Home & Living
A Weekend Home Café for Two
A cortado, a shaken espresso or a cinnamon latte, good bakery croissants and time at the table. My small home café menu, with realistic shortcuts.
An AI-generated illustration of the home café menu.
A home café for two can be as simple as choosing a coffee each, picking up good pastries and setting a comfortable table. My menu would be a cortado, a brown sugar shaken espresso or a cinnamon latte, with fresh, flaky croissants and perhaps carrot cake or a cinnamon roll. You do not need to make everything yourself to make the morning feel special.
I love coffee in more than one form. My favourite slow way to make it is with the Chemex: the glass, the gradual dripping, that lovely excuse to stand still for a moment. In everyday life, that tends to happen at the weekend. But I also genuinely enjoy Nespresso, and that is what I use for drinks such as a cortado or shaken espresso.
For this little café menu, I would use almond milk. It is usually my choice because I like the flavour, as well as it being plant-based and lactose-free.
The idea is to enjoy the coffee corner, rather than spend the whole morning working in it.
My small home café menu
Choose one drink each. The three options are there to give you a choice, not to suggest making six coffees before breakfast.
Cortado: a small coffee with roughly equal amounts of espresso and warm milk. This is one of my favourite coffee drinks.
Brown sugar shaken espresso: an iced coffee with brown sugar, a little cinnamon and almond milk, inspired by the Starbucks drink I enjoy.
Cinnamon latte: the warm, gently spiced option I would add when I want something especially cosy.
For the food, I would start with two fresh croissants. Add a slice of carrot cake to share or a cinnamon roll each if you fancy something extra. Any one of those pastries is enough on its own, too.
About the recipes
These are my own recipes, written around my drink choices and my almond-milk preference. Adjust sweetness and milk to your taste; timings are estimates.
Three coffee recipes to start with
All quantities below make one drink. For two people choosing the same coffee, double the ingredients and prepare each serving separately. Use capsules intended for an espresso-sized brew; Nespresso machines and capsule systems vary, so follow your own machine’s instructions rather than assuming every capsule makes the same volume.
Almond milk cortado
A cortado keeps the coffee prominent. Start with equal volumes of espresso and warm milk, then adjust if you prefer a softer drink.
Makes: 1 small drink. Estimated total time: 5 minutes, including brewing and warming the milk.
Ingredients
- 40 ml espresso, brewed with a suitable Nespresso espresso capsule
- 40 ml almond milk
Method
- Brew 40 ml espresso into a small cup or heatproof coffee glass.
- Warm the almond milk gently in a saucepan or a milk frother that supports your chosen milk. Aim for warm milk with only a little fine foam, rather than a large cappuccino-style cap.
- Pour the warm milk into the espresso and serve straight away.
A small adjustment: if your frother needs more than 40 ml to run safely, warm its minimum permitted amount and measure 40 ml into your drink. You do not have to use all the warmed milk in the cup. A barista-style almond drink is worth trying if your usual milk does not give the texture you want; results vary by brand and product.
Brown sugar shaken espresso with almond milk
This is an almond-milk variation inspired by Starbucks, rather than an exact copy. Starbucks describes its original drink with oatmilk; here, almond milk follows my own preference. Brown sugar and a little cinnamon give the coffee a warm flavour even though it is served over ice.
Makes: 1 iced drink. Estimated total time: 10 minutes: about 5 minutes of preparation plus about 5 minutes of cooling, which may take longer.
Ingredients
- 80 ml espresso, brewed as two suitable 40 ml Nespresso espresso servings
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar, approximately 8 g
- A small pinch of ground cinnamon
- 100 ml cold almond milk
- Approximately 150 g ice, divided between shaking and serving
Method
- Brew the espresso into an open heatproof cup or jug. Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon while the coffee is hot, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Leave it in the open vessel until no longer hot. To help it cool, stand the vessel in a bowl of cold water, keeping the water out of the coffee. The cooling time will vary.
- Put the cooled coffee and about half the ice into a shaker suitable for cold drinks. Close it and shake for about 10–15 seconds. Do not seal or shake hot coffee in a closed container.
- Put the remaining ice into a tall glass. Pour in the shaken coffee, then add the cold almond milk. Stir gently if you want the milk mixed throughout.
Make it yours: start with 1 teaspoon of sugar if you prefer less sweetness, or add a little more milk for a gentler drink. Without a shaker, stir the cooled sweetened espresso with ice and top with almond milk; it will have less shaken foam, but still makes a pleasant iced coffee.
Starbucks’ description of the original Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso (flavour reference)
Cinnamon almond milk latte
This is the warm option on the menu: espresso, almond milk and a small amount of cinnamon. A light hand with the spice keeps it from taking over the cup.
