7 ways to make at-home coffee taste like a coffee shop

Last Updated on October 20, 2026 by Michelle

I love a good coffee shop experience as much as the next guy. But at-home coffees and drinks?

Making your own coffee allows you to use good coffee (not the mold-ridden beans most coffee shops use, yikes!), control the ingredients (no fake syrups here!), and you also save a ton of money.

BUT.

Have you ever made a coffee at home… that just, well, doesn’t taste as good as the latte your local coffee shop makes? That changes today.

Grab all of my Starbucks Dupe recipes right here then read on for 7 tips you need to know for making at-home coffee taste like a coffee shop.

7 ways to make at-home coffee taste like a coffee shop

We’ll talk about all of these in-depth, but here’s the rundown on my 7 tips:

Make it salty.
Use the right coffee.
Add a splash of heavy cream.
Use enough ice (for iced lattes/coffees).
Add colostrum powder for an extra-creamy coffee.
Don’t be shy with the sweetener (if you’re craving a sweet coffee).
Learn how to make your own easy syrups. You don’t have to leave flavored coffee behind!
(bonus) Use the right equipment–it doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does need to suit your needs and make good coffee.

How to make better coffee at home: make it salty

If your espresso is tasting bitter, stale, or sour, try adding a pinch of salt to the warm espresso, either before or after it’s finished brewing.

Or start with a naturally sweet, never bitter coffee like this one.

Don’t add too much (unless you want a salty-tasting latte). Just enough to take the edge off the bitter espresso. Just a tiny pinch will do the trick.

This works because the sodium interacts with how we perceive taste. It literally suppresses the flavor of bitterness!

As an added bonus, add minerals too with my favorite salt. And the salt will also help the naturally sweet flavors in the coffee stand out! You might notice more natural notes of chocolate, caramel, or more nuttiness in your coffee (which flavor notes you’ll taste depend on the roast of coffee you’re using).

Salt + espresso are a match made in heaven.

The salt simply balances out the bitter espresso and makes your latte taste sweeter, less bitter, and more smooth and rounded out, all before we even add sweetener.

What type of coffee should I use for at-home coffee?

Here’s the thing about coffee… there’s tons of bad coffee in the world.

I’m talking toxic, mold-ridden, acidic, bitter, poorly roasted coffee. And you can taste it in your cup. If you’re looking for the best cup of coffee at home, you need to ask a few questions…

Where is the coffee grown?

Coffee naturally grows in the shade. But for commercial coffee companies, it’s easier to clear cut a large area for growing and machine harvesting the coffee. So most coffee is grown in the hot sun. This results in more acidic, bitter coffee that often gives you headaches because of the unnaturally high acid.

Shade grown coffee, on the other hand, like my favorite, is lower in acid, naturally, so it’s much better for someone with a sensitive stomach or concerns about their tooth enamel. And it tastes sweeter and less bitter.

How is the coffee harvested?

During the harvesting process, only ripe coffee cherries should be picked.

Commercial coffee growers? They go in and mechanically harvest all the cherries at once: ripe, unripe, and broken cherries all go into one vat. Unripe cherries are very bitter, and broken cherries harbor mold. But with most commercial coffee, both wind up in your cup of coffee.

Hand-picked coffee like my all-time favorite is a different story. Only ripe, high-quality cherries end up in your final cup. Not only does that taste better, but you’re also less likely to be drinking mold.

How is the coffee roasted?

Roasting coffee is best done at low, regulated temperatures. But commercial coffee roasters are always looking at their bottom line, and roasting beans at hot temperatures is a lot more cost effective.

Lower temperature, carefully roasted coffee like my favorite allows for better flavor development, a smoother taste (less “burnt” flavor), and leaves you with a sweeter cup of coffee, naturally.

Which coffee should I buy for making it at home?

I’m so glad you asked. I could nerd out about coffee all day long, but you’re probably not interested in that. If you are, you’ll love this podcast episode: Episode 240… A functional medicine doctor breaks down what you should be looking at when choosing your coffee.

The main things to look for in a GOOD coffee:

low-acid,
shade-grown,
organic,
hand-picked,
low-temperature roasted

These things will give you the best tasting cup of Joe that, bonus, is actually better for you.

It’s hard to find a coffee that meets all of these qualifications, but THESE GUYS do. They’ve been my go-to for years. I used to avoid coffee; I got headaches and brain fog after drinking it.

