While those homemade iced caramel latte recipes are undeniably delicious and easy to make, they often don’t taste like a real latte. For those of us who can’t go a day without a cup of strong espresso, a weak-flavored latte just isn’t going to do the trick.
Owning your own espresso machine means heavenly lattes on the daily. Delicious espresso can make any variety of signature Starbucks drinks, but the real key is figuring out how to brew them. For the most part, a regular espresso shot can be combined with different ingredients using varying techniques to create anything from a latte to a flat white.
Iced caramel lattes are a staple in any coffee shop, and learning to make them at home with your own espresso machine is a piece of cake. The most important part of any flavored latte (hot or iced) is the espresso.
How to Pull the Perfect Espresso Shot?
Brewing mouthwatering espresso is not as hard as it seems. It does take practice and a little bit of trial and error, but you will be pulling perfect espresso shots in no time using this recipe. The perfect espresso shot is based on these factors: bean type, grind, technique, and time.
Bean Type
It surprised me to learn that espresso beans are not a type of coffee bean. They are actually just arabica beans that have been selected for an espresso roast because of their great taste using this brewing technique. Any coffee beans can be used to brew espresso, but these beans taste the best.
That being said, there is quite a bit of variety when it comes to espresso beans. Blonde espresso beans will have a brighter and more acidic flavor. They usually contain more caffeine as well because the roasting process has not broken down the cell wall of the coffee beans the way it does with darker roasts.
Darker roasts will taste more full-bodied and rich. They have deep flavors and are easier to brew because they are less likely to be bitter. All roasts of coffee can brew delicious espresso, so choosing a coffee bean is up to your taste buds.
Grind
The grind is one of the most important factors when it comes to brewing espresso and can make or break your latte. Espresso beans are ground super fine, so it will take less time for the hot water to extract their flavor.
Espresso is much finer than drip coffee and needs a special grinder to create an even taste. While you can use a hand-grinder for your espresso beans, the grounds will likely come out uneven.
This is a problem because the bigger bits will not have enough of their flavor extracted. The smaller bits will be over-extracted and will turn the espresso bitter. Always use freshly ground espresso because stale grounds lead to stale espresso. Yuck!
Technique
There are a few tricks to brewing better-tasting espresso, but they are easy to get the hang of. The first trick is over-filling the coffee basket. It seems wrong, but hear me out. Fill the basket so it is nearly overflowing with grounds, and lightly tap the basket on the counter to settle them.
After this is done, tamp the grounds. Tamping the grounds refers to the process of packing them together. It is similar to what you do with brown sugar when you measure it to make cookies.
Once you have filled the coffee grind holder, you use a special tamping rod to pack the grounds and make them extra tight. This increases the water pressure and creates a stronger-tasting espresso.
Time
Finally, it is time to pull your espresso shot. Once you have replaced your coffee basket with the espresso machine, check the settings. It may take some trial and error because each espresso machine is different.
Usually, an espresso shot will take 20 seconds to pull, but experiment by adding or subtracting a couple of seconds to see how it tastes. You may find that you have a preference one way or the other.
How to Make Caramel Syrup at Home?
Caramel syrup is simple and easy to make at home. If you have made any other flavored syrup before, the concept is exactly the same. Syrup consists of sugar, water, and flavorings that are combined in a saucepan and brought to a boil. This will reduce the mixture and create a wonderfully sweet caramel syrup for your coffee.
Ingredients
- 1 cups water
- 1 tsp corn syrup
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add the water, sugar, and vanilla extract to a saucepan. Whisk together.
- Bring to medium heat and slowly stir in the corn syrup and salt.
- Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring.
- Reduce heat and let simmer for five minutes.
- Cool and pour into a glass jar for storage.
Recipe for the best Iced Caramel Latte using an Espresso Machine
Now that we have our perfect espresso shot and some delicious caramel syrup, we can create an iced caramel latte. Iced caramel lattes are easier to make than hot caramel lattes because the milk does not need to be steamed. It can be used just as it is to create this enticing drink.
Although it takes an extra step to cool down the espresso, iced lattes are faster to make than hot lattes. Milk steaming takes several minutes and can be hard to get right. In addition, milk is a finicky ingredient to work with.
With milk steaming taken out of the equation, the final steps are cooling off the espresso shots and combining the correct ingredients. Easy enough.
Ingredients
- 2 espresso shots
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons caramel syrup
- Ice
Instructions
- Pull two espresso shots, letting them drip into a container filled with ice. Shake.
- Pour the espresso and the ice into your preferred coffee cup and add the caramel syrup.
- Stir until combined.
- Add the whole milk and ice to fill the glass.
- Enjoy!
Conclusion
Brewing a delicious iced caramel latte using an espresso machine is not as hard as it seems. It takes some experimentation to get the espresso to where you like it, but as with all coffee, it is all about personalization.