Monday morning gift to coffee drinkers

There really isn't much that makes me happier than a latte. Except maybe a 1/5 of the price home-made latte on par with (or better than) one I'd get at a coffee place. If you've got a coffeemaker and a pot, all you need is espresso, milk, and sugar. You can buy ground espresso for about the same price as any higher-quality-than-Folgers regular coffee, in about all the same places. This is how I do it:

- Brew the espresso the same way you'd brew normal coffee, a generous spoonful for each cup of water. Four cups of espresso makes about 2-3 nicely sized servings.
- I usually wait until the coffee is done brewing to prepare the milk, that way the espresso gets a few minutes to set and get all nice and roasty tasting.
- Get your mug of choice, and fill it about a touch more than halfway with milk - I use vanilla soymilk because it's nice and smooth and mellow tasting, and regular milk makes me want to gag a little bit.
- Pour the milk into a pot and put it on the stove. Don't let it boil. I let mine cook about as long as it takes for me to go to the cabinet, take out the sugar, measure a small spoonful into the bottom of my mug, and put the sugar back. The milk is good to go if you take it off the burner and it steams a little bit.
- Pour some espresso into your mug, a little less than halfway. Stir to dissolve the sugar, if you used some. Now add the milk. And enjoy the incomparable deliciousness.

What a long explanation for such a simple process. This is another added benefit of excessive espresso consumption - vim and vigor at 9:30 in the morning. It's like a magic tonic.