I love to treat myself to a cappuccino every once in a while. I see it as a little bit of an extravagance because I know that they can add up in cost.

I usually buy my coffee at the local Starbucks or Costa Coffee and if I am feeling extra indulgent, I will also ask for a shot of vanilla or caramel. Naturally I only get my cappuccino treat when I am out and about and I always wished I could make one at home but I do not own the necessary equipment to make one.

So I did what any self respecting laptop owner would do – I googled "how to make a cappuccino at home without a machine”.

I got quite a few results and I decided to try them out. Here are a couple of the suggestions followed by my results.

The Theory

Ingredients

• Skimmed milk
• Sugar
• Fresh strong coffee

Method

• Brew coffee
• Combine sugar with the milk and microwave for 1 -2 minutes
• Add the heated milk and sugar to your blender and blend for one minute or until foam appears
• Pour coffee into cappuccino cup and add the heated froth on top
• Sprinkle with chocolate powder.

The Reality – My Issues

OK – I don’t drink skimmed milk so I used semi skimmed milk instead. I don’t make fresh coffee as I am not a regular drinker of the stuff. It naturally follows that I do not own a coffee maker either. I used the instant coffee that was in my cupboard.

I do not own a blender so I could not create any froth.

Result of my home made cappuccino challenge – I ended up with a coffee latte, which is a nice drink, but not what I wanted.

The Theory

Ingredients

• Cold full fat milk
• Coffee

Method

• Pour desired amount of milk into a cup and microwave until it reaches a warm temperature.
• Pour milk into your mixer and mix until you see frothy foam
• Spoon foam on top of your espresso and top up with hot milk

The Reality – My Issues

As I mentioned before, I drink semi skimmed milk so that is what I used. I don’t have a mixer so could not whip up the frothy foam to the required consistency. I couldn’t make espresso because I do not have any real coffee in my house.

Result of my home made cappuccino challenge – a real non starter.

What Have I Learned?

It may be possible to make a cappuccino at home without a machine but you do need to have some other basic stuff that I just don’t have. I doubt I will buy real coffee because I do not drink it that often. (I am a true Brit and love my cup of tea) I also know that the good stuff should be used within a certain amount of time to really get a great flavour from the beans. It would also be safe to assume that I will not be investing in a coffee machine any time soon.

I feel that my experiment has proved that if you love your cappuccino you have the choice of buying a good quality cappuccino maker or simply popping down to your local Starbucks, Costa Coffee or Java Hut to get your fix.

If anyone has any helpful suggestions for a home made cappuccino without a machine, I would love to hear from you.

Read more about coffee and cappuccinos

• How to choose a cappuccino maker
• Flavored coffee beans – what is it?
• Cappuccino cups and saucers - different shapes and sizes