Making Expresso Drinks

Coffee drinks are quite the rage these days and the espresso and
latte are among the favorites. Sure, you can get them at the
local coffee house, but why not save some money and make them
yourself? 

Here's some tips on foolproof methods to the best espresso
drinks around.

First off, you want to start with a good quality machine. If you
are serious about your espresso, you need to spring for the best
machine you can get. One thing to look for in a quality machine
is to make sure it has a built in grinder as the grind of the
beans is key to good coffee. 

When you grind your beans for espresso or latte drinks, make
sure you give it a good medium to fine grind. If they are too
course the drink will be very weak, on the other hand if you
grind the beans to fine the drink will taste bitter. A little
bit of practice makes perfect! 

To brew your espresso should only take 15 to 20 seconds. While
your drink is dripping out into the cup, a foam should form on
the top. When you see that the water coming out is a whitish
brown color it's time to stop and reap the rewards.

The output should yield 1 ½ fluid ounces. If you have made more
than that then your drink may be bitter.

Now that you have your perfect espresso drink, you can use it to
make a latte. Lattes are great and can be flavored to taste like
the ever popular mocha latte.

A latte is really espresso and frothed milk along with the
flavoring. So to make a mocha latte, you will mix in chocolate
syrup. 

Start with a coffee cup and our about 1 3/4 ounces of choclate
syrup into the cup. Next add 2 ounces of espresso and then top
that with the steamed milk. Now stir the drink from the bottom
so that the syrup mixes in. You can get fancy and put a smidge
of whipped cream on top and even some choclate shavings if you
have them. Enjoy!