It’s February: the dog days of winter. All the bills have come in now for Christmas. Your gas and electric bill is higher than normal due to less daylight and low temperatures. If you have children, registration is due for spring sports and summer camps. We know the price of everything has skyrocketed over the past year or so…and now eggs…EGGS are a Valentine’s meme due to how expensive they have become. I’m going to share some cost-saving recipes and measures as it’s all about stretching your dollar this month!
You’ve seen all the asinine articles stating something along the lines of, “if only millennials will stop buying coffee at Starbucks, they’d be able to afford a house.” As a Gen X-er, it’s my duty to tell these clowns to fuck off. Yes, it’s true that you can save money by making your own coffee. But, it would take DECADES to store away enough of those coffee savings to amount to anything close to a down payment on an extremely costly home.
But, making your coffee, even a latte, is simple enough to do at home. A tall latte is $3 at Starbucks (the McDonald's of coffee shops). But, say you get one every day at work, that would be $60/month on 40 lattes. On average, this homemade latte would cost you 60 cents to make each day, or $12/month. So, this is more of a long-haul savings play, but every penny counts. You can use those savings to buy yourself a coffee/espresso maker like I have! There are places online to find how to make this without an espresso maker to get you through the interim.
Latte
A lungo shot is that which uses the grounds for a single shot, but using a double shot of water.
1 lungo shot of espresso ground coffee
~3 oz whole milk
other
Espresso machine with steam wand
Small 6-8 oz pitcher (or a coffee cup)
Milk frother (or whisk)
Prepare your lungo shot of espresso.
Pour the whole milk into your pitcher or mug. Tilt the pitcher to about 30 degrees. And bring the liquid just to the end of the steam wand.
Start steaming, allowing the milk to curl away in a vortex for about 10 seconds. Then submerge the wand deeper into the pitcher, slowly tilting the pitcher back to an upright position. This takes no more than 30 seconds.
Pour most of the steamed milk over the lungo shot. Using a whisk or frother, whip the remaining ~½ oz of milk until it is very foamy. Pour the foam on top of the steamed milk layer.
______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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