Espresso/Cappuccino/Latte Machine questions

[slk537]

Good Morning and Merry Christmas!

I received one of these for Christmas and although I love drinking cappuccinos and lattes, I am a total novice at making them. We're going out to get some espesso beans/coffee today and a froth pitcher but I would love to hear any advice or recipes you all might have.

Also - can you use regular flavored coffee (not espesso) in one of these? I am not a strong coffee person most of the time so that wouldn't bother me.

Thanks!

 

[dakcp2001]

I had one! Loved it, but just didn't use it often, ende dup sending it off in the last yard sale. I bought my espresso beans from Starbucks, and they grind them for your espresso machine. It is a finer grind then regular coffee. You can use any kind of coffee you like if you have them grind it on the "espresso" setting, but I liked the dark roasts the best.

Skim milk will froth, but not as good as 1 or 2%. I bought some Da Vinci Gourment Sugar free flavor syrups so I could make lattes. I also ended up giving in and getting the uber expensive caramel stuff from Starbucks to make machiattos at home. The kids at Starbucks gave me all kinds of tips on how to froth the milk, go in there when they are not busy and maybe they will help you.

A fun thing if you have any kids is to make steamed/frothed milk with a little flavored syrup in it. I love the Vanilla steamed milk. My local coffee shop calls these an "Angry Cow"

You can buy the frothing pitcher at Bed Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon.

 

[trip]

Which machine did you get? A Keurig or Tassimo? We got a Tassimo and have been playing with it. If I understand correctly, only the Tassimo can make cappuccinos and lattes.

 

[slk537]

Which machine did you get? A Keurig or Tassimo? We got a Tassimo and have been playing with it. If I understand correctly, only the Tassimo can make cappuccinos and lattes.

It's a Capresso 4 cup Espresso machine - http://www.capresso.com/espresso-machines-4cup.shtml

We bought some Starbucks espresso coffee, a bottle of sf brown sugar cinnamon syrup and I treated myself to a new latte mug (sadly, the Valentine's Day merchandise is already out but I did get a really cute mug) and I spent some time this afternoon playing. I don't think I steamed the milk enough, but I was afraid to spray milk all over the kitchen

I don't have a Starbucks or Caribou on my way to work so this is going to be a lifesaver this winter!