You can make a Pumpkin Spice Latte at home with no espresso machine — here's how

The Coffee Lab(Image credit: Tom's Guide)I'm Erin, and welcome to The Coffee Lab Episode 24, the series where we forget coffee snobbery. The Coffee Lab is all about making coffee fun. Join me as I help you kickstart your coffee journey!Controversial opinion incoming, but if you don't have an espresso machine, you can still make great-tasting coffee at home. Some coffee snobs will disagree, and that's fine, but this recipe isn't for them. This is for the I-love-coffee-but-I-can't-afford-a-machine crowd. I see you! I'm here for you! I used to be a Starbucks barista, so the amount of PSLs I've made is off the charts. Although Starbucks keeps its PSL sauce recipe pretty secret, you can get copycat-ish syrups everywhere online, so you can easily make the fall favorite at home. To make it even more Starbucks-y, just add a touch of condensed milk to the pumpkin syrup. For this recipe, I used Monin Pumpkin Spice syrup ($10 on Amazon), but you can use any you like. The Coffee Lab is all about making coffee fun and accessible, so let's demystify the ubiquitous fall drink! It's no-machine PSL time. Step 1: Prep your instant espresso (Image: © Tom's Guide) I used Nescafé Instant Espresso ($10 at Amazon) for this recipe, but you can use anything you like. Add one or two teaspoons, depending on strength preference, and a dash — about one ounce — of hot water to mix. Step 2: Add pumpkin spice syrup (Image: © Tom's Guide) Didn't I say this was easy? Now combine your pumpkin spice syrup (remember, condensed milk and orange food coloring if you want it truly Starbucks-y), and instant espresso. Mix, and you're done! Step 3: Add your milk (Image: © Tom's Guide) You can prepare your milk in multiple ways. Either simply heat it up in the microwave (which is what I did for this recipe), or you can use a milk frother. I have the Subminimal Nanofoamer Pro 2 ($159) and the Subminimal Nanofoamer Go ($34). The moral of the story is to use whatever you have!And you're done. I said this was easy, didn't I?You can add whipped cream or nutmeg on top if you want to make it even fancier. I'm not going to lie: this will not fool any PSL diehards. You can tell it's not Starbucks from just looking at it — Starbucks PSLs are bright orange. However, for a fraction of the cost, and without requiring you to fork out on an espresso machine, I'm extremely happy drinking my Pumpkin Spice Faux-tte all fall long. More from Tom's GuideOverwhelmed by coffee jargon? Here are the 5 key espresso terms you need to knowI'm an ex-Starbucks barista — you can make the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso at home for a fraction of the costI blind taste-tested a homemade PSL vs Starbucks PSL — and the winner didn't surprise me at all