Makes: 1 latte. Estimated total time: 5 minutes, including brewing and warming the milk.
Ingredients
- 40 ml espresso, brewed with a suitable Nespresso espresso capsule
- 150 ml almond milk
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar, approximately 4 g, optional
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus a small pinch to finish
Method
- Brew the espresso into a mug with room for the milk. Stir in the optional sugar and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Cinnamon does not dissolve completely; a little spice remaining in the drink is normal.
- Warm the almond milk gently and froth it if you like, following your frother’s instructions. Do not boil it.
- Pour the milk into the coffee, spoon over any fine foam and finish with a small pinch of cinnamon.
Make it yours: try it without sugar first if your almond milk is already sweetened. For an iced version, let the espresso cool in an open vessel, then pour it over ice and add the milk cold.
Good pastries count as part of the plan
We live close to Belgium and have some very good bakeries nearby. For a morning like this, I would happily buy fresh croissants. Properly flaky ones are a pleasure in their own right, and picking them up is a sensible way to leave more time for the part I want to enjoy.
Making laminated pastry from scratch is not something I would choose for this. If I want to bake croissants at home, I use croissant dough from a tin. Sometimes I tuck cheese inside before rolling them up, which gives me a lovely savoury option. Follow the dough’s packet instructions for baking, and choose a filling that suits you.
I have made cinnamon rolls before using croissant dough, and I found making them quite labour-intensive. I have also made carrot cake in the past. Both can be enjoyable projects when there is time and inclination. Neither needs to become an obligation just because you want a nice coffee morning.
For this menu, pick the route that suits your weekend.
The bakery morning: buy the croissants and one sweet extra, and make the coffee yourself.
A little homemade: bake tinned-dough croissants, with cheese in some if you like, and buy the cake or rolls.
The baking weekend: make a carrot cake when you have time, then keep the rest of the menu simple.
Remember that choosing almond milk for the drinks does not make the whole spread dairy-free. Croissants, fillings and cake can contain dairy; choose pastries that suit your own needs.
Set a table you actually want to sit at
My coffee corner has layers: lighting, books, a croissant print, a little greenery and music. Those are things I enjoy living with, and they make the everyday coffee-making feel good before I add anything for a weekend morning.
For the café itself, I would put the pastries on one plate, bring out the cups we need and add napkins. A separate cake plate is useful if there is something to share. Keep the serving simple enough that you can sit down while the warm drinks are still warm.
I like sitting with coffee on our white bouclé dining bench at the table. The sofa with a blanket is another favourite. In summer, I enjoy the large table outside or the space under our covered patio. There is no reason the same little menu cannot move with you.
Music is part of the atmosphere for me. I often enjoy Italian or classical music while I am in the kitchen. Put on something quietly enough that you can still talk; the coffee and company should not have to compete with it.
How to Create a Coffee Corner You’ll Love Using
A relaxed order for the morning
Do the easy things before you brew: set out plates and cups, put the milk within reach and arrange the pastries. If you are baking croissants, follow the packet timings and leave the coffee until they are nearly ready.
For a mixed order, make the iced drink first, since the espresso needs to cool. Prepare the warm coffees last, close to the moment you sit down. That avoids a cortado going cold while you finish the rest of the table.
Then leave the kitchen for a while. A bakery croissant, a coffee you really like and time to enjoy them are already a complete morning.
Stay a little longer
Questions about a home café for two
Do I need an espresso machine?
You need an espresso-style coffee for these suggested proportions. I use Nespresso. Other espresso equipment can work too; follow its brewing instructions and measure the coffee. Chemex makes a different style of coffee, which I love for a slow weekend, but I would treat it as its own menu choice rather than a direct substitute in these recipes.
Can I use almond milk in all three drinks?
Yes, almond milk is the choice in all three suggested recipes. Different products vary in sweetness and how they foam. Use cold almond milk for the shaken espresso and gently warmed milk for the cortado and hot latte. Almond milk contains almonds; it is not suitable for everyone.
Does everything need to be homemade?
No. My version happily includes good bakery croissants, and I sometimes use tinned croissant dough at home. Choose one thing to make if you want to, and buy the rest. The point is to enjoy what is on the table.
Is this only an autumn idea?
No. The cinnamon latte is a lovely cosy choice, but the little café works throughout the year. In warmer weather, take the iced coffee and pastries outside. In cooler months, enjoy the same menu at the table or on the sofa with a blanket.
Written by Esther
Esther is a photographer and storyteller, and the founder of Essy's Essentials - a seasonal home for stories, rituals, recipes and everyday luxuries.
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