a barista in training: make-at-home chai & matcha lattes

​I love the local coffee scene in Pittsburgh and grabbing a hot caffeinated treat from time to time is also great, but a daily latte can hit your wallet pretty hard. $4-5 doesn't sound like much, but that adds up to $35 a week, $140 a month, and about $1,600 a year. 1,600 DOLLARS A YEAR. Yo, that's a tropical vacation.

With that said, I'm cutting back on buying lattes. Here's my fix: 

First off, I would like to thank my brand new milk frother for making this all possible. This baby was only 40 bucks on Amazon and works great. Pour in your milk, press the button, and you've got hot and frothy milk in less than a minute.

​My first experiment was a Chai Latte. I'm not fancy enough (or patient enough) to brew real chai tea, so Oregon Chai concentrate from Trader Joes was my go-to. The process was a piece of cake. Step 1: Measure out some chai concentrate. (How much depends on how large of a latte you want. Suggested portions are included on the packaging!) Step 2: Warm/froth your milk of choice. Step 3: Mix together the chai and milk and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Step 4: Call yourself a barista! I used 1% milk, but you can use any milk or milk substitute. 

My second experiment was a matcha latte. I snagged some sweetened matcha latte mix from TJs. I give this mix an A! It was subtly sweet but not overbearing. Health nuts be warned: This matcha mix and chia concentrate have got the good stuff... sugar.

The process is the same as above. 1. Measure 2. Warm and froth 3. You know how it goes...  Enjoy!

Now that I've got the frothing covered, I need to get my hands on an espresso maker. If you have a recommendation for a good, affordable option send it my way!