Things to try putting in your coffee

I ❤️ NY, maple syrup farms, at-home latte variations and finding joy in the every day

[ Note - I am feeling weird today, as perhaps many other New Yorkers are. I hope everyone is being kind to themselves and giving themselves the space to feel/be however they may need during this time. I was gonna not send this newsletter, and maybe it’s still odd to be talking about coffee when there is so much heaviness in the world. But I digress, and I still had my coffee today, got up and got out of bed and walked my dog. So here we are. Things to put into your coffee… and feeling heavy with everything happening in the world. ]

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As an at-home latte lover, I enjoy mixing it up every now and then and getting cRaZy with the following items.

In 2018, I bought the $699 Breville Barista (also for sale here) and, four years later, it has lived in four apartments, three states, is still working and running like a champ. I use it every day and treat it like the prized possession it is. It paid for itself in less than a year since I was buying $5.25 lattes daily. And buying lattes daily in this economy? Ha! (just kidding, stop telling women not to buy coffee, it’s lame and patronizing)

On telling women not to buy their lattes…

“It’s [never] … a six-pack. Or a ribeye. Or the new tech gadget. It’s a latte. Dripping with its feminine connotations as a milky, sweet, steamed, flippant luxury. And thus, presumably, it’s an easy candidate for the mild contempt that its dismissal implies….From childhood, we as a society send girls messages that they are bad with numbers, relative to their brothers… In fact, Carrie herself was a tough, savvy, modern New Yorker in every way — except when it came to money. There, she bought too many Manolo Blahniks and so couldn’t afford to buy her apartment. Seriously.

excerpts from Ellevest

If you buy your latte daily I hope you don’t feel guilty for reading this mailer. Do what makes you happy!

ANYWAYS. Back to the title of this post. I drink most of my morning lattes cold, over ice, especially once April rolls around. So most of these are fit for iced lattes, but warm, too. Take your pick, hot or cold!

1. Caramel Sauce - but not just any, Ghirardelli’s. It is smooth, creamy, and soooo sweet and perfectly ‘caramelly’. Do you remember the taste of a caramel macchiato? (Btw - still my Starbucks order.) Well now you can have that at home. I loveeeeeeeeeee my lattes with this stuff. It all sinks to the bottom which I kinda like. But you can also stir or shake it with your espresso for a more blended airy version. It’s up to you - whether you mix your salads or keep the toppings in a nice neat pile. Organized chaos?

2. Maple Syrup - any good ‘ol maple syrup will do! Trader Joe’s has a nice one. Or next time you go up north get some local Vermont or Massachusetts syrup. Support the trees and their farmers! Yip yip yippee! Btw have you ever seen a maple syrup farm? I passed one when driving around Vermont last year. Here is a photo from the internet of a maple syrup farm.

A maple syrup farm - Image via SmarTrek

3. Chocolate Sauce - or a chocolate bar. Watch this video of espresso getting poured over chocolate. Sooo satisfying.

If you are drinking an iced latte, a good idea is to pour some chocolate in there. Then you have a mocha latte. You can add any type of chocolate you like! Chocolate sauce, chocolate fudge, or be like the video and add a chocolate bar on top of your espresso cup for a nice fun delicious melty chocolate espresso!

4. Pistachio Milk - have you tried Táche? It is very good. A nice variation on milks if you please. I usually use whole milk on the every day, but every now and then I enjoy using Táche. Their pistachio milk is creamy and smooth, with not a strong a taste as say, Oatly’s Barista blend, which I used to love, but tbh I don’t like anymore. It has nothing to do with the ingredients or health - but purely from a taste standpoint- I just do not enjoy it- it tastes too “heavy” or something?

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For me, there is so much joy in my daily latte routine. It is the very first thing I do when I get out of bed. I turn on my machine and wash my face. By the time I’m done, my machine is ready to brew. The Breville Barista needs a minute to warm up to prepare for bean extraction. The beans, freshly ground before my eyes, create the most desirable of smells. The fact that I can control the espresso through grind size and amount is a fun game that gets better with each year I use the machine. The 3 ice cubes (yes, 3… every time) clinking into the glass and cracking as they meld with the hot espresso.

The milk adds a heavy creamy dreamy dose as I sip it, back in bed or on the couch wrapped in a soft blanket, while cuddling Samson and writing in my journal (or sometimes, scrolling my phone). Mornings always have been, and I suspect always will be, a sacred time for me. I drink my latte out of a glass straw that I bought from Coming Soon. The vessel in which you drink the latte is just as important as the latte itself.

my latte straw is the green one.

It’s all about finding joy in the little things - isn’t it? This is my morning routine, something I can depend on. To be honest, once my coffee happens the day is out of my control and each day differs a little bit - but the coffee is a constant and one I can depend on. Every now and then I will go out for coffee and enjoy that as well. But nothing quite beats a latte at home.

I hope everyone has a good week. Thank you for reading.

More latte-r,

Lee