Flavoured Lattes: Caramel, Hazelnut & Mocha Recipes
Salted caramel, hazelnut, mocha, cinnamon and more - simple flavoured latte recipes you can make at home with syrup or spice you already have.
Every flavoured latte follows the same basic formula: strong coffee, hot milk, and one flavour element - a syrup, a spice, or a spread - stirred in before or after. Once you have a good coffee base, the flavour part takes thirty seconds. Here are the most popular variations and how to make them.
The Base Recipe
For any flavour below: pull a shot of espresso or make a small, concentrated filter coffee decoction (about 60-90ml), steam or heat 200-250ml of milk, then combine with your flavouring of choice. Adjust sugar to taste - most syrups already carry sweetness.
Caramel Latte
Stir 1-2 tablespoons of caramel syrup into your coffee before adding milk. For a salted caramel latte, add a small pinch of sea salt on top of the caramel, or use a pre-made salted caramel syrup. Finish with a light caramel drizzle if you want the cafe look.
Hazelnut Latte
Hazelnut syrup (1-2 tbsp) stirred into the coffee, topped with steamed milk. For a toffee nut latte, combine hazelnut syrup with a small amount of caramel or toffee syrup - it's essentially a hazelnut-caramel hybrid.
Nutella Latte
Melt a heaped teaspoon of Nutella into your hot espresso or decoction, stirring until fully dissolved, then add steamed milk. This gives you both the hazelnut and chocolate notes in one step - closer to a mocha than a plain hazelnut latte.
Coconut Latte
Swap some or all of the dairy milk for coconut milk, or add a small amount of coconut syrup to a regular latte. Coconut milk froths differently from dairy - it won't hold as stiff a foam, so expect a thinner top layer.
Cinnamon Latte
Stir a quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon into the coffee itself (it dissolves better in hot liquid than sprinkled on foam), or use a cinnamon syrup. A dash of cinnamon on top of the foam is mostly for looks and aroma rather than flavour strength.
Choco Latte / Mocha Latte / Cafe Mocha Latte
These names are largely interchangeable for the same drink: espresso or strong coffee, chocolate syrup or cocoa powder, and milk. For a richer version, use melted dark chocolate instead of syrup. Latte and mocha differ only in that one - mocha always has chocolate, latte doesn't.
Dolce Latte (Sweetened Milk Latte)
Note: "dolce latte" is also the name of a soft Italian blue cheese, unrelated to coffee - if you're searching for the drink, look for "dolce" (sweet) latte recipes that typically use condensed or sweetened milk rather than the cheese. A dolce-style latte just uses sweetened condensed milk in place of regular milk and sugar, giving a thicker, sweeter drink similar in spirit to a Spanish latte.
Oat Milk Latte (Dairy-Free)
Oat milk froths well and holds foam reasonably close to dairy, making it one of the better plant-based options for lattes. Use a barista-blend oat milk if you can find one - regular oat milk (meant for drinking, not steaming) can split or thin out when heated. All the flavour variations above work the same way with oat milk substituted in.
Getting the Coffee Base Right
Flavoured syrups and chocolate are sweet and rich, so a coffee base that's too weak just disappears under them. A Robusta-leaning blend gives enough strength and body to still come through.
If you'd rather build your own ratio for a stronger or milder base depending on the flavour, a custom blend lets you dial it in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make flavoured lattes without an espresso machine? Yes - a strong filter coffee decoction, moka pot, or even concentrated instant coffee works as the base. The flavour and milk steps are identical.
Which flavoured latte has the least sugar? Cinnamon latte, since it uses spice rather than syrup. Coconut and Nutella versions tend to be sweetest because of added sugar in the coconut syrup or Nutella itself.
What's the difference between latte and mocha again? Chocolate - a mocha is a latte with chocolate added, nothing else changes.
Related Reading
Latte vs Cappuccino vs Mocha vs Espresso explains the base drinks these recipes build on, and Best Coffee for Milk Coffee helps you pick a blend strong enough to carry these flavours.
Flavoured lattes are really just a good coffee base plus one extra ingredient - once you've got the base right, caramel, hazelnut, mocha, cinnamon, and coconut versions are all a stir away.