Heading into the Christmas season this last year, we had many customers come to us to chat about purchasing an espresso machine for home. While there are many options out there for coffee + espresso at home, we have a few things we can give direction on to help make your decision. Here's how we can help and what you should know to make your best drink at home.

You’ve picked out your machine, purchased it, maybe watched some Youtube videos. Like most things, practice makes perfect and having knowledge can be a step forward. If you don’t have an espresso machine at home and you’d like information on that, we’ll have a note about those coming soon too!

Three things can make or break the taste of your latte:

1. Espresso

2. Flavor

3. Milk

Espresso. When purchasing coffee beans, be sure to choose a fresh selection of beans (usually not found in a big chain place) and if you have the worker at the place grind it for you, let them know how you are using it at home and what you are using to brew your coffee. If the beans are ground incorrectly, you’ll have terrible espresso shots from the start. Fresh + ground correctly.

Flavor. There are many different brands of coffee syrups and sauces out there. Some are WAY better than others. If you find one you like, stick with that brand.

Milk. If you are steaming milk with your espresso machine, know there are great techniques to steaming milk and doing it correctly can directly effect the taste of your latte.

Just like making your favorite meal from that well-known restaurant at home might not be quite the same, we think the same of specialty coffee. There really isn’t a perfect match to having your favorite coffee from #theCabin at home, but you can get close.