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Iced Caramel Macchiato
If there’s one thing I’m truly committed to in life, it’s a delicious espresso drink. While I spend my entire day avoiding food preparation, I will spend an hour making the perfect coffee drink (like an iced caramel macchiato), especially if I’m making it for someone else.
The difficulty lies in making coffeehouse quality espresso at home. I completely REJECT the suggestion that floats around Pinterest on a daily basis that “strongly brewed” drip coffee can replace real espresso. Hog wash. So I resigned myself to the next best thing to properly brewed espresso shots: my iced latte recipe using cold-brewed coffee concentrate.
But it’s all changed now — I found the Nespresso Citiz Espresso Maker (Amazon). This machine is similar to a Keurig as it uses the convenient single-serve capsules, but completely different because it brews espresso! Like legit espresso! And I also found HiLine Coffee Company has a premium alternative to the expensive Nespresso Espresso Capsules.
HiLine Coffee Company asked me to create an Iced Caramel Macchiato recipe using their Nespresso compatible capsules. What a delight! It’s the first time I’ve been able to tinker with an espresso drink recipe using actual espresso shots.
This machine is crazy easy to use and the espresso shot is fantastic. HiLine Coffee has a nice line of blends sure to compliment any taste. I used the Wall Street Dark Roast Espresso capsules for this recipe.
HOMEMADE ICED CARAMEL MACCHIATO
This recipe makes one 16 ounce drink. You can use any cup. I prefer to drink it from a lidded cup with a straw. Obviously, using a canning jar makes for trendier Pinterest pictures.
Ingredients
2 shots espresso using HiLine Coffee Company Nespresso compatible capsules (you’ll use 2 capsules)
1-1.5 cups ice
2-4 T vanilla syrup — store bought like Torani or homemade (see recipe below)
1.5 cups cold milk or milk substitute
caramel sauce — store bought, like Ghirardelli if you’re fancy or Hershey’s in a squeeze bottle (look in the ice cream topping section of your grocery store); you can also make it at home (here’s an easy recipe)
Directions
Brew the two HiLine Coffee Espresso Shots. Set the shots aside. This is one of the only recipes I’m committed to using hot espresso in an iced drink as the taste of freshly brewed espresso is superior to room temp espresso.
Fill cup about half way with ice.
Add vanilla syrup. I suggest you start with 2 tablespoons and move up if you want it sweeter. The Starbucks Caramel Macchiato uses 4 tablespoons of vanilla syrup for a grande drink (16 oz), as a reference.
Pour milk on top of the syrup. You can gently stir the milk and syrup at this point or leave it separated to enjoy the visual layers.
Slowly pour the espresso shots on top of the milk.
Drizzle the caramel sauce on top of the espresso. The amount really depends on your taste.
Homemade Vanilla Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white or brown sugar — I use brown as I like the taste better, but just use what you have
- 1 T vanilla extract
Bring the water and sugar to a boil. Stir frequently. Turn the burner off once it boils for a few seconds. Add the vanilla extract and stir well. Once syrup has cooled, move it to a glass container. Store it on the counter.
A traditional macchiato is served unstirred. Take a moment to enjoy the beautiful layers and then take your first sip before the espresso falls. Sugar milk is absolutely delicious. Stir to combine, after your first sip, of course.
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Be sure to head over the HiLine Coffee Company to check out their nice assortment of Nespresso compatible capsules. HiLine offers a premium alternative to the expensive Nespresso capsules and honestly, the espresso is fantastic. They have Nespresso compatible capsules for about 55¢ each without a sale or promotion. Be sure to check their pods page as some are marked on sale!
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