This might sound crazy, but something I’m most passionate about is a great cup of coffee. Believe it or not, I didn’t always love coffee, which might be the *shocker* of the century, but it’s true. In high school, I think I tried to like coffee, because about a half mile from our school was a Dunkin’ Donuts, and it seemed like everyone would always roll up to first block with a Dunkin’. It was definitely a status symbol thing, which sounds crazy, but *small town problems*. I would get a hot chocolate and pretend I was cool 😉 This is a side note and has nothing to do with the blog post, but I still vividly remember two girls getting in a physical fight in my high school and Dunkin’ iced coffees going flying lol!

Even in college, I still didn’t start out as a coffee drinker. It wasn’t until about my junior year when I lived off campus and had a coffee maker that I actually remember drinking coffee every morning. True story: for about a month I was brewing decaf coffee and had no idea until my roommate, Sara, pointed it out LOL. Not my best.

Most of you avid coffee drinkers know that once you start drinking coffee, rarely do you stop. I love everything about it; the smell, the taste, the experience of deciding what to order, meeting a friend or a loved one for a cup at a local coffee shop, and even the warmth on your lips. I love it all. The problem with being an obsessive coffee drinker is that it gets expensive… very expensive.

One of the best things to ever happen to me was being gifted a Nespresso machine. I’m not even kidding you guys, this machine is magical (and it’s 20% off at almost all retailers right now). It has saved me thousands of dollars on coffee over the years, and to be honest, makes a latte that I think tastes better than 90% of lattes I’ve bought out for $5+. While the machine itself may seem expensive at first (which it is, there’s no denying that), it is an investment, and in the long run, it has saved me thousands of dollars on coffee. Truthfully. If you’re someone who goes to the drive through or your local coffee shop between 3-5x a week, that’s about $15-25 a week or $60-$100 a month, and $720-$1,200 a year. At the least. So to me, it’s worth the investment because I very rarely get coffee out now. It’s usually only if I’ve ran out of Nespresso pods! Today I’m going to show you how I make a Nespresso latte at home. Spoiler alert: It’s insanely easy!

How to Make a Nespresso Latte at Home & Save Yourself Thousands of Dollars

There are many models of Nespresso machines, but I have this one, which is called the Citiz & Milk. It’s insanely easy to use, and well made. This coming Christmas, I will have had mine for three years, and it still works perfectly! In terms of comparison to a Keurig, Nespresso machines are much higher quality in my experience (of having Keurigs always breaking after barely owning it for a year). Not to mention, Nespresso is a much stronger cup of coffee (because it’s espresso).  This is always a plus in my book because I find Keurig cups of coffee so weak that it’s like I haven’t even had a cup of coffee lol! If you know how to push a button, you can use it, but here are the steps I take to make a Nespresso latte at home!

How to Make a Nespresso Latte at Home Using the Nespresso Citiz & Milk Machine:

• First, to make a Nespresso latte, turn the machine on and make sure that there’s enough water in the machine to make your espresso. If it’s 1/4 full, that’s usually plenty for one Nespresso pod. This Nespresso machine has a water canister in the back of the machine that can be removed and easily pops in and out of place. I love this part because I keep my machine a little ways from my sink, and I can easily just pop out the water canister to fill it at my sink, and then go pop it into place.
• Put your desired cup/mug/glass underneath the machine on the “platform.” There’s also a “platform” that’s much closer to the top of the machine which is perfect for if you’ll just be making a shot of espresso (like what they serve in restaurants at the end of the meal). This “top platform” also folds up so that it doesn’t have to be out at all times.
• Make sure that the buttons on the left and right are not blinking green. If they’re blinking, it means the machine is still warming up. Once solid green, they can be pushed for your espresso to start brewing.
• Push the button on the left for a smaller, more concentrated espresso shot. Push the button the right for a larger, less concentrated espresso shot. I always push the button on the right.
• Once the button is pushed, you should see that the espresso has started brewing. I make two shots every morning during the work week, and one shot on the weekend.
• Meanwhile, while the espresso is brewing, you can pour your choice of milk/creamer into the milk frothing canister. I always use Califia Farms Hazelnut Almond Milk Creamer. I am obsessed with this stuff and go through at least four of these creamers a month. It’s ridiculous how good it is. I’m not drinking almond milk for any health reasons or anything like that. To be honest, I’ve never really been a milk drinker, and just prefer the taste of oat milk or almond milk. I buy this at my local Wegman’s or Whole Foods which is where I do most of my grocery shopping, but if you don’t have those located near you, you can also find on Amazon! I also buy these Nespresso pods on Amazon because they’re less expensive, and Amazon is just too easy to order from!
• There’s a line in the canister where you should pour your milk up to. You CAN pour underneath the line, however, I’ve noticed that it doesn’t froth quite as well. Also, as a PSA, almond milk does NOT froth as well as regular milk, so just keep that in mind. I honestly don’t really like tons of foam anyways, so for me, I don’t mind. Once you have your milk or creamer poured into the canister, put the top on, and then push the button.
• Once the milk canister has started to froth the milk and you’ve pushed the button, you should notice that the red button has come on. Once it has finished, the red button will turn off. I usually do this at the same time as brewing my espresso, because it takes just about the same amount of time.
  
• Once the light has turned off the milk canister, pour the frothed milk on top of your espresso that has already brewed. If you use regular milk and see a lot of froth, you may need to use a spoon to scoop out some of the foam.
• Enjoy! You’re done! It’s super easy to make these at home. You can also experiment with other latte flavors by either incorporating different milks/creamers, or using syrups. If you use syrups, I would recommend pumping it into your cup/glass and NOT the milk canister, since you don’t really want a thick syrup that could be difficult to clean, getting into the piece of the milk frother.Do you guys like lattes? Have you ever tried making one at home? This machine has literally been a game changer. I’m always recommending it to everyone I know, so I thought it would be good to finally put a review up here! It would be perfect as a Christmas present, so if you have anyone who’s coffee obsessed in your life, be sure to snag this as a Christmas present for them while it’s still on sale. Many of the below retailers are offering sales on this machine right now! I’ve included all so that you can compare/contrast and go with the retailer you like best!