The Lazy Cheapskate's Guide to a Mocha Latte

Some of you may not know this, but I'm a fairly lazy person.  I have a strong work ethic, but if I'm not going to get paid, it isn't a ton of fun, or I'm not going to be negatively impacted by not doing something, then I'm probably not going to do it.  I give 110% at my job and my house is fairly  clean, but everything else...ehhhhh.

That being said, I love a good latte.  I know they're a million calories (and don't get me started on "skinny versions"), and they cost a lot (especially for what they are).  I had an espresso machine (with milk "frother" attachment) until it broke, but I didn't use it that much because it was still a lot of work and dishes (ew).

 

This morning, I had a craving, and I came up with my "own" way to make a mocha latte - sans machine, a ton of dishes and chocolate syrup (who doesn't have chocolate syrup in their house, I ask you?  Apparently we don't - the horrors!).  It turns out, this way probably tastes better than the syrup (you can easily adjust the sugary taste) and if you're into baking and/or coffee, you probably already have all the ingredients you need in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS:

-Boiling Water

-Instant Espresso (kinda hard to find, but strongly brewed coffee would probably work too)

-Hershey's Cocoa Powder (I use Special Dark all the time, but regular would work also, just add less sugar)

-Milk (skim - 2% froths easiest I have read)

-Sugar 

-A french press (if you have it - if not, you can whisk it)

RECIPE (and I use this term loosely): 

1. Boil water, you don't need much.  If you're using instant espresso, follow the package instructions (or just dump enough to fill the bottom 1/3 of your mug like I did)

2. Add milk to your EMPTY mug (about 1/2 of the mug or so).  Then using a household spoon (not the giant kind, but the size for people without giant mouths), fill about 1/2 the spoon with cocoa powder and dump it in (don't mix it yet).  Then, using the same spoon, add about 1.5 spoonfuls of your sugar (this depends on your tastes - you might want to use less/more).  Mix it all up and heat the milk, but don't scald it (30 -90 seconds depending on your microwave).

 3.  Add heated milk mixture to your french press and move the press up and down vigorously for about 30 seconds.  Make sure you're going all the way up to the top of the milk line to gather air.  You don't need to go all the way to the bottom.  You'll know when it's working.

4.  Add boiling water and espresso to the newly emptied mug, then carefully add "frothed" milk to the top.

 Enjoy! :)

This is the spoon and mug that I used.

The beauty of this "recipe" is that only 3 things need to be washed, it's delicious, it is WAY cheaper than Starbucks, and you can vary it according to your tastes.

Questions/Comments are always appreciated!