can reuse the aluminum pods with it, but the machine was given to me and I think they’re about $150.

Makes great espresso though…

[Kaye]

oh my gosh, I thought you meant latkes and was wondering what trick using an espresso machine could do with frying.

LOL!!!

[Ashley]

I use a Moka pot to make an espresso-like rich coffee. One cup coffee, one cup steaming hot whole milk, and two tablespoons of sweetener.

For example, one tablespoon peppermint syrup and one tablespoon Hershey’s syrup for a peppermint mocha.

I keep the leftover brewed coffee in a small pitcher in the fridge for iced coffee.

You can also make standard American style coffee by mixing half coffee and half boiling water.

[Anni]

If you want cheap and as latte-like as possible without getting an espresso machine (which, the good ones are EXPENSIVE), get a moka pot.

You heat it on the stove and it makes espresso or something really close to it.

Then you’ll want a milk frother to froth the milk.

Home espresso machines sometimes have milk steaming wands but they suck as they can’t get enough pressure to properly steam/foam the milk.

[Patricia]

I agree with everyone who said a moka pot. Cafe Bustelo is a Mexican espresso. It’s the best supermarket espresso and a lot less expensive. If she wants the flavors you can make them all yourself.

K cups besides having all the packaging and being expensive make pretty bad coffee.

[Jeannie]

Just make the coffee and heat milk up and buy a hand held frother.

If you want syrups for flavoring can add that too

[Kirsten]

I have used both cheap and expensive espresso machines and if you mostly make lattes a cheap manual espresso machine will do the trick.

And while it won’t technically be a latte using very strong coffee will give a similar experience.

I personally love my electric milk frother that heats and froths but you can get one of those little battery operated frothers that just whisks the heated milk.

So cheapest is likely string coffee in your French press, heat up milk, use battery whisk.

Find good quality coffee that you love and grind fresh if possible.

[Jody]

I bought a reconditioned espresso machine several years ago and am still using it. I do have a frother and am going to try using it with coffee pot coffee as several have suggested.

It would be cheaper to buy regular coffee instead of espresso grind coffee.

[Ann]

We have a Mr coffee espresso maker. We make one espresso, then use the milk brother to heat the milk and froth it.

Then combine both into one container and stir. So yummy

[Rachel]

Kcups – There are reusable stainless steel kcups that you add ground coffee to. My husband uses this with his ninja dual brew system.

He grinds it fresh. The cups go through the dishwasher no problem.

The ninja dual brew lets you brew a pot or a kcup just by swapping out an insert. It also has a milk heater & frother attachment as well.

It was an investment, but he hasn’t looked at replacing it with something fancier (like he did multiple times in the past) in years.

[Eva]

I haven’t used my espresso maker for years till you reminded me I have one. Thank you

[Jessica]

I brew 8oz of coffee. Then I take my homemade coffee creamer and warm it up for 30 seconds. Froth it up and top off my coffee.

It’s delicious.

[Sue]

I use a strong 2/3 mug of coffee. I have a little battery operated frother that I got from the dollar store.

I heat about 1/4 c milk in a saucepan on the stove and hold the frother close to the surface of the milk.

Then I add it to the , Oh wait.. that’s a cappuccino… latte is more milk less coffee but the coffee must be very strong.

[Author]

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