Cinnamon Cardamom Cappuccino

I know many people that spend an enormous amount of money at coffee shops on espresso-based drinks, such as lattes, mochas and cappuccinos. Here, I will present a way to spend a lot less money on coffee-shops without giving up on your love for coffee.

• Espresso-maker (Yes, you do need one to make a cappuccino. There are many inexpensive options for basic espresso machines of decent quality on the market. Mine cost me about $150.)
• Coffee grinder
• Milk - 4 oz.
• Water for espresso - 2 oz.
• Ground cinnamon - 1/4 tsp.
• Ground cardamom - 1/4 tsp.
• Clear glass cup (preferably)

According to different approaches to making cappuccino, there can be different ratios of milk to espresso. For this recipe, I used 2 oz. of espresso and 4 oz. of 2% skim milk. As a general rule, whole milk or half-and-half would make a better foam due to the high content of fat, however, 2% skim milk works just fine as well. You also may use some non-dairy options such as soy milk and almond milk if that is your preference, but you may not be able to make as much foam in this case.

Once the milk is in the cup, it is time to make the foam. For the frothing, I used the wand from my espresso-maker, however, if your machine does not have a frothing wand, they can be bought separately. After the cup becomes hot and the volume of milk and foam increases, we turn the frother off and set the cup aside. NOTE: Frothed milk will double or even triple its volume, therefore it is important to have a big enough cup to account for that.

Now it is time to prepare coffee beans for the espresso shot. In order to make a good quality, rich and flavorful espresso shot, it is necessary to grind the coffee beans fine enough, which requires a good coffee grinder.

Once enough coffee is ground, fill the portafilter to the very top with a little hill, then press it down with the black espresso tamper that came with your espresso maker, or you may choose to buy it separately, and insert the portafilter into the machine. Now we are ready to make an espresso shot!

In order to make a cappuccino, we need to add an espresso shot into the milk. At this point we need to put the foamed milk under the portafilter and turn the espresso machine on to make an espresso shot. If you use a clear cup you will be able to see the beautiful layers of coffee and milk being formed.

Typically, an espresso shot requires 1 oz. of water, and a double shot - 2 oz. of water. Some coffee machines have pre-set options for a single or double espresso shot, but mine doesn't so I stop it after it has administered about 2 oz. of water, since my portafilter is designed for a double shot. By now I know well enough how my machine functions and do not use measuring cups, but you may need to use a measuring cup to measure 4 oz. of milk and 2 oz. of espresso.

Once the plain cappuccino has been made, it is time to add the spices. For this recipe we will need a quarter of a tea spoon or cinnamon and a quarter of a teaspoon of cardamom. Once the spices are added, we can give the top of the beverage a quick stir. I do not recommend stirring the whole cup because it will destroy the layered look of the cappuccino, which provides an esthetic pleasure.

Green cardamom is sold either in the ground form or in the form of whole beans. Since freshy ground cardamom is more flavorful, I would recommend buying it in whole beans and grinding it using an inexpensive coffee grinder or a blender.

Discard the puck of used coffee, wash out the portafilter, frothing wand and clean up the insertion site of the portafilter.

This cappuccino is delicious by itself, but if you have a sweet tooth, you may enjoy it with a pastry or add a syrup, which will create an additional esthetic-looking layer at the bottom of the drink.