Being my Own Barista {stuff I love}

Every now and then (or more often than that) I find myself craving an iced mocha. They’re a little (a lot) amazing and a really fabulous way to fight back against the 3PM eyelid drooping that may occur when I am editing in a mostly dark room on too little sleep. But here in Valdosta, Starbucks isn’t exactly around the corner. And while, yes, I do live a short jaunt from an Elliano’s Coffee drive-through, I feel weird “walking” up and lazy getting into my car to drive, you know, 1/4 mile. So every now and then (or more often than that) I have to be my own barista.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have ALL the accoutrement: the cappuccino maker, the bean grinder that adjusts the fineness of the grounds, the high tech Breville coffee maker, the fancy dancy french press, and even, yes really, the stove top hot pot like thing that boils the coffee but makes an interesting and rich, if somewhat charred, cup of brew. But none of these things will make me an iced mocha. Or at least not without a lot of fuss and nonsense that makes it almost not worthwhile. Until.

Until I discovered that a few gourmet shortcuts will yield a really-pretty-darn-good-if-I-do-say-so beverage to take the edge off the afternoon blahs and add a little chill to these hot and humid July days.

So, my recipe (and now yours) is as follows:

1) about 2 cups boiling water (increase or decrease water based on how strong you like your coffee)

2) two instant packets of Starbucks via coffee powder (not the ones meant for iced coffee, but the ones meant for hot coffee)

3) one gourmet packet of hot chocolate mix (I happen to have some left over from our November Germany chocolate buying frenzy)

4) sugar in the raw (to taste) and milk (to taste)

5) ice

All I did was add the Via packets to the hot water, along with the hot chocolate pack and a little bit of sugar. I put it all in a glass, added the right amount of ice and milk and hooray! Instant pick me up!

Yes, you can try this at home!
: )