Be Your Own Barista: Easier Than You Think By John Miller At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Love latte? Loathe spending your hard-earned money on it? Well, learning how to make your own latte could save you lots of money down the road. Even though those frothy beverages are well worth large sums of money, it would be even more fulfilling if you could make one at home, exactly how you like them. All you really need to know to become an your own barista are the basic steps on how to make a latte. Once you've mastered the basics, then you can perfect the process on your own. Soon your friends will be stopping by more often!

The first step of the process of making the perfect latte is making the perfect espresso. The first part to this step is grinding your espresso beans properly. If you don't grind them finely enough, your grounds will be too coarse. The end result will be espresso that is watery and weak tasting. On the other side, if you grind your espresso beans too much, your grinds will be too fine and could potentially clog the machine. Your espresso will then be bitter and too strong. Why even spend the time and money on a grinder? Grinding your own espresso beans fresh before each use, using a special espresso grinder or burr grinder, is recommended by all the espresso experts in the know!

Once you have properly ground espresso beans, start up your machine. It should take somewhere around 15 to 20 seconds to brew, but times may vary by machine. When it dispenses, the espresso should have a dark brown layer on bottom, known as the heart, a medium-brown layer in the middle named the body, and a light brown foam on top that is the crema. Make sure to stop the process by the time the espresso has poured the maximum duration recommended for the machine. Continuing the shot past the maximum duration will result in a bitter flavor for your latte.

Once you have your one to two fluid ounces of espresso, it's time to froth and steam the milk. You could heat the milk by microwaving it or by stirring it in a pan on top of your stove. However, if you really want to learn make a latte the right way, then you must do it as the professional baristas do it. This means using the steam wand on your espresso machine. Steam wands work better than any other method when it comes to efficiency, speed, texture, and taste. Milk heated with a steam wand will have the right amount of air forced into it, which gives it a creamy, foamy texture. Steam wands also aerate the milk to make extra foam, the perfect topper for the perfect at-home latte. Enjoy!

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