Recreating your favorite café drinks at home is easier than you think!
Recreating your favorite café drinks at home is easier than you think. While nothing can truly simulate the power and precision of a professional espresso machine you can still recreate flavor combinations that are similar and satisfying. We asked BUNN Field correspondent, Rusty Angell to help us create some café style drink recipes. These drinks will warm up your day and impress your holiday guests!
Each café drink is based on two very important ingredients: espresso and steamed milk. There are many ways to create the strong coffee flavor needed in your beverages. The simplest is to measure your coffee as you normally would but only use half the amount of brew water. This strong brewed coffee will stand up to all the added milk, flavors and sweeteners you will add when creating recipes.
Next it is time to decide how you will create that lovely, fluffy, and warm milk. There are several ways to achieve foamy milk and you can choose the one that best suits you. TheKitchn.com has a simple process listed here http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/how-to-make-milk-foam-without-a-machine-100716 that requires no equipment. Another method is to use your French Press coffee pot and rapidly churn your milk to introduce milk bubbles. A final option is to purchase a milk frother; there are many on the market and a quick web search can reveal a myriad of results.
Now that you have your base you are ready to build some sensational recipes.
Peppermint Mocha (serves 2)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 4 tbs chocolate syrup
- ½ cup strong brewed coffee (hot)
- 2 cups milk, frothed, warm
- Whipped cream (optional)
- Peppermint candies (optional)
Directions
Combine water and sugar in microwave safe container and heat 1-2 minutes on high until sugar dissolves to create simple syrup. Stir in peppermint extract. Dissolve chocolate syrup in hot coffee and add 1-2 tbs of peppermint simple syrup (to taste). Divide coffee mixture between two mugs and finish with frothed, warm milk. If desired, top with whipped cream and crushed peppermint candy pieces. Keep left over peppermint simple syrup for future recipes.
Pumpkin Spice Latte (serves 2)
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee (hot)
- 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
- 2 cups milk, frothed, warm
- Whipped cream (optional)
- Cinnamon (optional)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients except milk and whisk until well blended. Divide coffee mixture between two mugs and fill each with half of the frothed milk. If desired, top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
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Rusty Angell Bio
Rusty Angell, BUNN Field Correspondent, has a unique job responsibility for BUNN: get out of the office and listen. Well, maybe it is not quite as simple as that, but essentially Rusty lives coffee by talking and working with baristas around the world. Rusty began his career in coffee as a barista in 2006 in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was as a barista that Rusty had his first ‘aha” moment with coffee, with an Ethiopian Harrar. From that moment Rusty’s passion for coffee was ignited. Since 2006, Rusty’s has held numerous different positions in the coffee industry including barista, café manager, customer service and training specialist for a roaster and today is the BUNN Field correspondent. As Field Correspondent Rusty not only talks and works with baristas around the world, but he serves as a resource for baristas using trifecta, a commercial BUNN machine that unlocks the nuances of coffee by an air infusion single cup process. In addition to his experience, Rusty currently holds Level 1 certification with the Barista Guild of America. Rusty’s background and expertise make him the perfect candidate for providing tips to help you make some tasty café-style beverages to warm up your day and impress your holiday guests,