sea salt maple spice latte

Our North Carolina trip recently featured a pit stop in Brevard for coffee at Cup & Saucer after a pleasant hike up to John’s Rock. I could’ve requested good ole pumpkin spice in my mug, but the barista mentioned that maple featured as their second seasonal offering. This cozy drink is inspired by said latte. Maple is an underrated autumn taste and, as far as I’m concerned, snuggles up to coffee beverages supremely well. I paired the maple base with warming cinnamon and clove, and just a hint of sea salt to underline the sweetness wrought by the syrup. Frothy milk atop a warm hit of coffee completes the outfit. I used a maple oat milk from Trader Joe’s, but any milk, dairy or not, will do.

I completely grog-slogged through the Friday I developed this latte. I am usually fine with an oat milk-infused coffee as a simple afternoon pick-me-up, but a touch of inspiration wafted into my kitchen so I took a tiny bit of extra time to create a proper fall-y drink. Not that much extra time was really involved. Opening a cabinet, pouring a bit of syrup, and letting the Aeroccino do its thing isn’t exactly a workout. No time was really needed to drink it, though I did attempt to savor each little sip and pretend it STILL isn’t 90 degrees and sweltering hot here in central Florida.

Maple interacts quite well with hot coffee, better than honey, I think, as a sweetener. Add a gentle swirl of milk and each individual medley of tastes in this latte pops out nicely on your tongue. I am not a full-pump syrup girl when I order drinks from shops, so this recipe is less sweet than some others out there. I always invite you to play, however. Add a bit more maple if your tastebuds crave it. Maple is delectable. I don’t judge.

sea salt maple spice latte

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The only component that could make this not vegan is if you choose to use a dairy-based milk. Otherwise, plant-based eaters rejoice! Trader Joes' Maple Oat Beverage is phenomenal with this drink and I'd recommend you snag a carton before it vanishes for the season, if for no other reason than to pour it in this drink. I tend to like coffee drinks on the less sweet side so you are free to experiment with maple syrup amounts until you find your perfect fit. Prep time does not include time it takes to brew coffee.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Servings 2 mugs

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch clove
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 12 oz hot brewed coffee *see note
• 8 oz milk of choice

Instructions

 

• If you haven't already, brew your coffee. I used drip for my cuppa, but you can use moka pot ,espresso, French press, whatever you prefer.
• In the bottom of your mugs, stir maple syrup, spices, and sea salt until combined (half of the listed amount per mug, you can also halve it anyway just to make a single serving). Pour coffee over top. Stir to combine.
• I own a Nespresso Aeroccino frother and it produces fantastic foam with the correct milks. As I mentioned in the narrative, I chose Trader Joes' Maple Oat Beverage since it suits this recipe smartly. I recommend a fattier variety of dairy or nondairy, such as whole or 2%, canned coconut, or full-fat oat milk. As far as frothing goes, a handheld device works nicely but you must heat your milk first if your model does not do the heating for you. Those are honestly the only two ways I know of to froth milk – if you have further experience, let me know, please!

  Once you have your frothy milk of choice, pour atop your coffee mixture. Taste to adjust sweetness. Sprinkle with cinnamon if you'd like. Serve hot.

Notes

* You can also use espresso shots if you wish! I’d recommend two shots per mug for a fuller flavor, in which case you’ll have around 4 oz of liquid before the milk. 4-8 oz milk per mug of coffee, depending on how big you want the beverage, should do the trick as far as proportion goes.