[117 kcal] Making Vanilla Latte at Home with French Press (PS Should You Get a Yasumi Press?)

[2024 Jun 17: Updated prices and links.]

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Nutrition Facts

Calories	117 kcal
Total Fat	4.1 grams
Sodium	50.0 grams
Total Carbohydrate	16.0 grams
- Dietary Fiber	0 grams
Protein	3.8 grams

Ingredients and Price List

Food	Amount Used	Unit Cost (SGD)	Cost Per Use (SGD)
Coarse Ground Coffee (I drank Yasumi Coffee Brazil Origin: Grind Size - Coarse)	~30 grams	$20.30	$2.54
Vanilla Syrup	15 ml / 1 tablespoon	$17.06	$0.34
Fresh Milk	100 ml	$1.28	$0.64
	TOTAL:	$38.64	~$3.52

Disclaimer: It is difficult to estimate the calories contained in coffee. In the vast internet database, there are websites that claim coffee beans contain 300 to 400 kcal per 100g, yet black coffee is widely known to be fat-free.

Well, coffee beans on their own do contain calories, as they have components that contribute to their calorie content, i.e., carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. That being said, their calorie content is relatively low. When coffee beans are roasted and then brewed, the actual calorie content in a cup of black coffee becomes minimal, generally less than 5 calories per cup. This is because most of the calorie components (oils, proteins, carbohydrates) remain in the spent coffee grounds rather than being extracted into the brew and therefore not consumed by us.

However, adding ingredients like fresh milk to make homemade latte or adding vanilla syrup like this post to make vanilla latte can significantly increase the calorie content of the beverage, so do add these ingredients in moderation. Regardless, I logged coffee beans as 5 kcal just to be prudent.

In this post, I am also excited to introduce the new French Press in town - Yasumi French Press!

Hot Vanilla Latte Made with Coarse Grind Yasumi Coffee Beans and Vanilla Syrup.

In my last latte blog post, I have mentioned that I am not a coffee expert. But under the guidance of the coffee connoisseurs from Yasumi, my coffee vocabulary and knowledge have expanded (thanks, Yasumi team!).

Light- to Medium-Roasted Coffee

First of all, let's talk about the ground coffee. Unlike the popular dark-roasted coffee that we usually find in cafés and ground coffee packages, Yasumi (currently) only offers light- to medium-roasted coffee. Committed to accentuate the unique flavour in each coffee bean, Yasumi realises that dark-roasted coffee beans tend to taste predictable as most of their distinctive characteristics are lost during the roasting process. This is one of the reasons why Yasumi coffee tastes so refreshing.

Brazil Origin and Ethiopia Origin Coarse Grind Yasumi Coffee Beans.

I tried 2 out of the 3 coffee beans that Yasumi currently offers: Brazil Origin and Ethiopia Origin. Both Brazilian and Ethiopian coffee bean's roast levels are medium. However, Brazilian coffee has a heavier, fuller body as compared to Ethiopian coffee, while Ethiopian coffee has a higher acidity.

The Coffee Body

The body of the coffee refers to its texture and weight. If one says that a coffee has a full body, it means that the coffee is strong, creamy, viscous, as though the taste itself has weight, mostly due to its high coffee oil content. On the other hand, if one says that a coffee has a thin body, it means that the coffee is light, watery, delicate, has subtle hints of exotic flavours. Light- to medium-roasted coffee typically have thinner bodies as compared to dark-roasted coffee as a result of gentler roasting process, which led to them retaining their natural coffee bean flavours that otherwise would've been broken down by the dark roasting method.

This is my first time trying out non-dark roasted coffee, with coarse coffee grind size, using a french press - a first of many things, and it was a delightful experience. I have to admit, when I first saw the colour of the coffee I poured out of the Yasumi Press, I thought I've screwed it up as I was not used to seeing coffee with such a light shade of brown. That was when I learned about light- to medium-roasted coffee. I'll show you what I mean:

Light- to medium-roasted coffee have a lighter shade of brown

Dark roasted coffee have a darker shade of brown

Personally, I prefer my coffee with lower acidity, hence I would choose Brazilian coffee over Ethiopian. Brazilian coffee beans are known to be nutty and sweet with notes of chocolates and almonds, while Ethiopian coffee beans have a brighter flavour with hints of blueberries and grapes. I used Brazilian coffee bean to make vanilla latte and found it to pair better with DaVinci Gourmet vanilla syrup as compared to Ethiopian coffee - then again, I may be biased as I prefer coffee with lower acidity.

