caramel sage latte

I love coffee, seeing a Starbucks on the horizon for me is like seeing a friend - a reliable friend who never disappoints you (...but always makes you pay). A latte in Calgary tastes the same as a latte in LA or London, and I kind of love that about Starbucks, that no matter where you are you can rely on Starbucks to be Starbucks. My seasons are defined by pumpkin spice, gingerbread, cinnamon dolce, and coconut. I hate being such a slave to a giant coffee corporation, but I can't deny it. Don't get me wrong, Starbucks isn't my only coffee buddy, but it is the one that has been there for me the most over the years. So of course I was thrilled when we decided that one of our "just-one-last-trip-before-baby" trips would be to Seattle, the birthplace of my friend Starbucks.

So of course one of our first stops in Seattle was to Pike Place for a latte, where it turned out they were celebrating 40 years of world coffee domination and serving free coffee. It was good, it tasted just like the coffee I had that morning at the Calgary airport. The next morning however, on our way back to the market we were lured into a different coffee shop by a sign promising freshly baked pumpkin muffins. They were out of muffins, but thankfully we stayed for breakfast anyways because it was at Cafe Fonte that I had the best latte of my life.

A caramel sage latte. Milk infused with fresh sage, sweetened with caramel and poured into espresso. An odd, unforgettable combination that you won't find at Starbucks, ever. I was sure I would see herb-infused lattes everywhere soon after...but it's been over a year and I must have been wrong, so I tried to recreate it this weekend. Although it was a bit of work (tip: buy your own caramel and save yourself the trouble!), I felt like the end result was comparable to Fontes multi-layered taste experience and so worth it...that is until I made one for Jordan's brother whose glowing review was "It reminds me of gravy". So apparently it's not for everyone...but you should try it anyways.

Caramel Sage Latte:
(makes one) 

3/4 cup sage-infused steamed milk (see below)
1-2 tbsp caramel (see below) - depending on sweetness preference 
2 oz brewed espresso

Pour caramel into espresso and stir. Add steamed milk and top with more caramel (mmm and whipped cream would be good too!). Drink up and try not to think of gravy. 

Sage-infused milk:
For more on infusing milk and cream, check out this article on thekitchn.com to inspire you to try all kinds of combinations...

3/4 cup milk
4 sage leaves torn in half

Bring milk and sage to a simmer. When bubbles form in the milk, turn off the heat so that the milk doesn't burn. Taste, if you want it sage-ier repeat the process, but I found it strong enough after a few minutes of simmering.

Caramel:
If you want to put yourself through the caramel-making process, this recipe worked well for me (you have to scroll down a bit, I left out the salt for this particular recipe). I don't know how many pots of almost-caramel I have burnt, but it can be frustratingly finicky - David Lebovitz has some good tips here.