Love Banana Bread? Start Your Day With A Banana Bread Iced Latte

In the groggy moments of an early morning, you can count on a good iced latte to wake your mind up. That bold, bitter jolt of caffeine, mellowed out by the smooth embrace of the milk and perhaps a bit of sweetener, is enough to brighten the gloomiest of days. No craving or experimental whim goes unfulfilled with this classic drink, either. It's up for all kinds of changes, even when the inspiration comes from something as seemingly unrelated as banana bread. If you thought your standard iced latte was already good, you should know that a banana-bread twist will take it to the next level.

At the very core, you will still taste the latte in all of its bittersweet glory. What's different is the banana's caramelized, subtle sweetness laced in between, casually cutting through the robust espresso. You can now taste the nostalgic comfort of banana bread in this coffee's spiced warmth and nutty nuances. Sure, it won't be the same as actually eating the sweet treat, but it's still a fantastic shortcut to getting your banana bread and caffeine fix in one go.

Don't worry, you won't need to bake a whole loaf of banana bread for this twist — or even use fresh banana for that matter. It's as simple as infusing banana flavors into the latte's staple ingredients. Taking the sweetener route, a banana syrup makes perfect sense. Store-bought banana syrups are widely available, but you can also save banana peels and turn them into a sweet syrup or simmer ripe bananas with brown sugar for your very own homemade concoction. Another way is to make banana milk by boiling your milk of choice with ripe bananas (and other banana bread staples, like cinnamon) before straining off the solids. Even the coffee itself can be modified. Just grab two ripe bananas and a cup of coffee, and bring them together with a whirl of a blender.

Banana bread, as we all know, is about more than just bananas, so don't stop at the banana-infused ingredients. Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves can all bring the hint of warmth you typically taste in the bread. And how can we forget about chopped nuts? Whether walnuts, pecans, almonds, or cashews, just a sprinkle on top can work wonders. A caramel sauce, with its salty-sweet richness, also fits right into the latte's flavor profile.

Don't confine yourself to regular additions, either. A fluffy, creamy peanut butter upgrade to your coffee almost sounds like too much, but trust us: Your banana bread latte can handle it. Needless to say, chocolate always has a spot — perhaps on the milk foam where it sits as a finishing touch, or mixed right into the drink to enrich the whole thing. Don't be afraid to get creative!