After I researched coffee and made the switch, I’ve been headache-and-brain fog-free ever since.

If you want to enjoy truly healthy coffee, use code “soulyrested” to save. (Bonus: if you don’t love it, they even have a money-back guarantee.. What!?)

Add a splash of heavy cream for better at-home coffee

I can’t fully explain why, but adding just a splash of heavy cream to my homemade lattes always elevates it.

It gives your coffee that little extra “umph” that coffee shop lattes have. It tastes creamier, and, frankly, more luxurious.

Give it a try–just a splash, though. Not too much heavy cream or your latte will feel, well, heavy. You could also make a homemade cold foam for the top of your latte and have a similar effect.

Simple cold foam base recipe

3 tablespoons heavy cream
A splash of maple syrup (or honey or simple syrup)
Any flavor you like (optional)–I like to add a splash of DIY mint extract, vanilla extract or some cinnamon

Simply froth that together until it’s thick, but still pourable. Pour on top of your favorite latte or iced coffee.

You’ll find my pumpkin cold foam recipe here.

At-home coffee tips to taste like a coffee shop: ice

We all know that coffee shops add a lot of ice to their iced lattes and coffees.

And we’re all guilty of rolling our eyes about it from time to time… we all know this helps them keep costs down and make drinks look bigger than they are.

However.

There is something about having lots of ice in an iced latte that just feels… right sometimes.

If you’re making iced lattes at home and they just don’t seem to taste as good as coffee shops, try adding more ice. Trust me.

How (and why) to add colostrum powder to at-home coffee

When I first started adding colostrum powder to my iced lattes, it was purely for the healthy benefits. (Better skin plus a healthier gut, a natural anti-inflammatory, and better immunity? Yes, please!)

But I immediately realized that my lattes were creamier and more flavorful. Man, the creamy, rich, butter-y colostrum really elevates your coffee.

BTW, if you’re like me and like the added benefit of eliminating achy joints, and fighting off the dreaded osteoporosis, choose the colostrum + collagen powder (study). Same rich, creamy taste, with additional bone & joint health thrown in (hello, mid-life!). Stick with the “regular” colostrum if your main goal is gut health.

From my personal experience, low-acid coffee + colostrum are a powerhouse together. Both are easy on your stomach and the gut-healthy benefits of the colostrum seem like they work really well with the healthy benefits of drinking shade-grown coffee.

How to sweeten at-home coffee like a coffee shop

Listen, we all know that coffee shop syrups are sweet.

If you’re craving that sweet, flavorful coffee shop coffee, you’re going to need to add a decent amount of sweetener. Like, more than you think.

I never crave an ultra sweet coffee (partially because this coffee is naturally sweet without adding sweetener) but if you’re in the mood for that, don’t feel guilty about lots of sweeter–they do it at coffee shops, and you can choose all-natural sweeteners, with zero junk, at home.

Learn how to make your own coffee syrups at home

The best coffee shops are making their own syrups. So why not save money (and use better ingredients) and make your own syrup at home?

Most syrups are very simple to make. If you’re looking for a very simple at-home coffee syrup, try my homemade strawberry syrup recipe. Although, truthfully, it’s really an any-fruit syrup. I also love mango, raspberry, or blueberry!

Use your strawberry syrup in an iced strawberry latte, a strawberry matcha latte, or even make a chocolate-covered strawberry frappe by adding your syrup to this mocha frappe recipe. Yum!

Or, if you want to skip making syrups all together (and if you’re trying to hit protein goals), try adding your favorite protein powders to coffee.

My favorites are my protein vanilla latte and protein peppermint mocha latte.

Best at-home coffee syrup recipes

Caramel sauce (made with maple syrup)
Strawberry (or any fruit) coffee syrup
Homemade peppermint syrup
Floral lilac syrup
From-scratch Dr Pepper syrup (Dr Pepper lattes are surprisingly delicious!)

Using the right equipment for at-home coffee

When I first started making coffee at home, my goal was to save up and invest in a fancy $700 espresso machine.

Surely, that’s what makes the best coffee, right? Not really.

These days, I actually make my espresso in a $30 moka pot that I’ve had for years. And my coffee has never tasted better. So apparently it was never really about the machine!

Not to mention, my moka pot is completely stainless steel, while expensive machines are adding microplastics to your coffee by sending heated water through plastic tubes. Gross.