How to Make a Latte: A Beginner's Guide

As a training Starbucks barista, I found it very intimidating when I was presented with the huge stack of cards with drinks I had to learn. I was not sure where to begin or how to start studying them all. I found it very difficult to think of each beverage as an individual drink with its own specific preparation. Although that is true, memorizing these drinks became easier when I grouped certain beverages together. For instance, when I learned to make a latte, I grouped cafe mochas, white mochas, and caramel macchiatos with that latte due to their similarity. 

After nearly 2 years of personal experience, I believe a latte builds the foundation for many other drinks. When you learn to make a latte, you learn 20 other beverages because they use the same process with one or two added ingredients. The best thing about this is when you learn to make 20 hot drinks, you also learn how to make 20 iced drinks since the only difference is adding ice. Additionally, you learn to operate what looks like a very complicated machine. Therefore, a latte is one of the simplest yet crucial things beginning baristas need to know. 

So, here is a basic how-to for the widely known Starbucks Caffe Latte.

You will need the following ingredients and materials:

• Any milk of your choice

• Steaming pitcher

• Espresso shot glass

• Cup

• Starbucks Mastrena II

Starbucks Mastrena II Parts:

1. Steaming Wand

2. Steaming lever

3. Temperature control

4. Espresso Control Panel

   
   

   

Step 1: Pour the milk to the appropriate serving size

The steaming pitcher has a few lines that go around it which indicate a guide for portioning the milk to the corresponding size. I have added a few colors to help distinguish the portions. 

The orange line indicates the serving size for a short cup (extra small), yellow indicates the tall cup (small size), green indicates the grande cup (medium size), and the blue at the top indicates the venti cup (large size). In this example, I will be using a grande cup and therefore fill it up to the line highlighted in green.

Step 2: Queue the shots needed. 

You’ll notice in the image on page 1, that this machine has 3 different slots each filled with different beans. The left slot is for blonde espresso, the middle for regular espresso, and the right for decaf espresso. The middle slot will be the default beans the machine will use unless you select different beans for that serving. Using the control panel on the mastrena can easily allow you to do so. Simply press the arrow pointing to the beans of your choice. For instance, if you would like the blonde beans on the left, press the left arrow. If you would like the decaf espresso on the right, press the right arrow. 

After selecting the espresso, you can then choose the amount of espresso shots you would like. This machine in particular allows you to select between 1 to 3 espresso shots per serving. However, you can also queue up to 2 following servings if needed. For example, if I want 5 regular espresso shots, I would press the button displaying 3 espresso shots followed by the button displaying 2 shots. Together, these 2 servings would pour 5 espresso shots for my latte. Note that since I chose the default beans, I did not need to use the arrows on the control panel.

Since I am making a grande (medium size) latte, I will use the standard portion- 2 espresso shots as shown in the image to the left.

Step 3: Steam your milk

Now that you have queued your espresso shots, you can begin to steam your milk. The default temperature will be 160 degrees fahrenheit but there are hotter and warmer temperatures available. Notice there are buttons on the left side of the wand which allow you to select your desired temperature. The button displaying 3 squiggles (≀≀≀) is extra hot at 170 degrees fahrenheit while the button displaying 1 squiggle (≀) represents warm temperature at 130 degrees fahrenheit. 

Select your desired temperature and grab your steaming pitcher by the handle. Place the steaming wand inside the pitcher and angle your pitcher about 45 degrees. Then, pull the lever located above the steaming wand forward to begin steaming the milk. Start with the wand all the way at the bottom of the pitcher and slowly move down to aerate the milk for 3-4 seconds. Make sure not to go too high or the milk will splatter everywhere. Just right under the surface of the milk will do. This video shows an example of how to properly steam the milk. 

Step 4: Clean the wand

Once your milk is steamed, remove the pitcher from the wand. Use a sanitation wipe to clean and sanitize any residue milk off the wand. Be sure to then push the wand back so it is pointing directly downward. Then release some steam by pushing the lever back to clean any internal residue like so.

Step 5: Pour ingredients into your cup

Begin with pouring the espresso shots into your cup first so they mix with the milk you are about to add. Then, gently hit the bottom of the steaming pitcher against the table to get rid of the air bubbles sitting at the very top like so. This will allow you to have the perfect, silky looking milk for your latte. Next, carefully pour the milk to the top as shown in this video!

Congratulations, you have made a latte!