To make a Cappuccino or Latte at home without a machine you need two simple things. First, milk needs to be aerated (introducing air) by heating and mixing simultaneously. Second, a strong espresso, made with simple equipment that can be found in most kitchens, needs to be added to the milk.

There are various ways to make an Americano with or without an espresso machine; however we wanted to show you the simplest way below. I’ll soon write an article on other methods of making an espresso, and when I do I’ll link it here.

How to make Cappuccino milk without a machine... easily:

Don’t have an espresso machine at home with a milk foaming wand? No problem; you can actually make perfect Cappuccino milk without any special equipment or gadgets.

Cappuccino milk gets its fluffy and full texture from the air that is pushed into the milk during the heating process. Generally the coffee shop that makes your favourite cappuccino will use a milk-wand which is attached to the side of the coffee machine to pass pressurised air through the milk which injects into the milk from the bottom.

Perfect cappuccino milk is very different to latte milk due to how much more air is pushed into it. In turn, this air expands the milk which creates the perfect foam topping for a cappuccino.

To make it at home we will actually apply the air from the top rather than the bottom. Don’t worry - it will create the same perfect cappuccino you are used to from your favourite coffee shop.

All you will need is full-fat or semi-skimmed milk, a saucepan, a jug and a whisk:

• Add milk to your favourite cup, measuring the amount needed and remembering to leave room for milk expansion and coffee
• Pour the milk into a small saucepan
• Over a medium heat, whisk the milk
• You should start to develop a consistency like the image below
• Once the milk has warmed (be careful not to burn the milk) remove from hob
• Pour it over your espresso coffee (see below for how to make the espresso)

How to easily make latte milk without a machine:

Latte milk is actually very different to cappuccino milk. Less air is pushed into the milk which gives the latte its' distinctly thick and creamy texture. Simply put, a latte has a higher volume of milk which is why you can always tell which cup contains the latte vs your friend's cup that contains a cappuccino; your latte cup will be much heavier.

For this method we will use a little more milk than we did with the cappuccino above (remember with the cappuccino we were actually expanding the milk so it would take up a lot more space in the cup).

To make your latte milk at home, all you need is full-fat or semi-skimmed milk, a saucepan and a wooden spoon for stirring:

• Add milk to your favourite cup, remembering to leave some room for milk expansion and coffee
• Pour the milk into a small saucepan
• Over a medium heat, stir the milk
• Once the milk has warmed (be careful not to burn the milk) remove from the hob
• Do one last stir, this time a little quicker so that you getsome frothiness
• Pour it over your espresso coffee (see below for how to make the espresso)

How to make a strong espresso for a cappuccino or latte without a machine:

A good espresso is key to a tasty cappuccino or latte. Remember that the milk is simply what affects the texture of these drinks, it’s the espresso that affects the taste.

An espresso is a small, strong shot of coffee which is usually made using an espresso machine. These machines use high pressure to force water through a compact bed of ground coffee. This, in turn, extracts the oils from the ground coffee beans to create that wonderfully strong coffee you are used to getting from your local coffee shop.

Luckily there is a way to achieve the same results at home with just a cafetière (otherwise known as a french press). If you don’t have one I'll soon be writing an article to show you some other methods and I will link it here.

The trick to achieving the same taste is tochoose a stronger coffee bean,with a more fine grindthan you would usually go for. If your looking for the perfect coffee for this check out our Deathly Strong coffee and make sure you choose our “espresso grind”.

You want a more fine grind because this is harder for the water to pass through; meaning that more pressure has to be applied which extracts more of the coffee oils. You want to choose a stronger coffee like a robusta bean coffee, as this will ensure the coffee oils that you do extract are the strongest possible.

• Choose the correct coffee grind - If possible you should choose an “espresso grind”
• Take your cafetière, or french press, and add 16grams of ground coffee (enough for 1 espresso)
• Add 60ml of boiling water, this will make a single espresso shot of 30ml (remember a lot of the water is left in the coffee grinds)
• Stir and leave for 5minutes to really soak into the coffee
• Add the plunger and push down smoothly but FIRMLY - the trick here is to make sure we are adding pressure to the water and extracting the coffee
• Done - pour into your favourite cup