There are few things that make a work from home routine simply sublime. Our key ritual? The wake-up and shake-up from that first sip of freshly ground coffee to kickstart our caffeination sensation. While we love a locally brewed cuppa from our favourite café, dusting off the coffee machine to unleash our inner barista skills helps bring our morning routine to a whole new level.

The Good Stuff

• 18g ground espresso, or 1 espresso pod
• 250ml milk (dariy-free options work here too!)
• 1 large coffee cup, approximately 300-350ml capacity
• Coffee machine steamer jug or measuring jug
• A coffee machine or alternatively a kettle and small saucepan for the hob

Barista Time, Baby

• Make around 35ml espresso using your coffee machine or traditional kettle and coffee ground combo and pour into the base of your cup.
• Next, steam the milk. With your coffee machine steamer attachment, tilt the jug as the milk slowly froths until 2-3cm of foam is on top of the milk. Alternatively, gently and slowly heat your milk in the small saucepan on the hob for a few minutes until the milk is slightly foamy on top. Careful to do this gently to prevent your milk from steaming too quickly and foaming over the saucepan.
• With your milk steamed, it’s time to create your masterpiece. Transfer your steamed milk from the saucepan into a pouring jug and hold the jug so that the spout is about 3-4cm above the cup with espresso and pour the milk in steadily.
• As the volume within the cup increases, bring the jug as close to the surface of the drink as possible whilst aiming to pour into the centre.
• Once the milk jug is almost touching the surface of the coffee, tilt to speed up the rate of pour. As you accelerate, the milk will hit the back of the cup and start naturally folding in on itself to create a pattern on the top. Voilà, happy sipping!

Until next time,

The Front Row Team x