A whole latte love



latte = love

 It's no secret that I love my lattes. In our house we have them daily — with homemade muffins, savory omelettes, crepes, pancakes, French toast, as an afternoon pick-me-up, in preparation for a destined-to-be late evening out, and for the ubiquitous "coffee date."

Lattes for me are a labor of love. From the years spent tasting and testing different beans and flavored roasts to the countless number of hand frothers I have tested — and destroyed. Our preference is for freshly ground Dark Sumatra, and I hand froth heated soy milk in one of my husband's beer steins.

extrra special mocha latte


As for flavored coffees, we've found we prefer a flavor shot to a flavored roast. But even flavor shots are tricky, as I am picky about having all-natural flavors with no added corn syrup.

I do love a mocha — I make them with equal parts of dark brewed coffee and hot cocoa. And I find that a simple swirl of chocolate is divine and makes just about any event all the more special, from Christmas morning to a blustery Friday afternoon.

  

Not only are lattes a wonderful accompanient to breakfast muffins, they make an excellent companion for — and excuse to bake —  homemade biscotti. My recipe has no added butter or oil and is made using whole wheat pastry flour. They are wonderfully crispy and perfect for dipping into a latte.

But we are not just coffee snobs in this house. Just today I enjoyed a lovely chai latte — brewed double strength, of course, sweetened with honey and topped with frothy goodness and a dusting of cinnamon.

And of course we are guilty of using after-dinner lattes as a vehicle for liquor. Irish coffee, anyone? Shot of Kahlua? My personal favorite is a decaf mocha latte with orange liquor —  a dusting of nutmeg and freshly-grated orange peel is heaven in a mug.



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