the perfect latte

I have a deep seated love for hot caffeinated drinks. It started when I was two, at my very British Nanny's (great-grandmother's) house, with tea and cookies after dinner. Now, I'm pretty sure that I what I was drinking was closer to slightly warm, sugared milk than actual tea at the time, but in my head I started drinking tea at two.

Growing up, and even through university, I would drink tea by the potful. Several pots a day. In high school I worked at a Tim Horton's (the Canadian nation coffee shop, for anyone not familiar), and I would walk around smelling like coffee all the time. It kind of made me sick - I wouldn't dream of drinking the stuff.

In university though, began the weekly coffee dates to catch up with friends at the on campus Starbucks. The moments of realization where the alarm bells go off in you head saying caffeinate, caffeinate (image that being like the Daleks: "exterminate, exterminate") and thinking about how much quicker it is to shoot back an espresso than to drink that entire tea (and that way, I wouldn't have to sneak out for a bathroom break mid-lecture).

Since then, my love of coffee has grown to the point that it is my go-to caffeinated beverage. A day is not a day unless there is a good cup of coffee in it. I have tried most coffee making contraptions, from the boring old coffee maker, to the stovetop espresso machine, the french press, to the garage sale Krups espresso machine Bunny brought home this summer. (He may have gotten in trouble for that - we do not have much counter space and I'm protective of it - but has definitely been forgiven.)

Saturday and Sunday morning coffees are currently some of my favourite moments of my week. Waking up, grinding the beans, steaming a half cup or so of milk, tamping the beans and making a double espresso. A hint of sugar (because we know my sweet tooth), and then pour the espresso and steamy, foamy milk into a mug and go snuggle with it on the couch.

This isn't one of those commercial lattes, where the foam is tacky and the espresso to milk/foam ration is sadly low. No, this is half a mug of espresso matched with equal parts milk and foam. Strong, coffee taste. None of that watered down shit.

I love how each time I steam milk it gets more towards the microfoam I love, a little bit better every time. I love that first sip in the morning, as the caffeine flows into my mouth and warms me all over.

Perfection.