17 Ways To Infuse Milk For A Better Coffee

Bring on the nostalgia with cereal-infused milk for your coffee. It's a fun way to transform your milk from bland to breakfast-inspired. The exciting part of this recipe is that you can use your favorite breakfast cereal, it doesn't have to be a specific one. Pick your cereal from Lucky Charms to Raisin Bran to Froot Loops. Cereal-infused milk flavors up your coffee while utilizing the cereal from your cabinet. 

You can use dairy or an alternative milk for this simple infusion. Just add a scoop of your preferred cereal to a bowl of cold milk and let it infuse until the cereal gets soggy. Once thoroughly soggy, taste the milk to see if it's infused enough. If not, leave the cereal in for a while longer or add more cereal. Once it's ready, strain the milk into a pitcher or airtight container to store it. 

Make a high-protein coffee by adding protein powder. While this combination is nothing new, the protein powder usually gets added to the coffee itself, not the milk. If you want to give your latte some extra protein, add a couple of scoops of protein powder to your milk as it heats up. Sometimes protein powder leaves a residue or doesn't quite mix in, so adding it to the hot milk lets it fully disintegrate. 

Use unflavored or flavored protein powder, whichever you prefer. Keep things understated and low-profile with unflavored protein powder or swap cow's milk for coconut milk or almond milk for a nutty essence. But if you want to amplify the taste of your protein latte, there are many flavored protein powder options out there like vanilla, chocolate, cookies and cream, coconut caramel, confetti cake, banana nut, rocky road, and many more.

Don't scoff at the idea of lemon and coffee. This combination made the rounds on TikTok and as it turns out, it makes a good cup of Joe. The key to adding lemon, lemon zest, or lemon peels is to not add too much. You want it to enhance the coffee, not overpower it into an acidic nightmare. When making lemon coffee, there is something you should consider. 

This drink tastes best with cow milk, soy, or oat milk since they're on the creamier side and don't alter the taste of the coffee. Something like coconut milk will contribute too much flavor unless that's what you're going for. Heat your milk and add your lemon juice, zest, or peels. Choose which part to use based on what you have at home since they provide similar taste regardless. The juice will offer a more powerful taste whereas fresh zest or peels might be lighter. You can add a sprinkle of sugar or sweetener like honey or agave to the mix as well. Once infused, pour your lemony milk into your coffee. You could make a cold brew version and pour your milk and coffee onto ice.

Rose petals are an absolute delight for your next latte. Make sure to use culinary-grade rose petals. Those super red roses with no scent that you get at the grocery store are not the same. You can find rose petals in Middle Eastern stores or international stores. In a pinch, you could certainly use rosewater.

To infuse your rose milk, gather your rose petals and allow them to steep in the milk on the stove. You can leave them as is, or you can pulverize them or blend them in a food processor to have a fine powder. Allow some time to infuse on the stove until the milk becomes aromatic and perfumed with rose. Strain your mixture, or if you use whole petals, you can keep one or two in your latte. We like to add cardamom to the mix, but you could use cinnamon or clove too. If you want to be adventurous and sip something other than a standard latte, try rose cardamom almond milk with your coffee.

The London Fog — a drink made from tea, steamed milk, and vanilla popular in the Pacific Northwest — shows how delightful milk and tea are together. To make a London Fog Earl Grey latte, you usually boil the water, steep your tea, heat your milk, and then add them together. But you can create a coffee London Fog for a little extra kick. This is perfect if you need a caffeine boost, but you can always find decaffeinated Earl Grey or decaf coffee if you want to lower your caffeine intake. 

Heat your milk on the stove and add one or two teabags of Earl Grey to the milk, depending on how much you're making. Allow 5 to 10 minutes to fully infuse and release the flavors of black tea and citrusy bergamot. Once the milk becomes infused, pour it into your coffee. Regular milk, oat, almond, or coconut milk are nice to use thanks to the creaminess. An Earl Grey coffee will hit all the right spots of your taste buds.

Peanut butter beverages can range from peanut butter whiskey to peanut butter smoothies, so go nuts with a peanut butter coffee. The peanut butter provides fat and protein for your morning ritual in a similar fashion as adding butter to your coffee to make a bulletproof coffee. It's a creamy and decadent way to start your day. It's more filling than your standard cup of coffee so you'll have a boost from the caffeine and calories. 

Heat your milk in a pot and let the peanut butter disintegrate. You'll be left with peanut butter globs if you use cold milk. You could also add cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup to your peanut butter milk mixture for extra oomph. When you want an iced peanut butter latte instead, rim your glass with peanut butter, then pour the peanut butter milk onto ice along with your coffee. Top with a little whipped cream, some crushed peanuts, and a drizzle of peanut butter for good measure.

Coffee cocktails are delectable and satisfying. There are so many coffee-based cocktails out there, from White Russians to espresso martinis to mudslides. Make a hot milk punch by infusing your milk with liquor such as rum, bourbon, or brandy. You can use milk or a non-dairy alternative, but for an especially creamy hot milk punch stick with half and half. Heat your half and half and brown sugar until the sugar dissolves, then pour in your liquor. 

Hot milk punch usually calls for a nutmeg or cinnamon garnish, but you can add those into the milk to infuse for additional aroma and taste. Let everything combine and then pour it into a coffee mug to savor. This is a fantastic choice if you're seeking a brunch cocktail other than a mimosa or Bloody Mary. It helps that this is hot, so it makes for an even better brunch cocktail choice on colder days.

Change your morning coffee by adding a sprinkle of cayenne pepper to your milk. It's got some bite to it, but it's not overly spicy. The milk helps cut down on the heat, so you can feel free to add more or less based on your personal preferences. Double-check that it's indeed cayenne pepper and not chili powder since chili powder is more savory with potential ingredients like ancho chiles, chipotle chiles, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, or paprika.

Make it a Mexican-inspired mocha by also including a handful of chocolate chips, a couple of squares of chocolate, or chocolate syrup into your milk and cayenne blend. Allow everything to infuse for a spicy mocha. The hint of spice from the cayenne and the acidity of the coffee work well with the sweetness of the chocolate. You could include a splash of tequila or smokey mezcal for an afternoon cocktail.

The needle-like leaves and potent but familiar fragrance of rosemary might not be the first herb that comes to mind to elevate your regular cup of coffee, but you should give it a shot. If you're adventurous in your food and beverage choices, the rosemary can give a subtle earthiness that pairs well with the coffee. Infuse a sprig of fresh rosemary with your milk. You can use dried rosemary but it might take a little longer to infuse and rehydrate. Get a bit of sugar into the mix by rubbing sugar onto the leaves before dropping them into the milk.

Allow a few minutes for the leaves to get tender; You can taste the milk to see if it's infused and ready to drink. You'll be able to smell the rosemary as the oils are released into the milk. Take out the sprig of rosemary or dried rosemary and add the infused milk to your coffee. There are lattes made with lavender, turmeric, rose, and jasmine, so perhaps rosemary lattes will be the next big thing at your local coffee shop.