…or cappuccino - assuming the ingredients you have are skim milk and non-dairy creamer…? Is there a correct amt of skim milk that can be mixed with water to make it taste ‘the most’ like those wonderful, creamy lattes (or cappuccinos) you get at the coffee shop? I’m not a big fan of sweet. Any ideas on a low budget would be appreciated.

You can use instant espresso, however, that is a bad substitute. In order to make a good latte, you need a proper espresso machine.

The milk needs to be frothed, and in order to do this you need to use a steam wand on an espresso machine. Heating the milk changes the composition of the lactose in the milk, making it taste sweeter. Frothing milk makes it creamier, airy. Regular milk will not taste the same as frothed.

As for the espresso itself, it needs to be extracted using hot pure water via a high pressure extraction method. Good espresso itself has a layer of sweet yellow creamy froth on top, that is perfection.

I know it’s expensive, but the only way to get a good latte, is with a machine, or a well trained barista.

I work in a place that makes delicious herbal coffee, and sometimes there is a lot left. It would be great to be able to freeze-dry it in small batches and be able to use it later!

Does a machine like that exist for small batches, basically for household usage? The medical machines I saw online are expensive! Is there something more affordable?

This depends on your cooling agent, needless to say this isn’t portable not matter how you go about it, but a large perltier and proper heatsinks and large fans can do just about everything. There is a great webistie that explains the process called howstuffworks.com and all you need to know is how you want to cool the specimen (in yoru case coffee)