Using Yasumi Press

The Yasumi Press is essentially a French press, and as mentioned, this is my first time brewing coffee using a French press. And it is surprisingly easy to do so! Let me show you how I made my vanilla latte.

1. Pour 3-4 tablespoons of coarse grind-sized ground coffee into the Yasumi Press.

2. Pour hot water into the Yasumi Press until it reaches slightly above mid-level (or more, if you like). It is recommended to let the water sit for a few minutes after boiling before pouring into the Press, instead of pouring it immediately after boiling - but you can play around with the water sitting time and adjust the water temperature to your liking.

3. Stir the ground coffee mixture in the Yasumi Press to ensure proper mixing.

4. Close the lid of the Press to retain its heat while keeping the plunger up and wait for 3-5 minutes.

5. Press the plunger down.

6. Pour the coffee out.

7. Add 1 tablespoon (or more, if you like) of vanilla syrup to the coffee.

8. Add some warmed milk to the coffee.

9. Enjoy!

Should you get a Yasumi Press?

I'll skip right to it: Yes, you should get a Yasumi Press. TL;DR:

1. It is easy to use.

2. It is portable.

3. It is versatile.

4. It is easy to clean.

5. It looks aesthetic.

It is easy to use.

Before this, I've been using a portable coffee machine to make my daily coffee and it could be a hassle to prepare my coffee this way on a daily basis. This is because I'll need to manually pump the coffee out of the portable coffee machine.

On the other hand, it is ridiculously easy to brew coffee using Yasumi Press as it requires almost no physical effort to do so. Granted, as compared to coffee made using a portable coffee machine, the coffee brewed using Yasumi Press seems to have a thinner body (of course, the coffee grind size and roast level would affect this as well), but I wouldn't mind drinking french press-made coffee on some days.

It is portable.

The other french press I have is a typical, classic french press with borosilicate glass. In other words, I would never bring that around for fear of breaking the glass in my bag. Meanwhile, Yasumi Press is designed thoughtfully such that it can be brought around easily, making it the perfect travel companion for coffee lovers. A word of caution, though - due to the plunger design, it may not be completely leak-proof, hence you'll have to make sure that it stays upright in your bag. Other than that, it's pretty convenient.

It is versatile.

I can make vanilla latte using Yasumi Press, as featured above. I can froth milk using Yasumi Press.

I can make iced americano using Yasumi Press:

I can also brew tea using Yasumi Press!

It is easy to clean.

As compared to washing my portable coffee machine whereby I cannot dismantle all the parts of the machine and ensuring that it is cleaned thoroughly, Yasumi Press is definitely much easier to clean.

Just using a sieve, and a couple of rounds of water down the Yasumi Press gets your Yasumi Press sparkling clean again.

Furthermore, the plunger of Yasumi Press can be dismantled such that you can wash each individual component to remove coffee oil buildup. That's pretty neat!

It looks aesthetic.

Right from the start, you can tell by its packaging that Yasumi is going for the minimalistic kind of design - indeed, sometimes, less is more. With just a pure white external coating, the Yasumi Press goes well with any backdrop, bag, or outfit.

One last thing: I like Yasumi's consistent message of saying how they believe there is no perfect way to drink coffee, and that everyone has their unique preference of making and drinking coffee. Coffee-making can be a daunting process, and coffee knowledge can be overwhelming, but Yasumi is committed to making their coffee enjoyable for anyone, anywhere.

🍴

Home-made Vanilla Latte Ingredients & Kitchenware Recommendations

Item	Recommendation
Coarse Grind Ground Coffee	Yasumi Brazil Origin Coarse Grind Coffee
Whole Coffee Beans (Alternative, for those who prefer grinding the coffee beans themselves)	Yasumi Brazil Origin Whole Coffee Beans
Vanilla Syrup	DaVinci Gourmet Vanilla Syrup 750ml
French Press	Yasumi Press
French Press (Alternative)	Glass French Press