One thing you may not know about our family is we love good coffee. We buy whole bean coffee, grind it ourselves and brew a fresh pot of coffee every morning. My husband can’t function without his first cup of coffee each morning. I’m a morning person so I don’t need a lot of caffeine to get me going in the morning. But by early afternoon I start to lose steam and need a caffeine boost to get me through the rest of the day.

Everyday like clockwork in the early afternoon, I make a homemade vanilla iced latte. I look forward to sitting down and enjoying this daily treat while Little A takes a nap. It is one of the rare times each day I have some peace and quiet to sit and relax. Since we work from home and also raise a toddler, I work in the early mornings and evenings. I savor my early afternoon coffee breaks and a little “mama time” to rejuvenate myself for the rest of the day. 

Several years ago when I worked full time in town, I bought iced lattes from the little coffee huts in town. Now that we live out in the country and I don’t go to town everyday, I had to figure out how to make myself an iced latte. Another reason I figured out how to make my own flavored lattes at home is the ingredients. I like a little sweetness and flavor in my lattes. But I don’t  like the processed sugary syrups that are put into a latte when you buy them at a coffee shop. We eat a healthy real food diet so it seemed only fitting my afternoon caffeine beverage addiction would have to be made with real food ingredients.

Wood-Fire Roasted Coffee

We recently had a chance to try a new brand of coffee, Wood-Fire Roasted Coffee Company.  This coffee company is based out of Reno, Nevada. They roast the coffee beans over an oak wood fire which is a traditional method of roasting coffee beans. You would be surprised at the taste difference in coffee roasted over a wood fire! Right away I noticed that the coffee had a wonderful deep flavor but it didn’t have any bitterness. 

We tried the organic Desperado coffee. The label says  “Dark chocolate, Caramel, and Roasted Nuts.” We like dark roast coffee and loved the rich flavor of Desperado. We were expecting it to have a sweet flavor since the label said caramel, but it had the rich flavor of the caramel without the sweetness. It was delicious! I found myself savoring every sip of it and drinking more coffee than I normally do since it was so delicious.  

Vanille Iced Latte Recipe

Making a homemade iced latte is quick and easy. It only requires a few real food ingredients. My favorite latte flavor is vanilla but you could easily leave out the vanilla or use any other extract you prefer like mint, almond, etc. I always make this drink with the coffee left over in the pot after my husband brews his morning pot of coffee. I’ve made this recipe with a variety of coffee beans, but making it with the Wood-Fire Roasted Coffee Company coffee beans hands down created the most delicious iced latte! 

Ingredients:  

8 ounces fresh brewed coffee, cooled  

1/4 cup milk or cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (here’s how to make your own- it is so easy!)

 1 TBS maple syrup or honey 

4-6 ice cubes

Directions: 

1. Place the ice cubes in a glass cup (I always use a pint size mason jar)

2. Pour the coffee over the ice cubes. 

3. Pour the milk or cream into the coffee. 

4. Add the vanilla extract and maple syrup. Stir well. If you use honey instead of maple syrup, warm the honey first and then quickly stir it into the coffee drink before the honey thickens again. 

5. Enjoy!  

Thank you to Wood Fire Roasted Coffee Company for providing us with a pound of their coffee to review. All opinions in this review are my own. 

This post shared on:  The HomeAcre Hop