I am not a morning person. In fact, most mornings when my alarm goes off, I feel a slight sense of panic: "I'm exhausted! I can't possibly get up yet. I won't be able to function!" Consequently I end up hitting the snooze button many times, until I absolutely have to get out of bed or risk being late for work, and then run around like a mad woman getting myself ready to leave (and end up being late anyway). This routine usually gets me off to a frazzled start, and makes for a rough day at the office.
I've tried in vain to force myself to simply get up earlier; to obey my alarm clock the first time it goes off. But my sleepy logic usually demands more pillow time. So lately, I've attempted a new strategy, and it seems to be working quite well. I now get up much earlier than I have to, but reward myself with some time to relax and do whatever I want while enjoying a special treat: a latte.
I've changed my options from "shower/go to work" versus "sleepy time" (sleepy time wins hands down) to "sleepy time" versus "coffee/goof-off time" (coffee will likely win). It makes perfect sense (and is probably blatantly obvious to those who are already "morning people"): I have made waking something to look forward to, and by the time I do have to get ready for work I am more alert and in better spirits!
In order to continually lure me out of bed, the promise of coffee must be pretty darn enticing. And I think it is. My "faux latte" is the closest thing I can create at home to a coffee-house latte. The trick is having the right tools. This job requires three: a coffee grinder with some espresso beans, a Bialetti stovetop espresso maker, and a milk frothing wand. (All three are inexpensive investments when compared with the price of a daily latte: the coffee grinder was a gift (but probably cost around $20 or less), the Bialetti was around $20 at Target, and the milk frother was also around $20 at William-Sonoma. A bag of espresso beans costs around $8 and lasts me about a month.)
Making the latte is easy. First I coarsely grind the espresso beans. My coffee grinder actually has an 'espresso' setting, but I found that created too fine of a powder and resulted in grounds ending up in my coffee. (That setting must make powder appropriate for a "real" espresso machine.) Freshly ground beans are best, but I have taken to grinding the night before as to save time in the morning.
Next I have to prepare the Bialetti. I fill the base of the Bialetti with cold water. I am not sure how much water goes in there but it might be around a cup. There is a little line on the inside that tells me where to stop. Then I place the silver basket into the base. The basket has tiny holes in the bottom of it and a stem that reaches down into the water. As the water is heated it travels up through the stem and through the espresso grounds. I fill the basket almost full with about four tablespoons of espresso. At this point, it looks like the first photo above.
Then I screw on the top part of the Bialetti and place it on the stovetop, with the burner set to medium heat. See the second photo above. Then comes the hardest part: waiting for the espresso to brew. As the espresso brews, it travels up through a spout and fills the top teapot-looking part. It usually takes about ten minutes to finish. I could use a higher heat setting and get it to brew faster, but that heats the water too quickly and the espresso sputters and splatters all over the place and results in really hot coffee.
While the espresso is brewing, I prepare the milk. I pour into a glass (your average tumbler) about 1/3 cup of milk (I prefer 2%). Then I use my milk frothing wand to froth it up. The wand is battery-operated, and has a metal stem with a coiled metal disc at the bottom of it. When you hold the button, the disc spins. Do this while you move the wand up and down in the milk and it adds so much air to it that you can make 1/3 cup of milk fill the whole glass. I should have taken a picture of this because it is pretty cool. The frothing takes about 30 seconds. Then I heat the milk in the microwave for about 35 seconds so it doesn't cool off the espresso when it is added.
When the espresso is ready, I put about 1/2 tablespoon of sugar into a mug, and pour espresso into it until the mug is about 4/5 full. Then I pour the warmed frothy milk into the remaining 1/5 of the mug (using a spoon to hold back the foam while I pour, just like they do at the coffee shop!). Finally, I spoon some of the foam onto the top, and you have the final photo.
I call this a "faux latte" for a few reasons. Since I don't have the same tools, it's not going to taste exactly the same as a latte purchased at a coffee shop. But also, the proportions aren't correct. A latte has a lot of milk and small amount of espresso. My concoction has more espresso than milk (but my espresso also isn't as strong as that brewed in a machine). So I'm not sure what it is. But it's delicious.
As you can probably tell, there is quite a ritual involved in its preparation. It is both the delicious taste of my drink and the ritual involved that make it so much better than brewing a pot of coffee in a drip machine. I recommend it to any coffee lover.
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