How to DIY your Life : Treat Yourself to a Cup of Heaven...Better than Starbucks Mocha & Cappuccino Recipe

Think good coffee is only for people who can afford those fancy, high-tech, super-expensive espresso machines? Think again. Here's a recipe for a mocha and cappuccino that my husband says is better than Starbucks (and him and his family are Starbucks worshipers). The best thing about it is that its easy and affordable to make at home. All you need is a stove-top espresso maker and a hand milk frother that probably cost less than most of your standard coffee makers and definitely cost less than that Keurig of yours. I first heard of this espresso maker from my parent's friend from Sicily (and Italian's know what they're talking about when it comes to cappuccino!)

Here comes the detailed picture tutorial.....

Materials needed:

Bialetti Moka Cappuccino and Latte Set
(I originally purchased the set on amazon here for ~$75 but it looks like the set is out of stock and may have been discontinued) But you can always get the espresso maker here and I found a similar milk frother here
Illy Ground Espresso Coffee (recommend by our Italian friend - this stuff is the best. My husband and I love Dark Roast, strong coffee)

Making the Espresso

Unscrew the top espresso chamber and remove the filter funnel. Then fill the bottom chamber with water to the fill line.

Next replace the filter funnel

Then loosely fill the filter funnel to the top with the espresso.
***Do not pack it down***

Then tightly screw the top espresso chamber onto the water chamber (don't use the handle for leverage) and heat on the stovetop over medium high heat. I have a gas stovetop so I make sure that the flames don't go past the sides of the container.

What's going to happen is water is going to boil up from the bottom water chamber, through the ground coffee, and the brewed espresso will collect in the top chamber.

Now wait for it to heat up and listen until you can hear the espresso boiling. You should also see steam coming from the spout. This is how you know its done and the espresso has all been collected into the top chamber.

Note: If you want to check under the lid to make sure its done and all of the espresso has been brewed to the top, make sure you remove the espresso maker from the heat first and let it cool down a little or it will gurgle and splatter all over the stove from the center brew spout.

When mine is filled to about 1/2-1/4 in below the outer pouring spout that's when its done and no more espresso is going to boil up to the top.

Nest while you are waiting for the espresso to brew, you want to get your milk ready. I use 1% milk. These are the cups I use to make the cappuccino and this recipe will make two cappuccinos of this size so I measure out a full cup of the milk (the final mixture will be 1/2 espresso and 1/2 milk)

You can find these cups here

Now pour the milk into your milk frother and heat uncovered on the stove over low heat. It will take a few minutes for your espresso to brew so you don't want to overheat and boil the milk. You want it to be as hot as possible without boiling.

Note: If you do accidentally boil your milk or heat it to the point that it starts to bubble on the top (like I did today) make sure that you remove the thin layer of film that will accumulate on the surface of your milk. Otherwise you will get gross filmy chunks in your cappuccino.

Once your espresso is done brewing you're ready to make your drink.

Cappuccino Recipe:

Add a spoonful of raw sugar to your coffee cup.
Then fill the cup 1/2 full with espresso and stir to dissolve sugar.

Froth your milk by removing the milk canister from the stovetop, placing it on a flat surface, covering with the filter lid, and pumping the handle up and down vigorously for 10 seconds.

*Picture taken on the stove after I had already frothed the milk.
Yum! Frothy milk!

Fill up your cup the rest of the way with the foamed milk. If you want your coffee a little bit more creamy it works best is you pour some of the liquid milk and scoop the foamy milk on the top.

Then sprinkle with some cinnamon and you're done! Delicious homemade cappuccino.

Mocha Recipe:

The only difference between the mocha and the cappuccino is the sweetener and the topping.

Drizzle the sides of your cup with chocolate syrup. Technically you're supposed to use fancy chocolate syrup in a mocha but nesquick is fine for me. Then fill half full with espresso and stir to dissolve the syrup.