I have a serious confession to make.

*Deep breath.*

Ok. Here goes.

The truth is. I’m addicted to fancy coffee shop coffee.

{insert shocked emoticon}

I know, right? The fact that it’s crazy expensive and that I would never consider spending that much money on anything else so trivial and transient does not deter me. The fact that it’s hardly good for me does not deter me. The fact that it doesn’t satisfy me as much as I think it will does not deter me. NOTHING deters me!

So I put myself on a coffee shop fast. I did it earlier this year in January, and it actually really helped! But then I fell off the wagon and I’m back to my usual tricks again.

{insert tragically sad emoticon}

So another coffee shop fast for me.

Thank goodness I have this amazing little diy coffee shop trick up my sleeve. It makes withdrawal so much easier.

Are you also addicted to coffee shop drinks? Try my other DIY Coffee Drink recipes:

Chocolate Orange Coffee

Lavender Iced Coffee #diycoffeeshop

Cold Brewed Coffee #diycoffeeshop

Brazilian Chocolate #diycoffeeshop

Have you ever had a chocolate orange? They’re more readily available in Europe than here in the United States, but you can still find them around. If you’ve never had one, and you come across one - snatch it up! It’s pricey, but it’s worth every penny (well, once in a while anyway!).

It’s been a loooooonggg time since I’ve had one, but I remember well the amazing (and yet unlikely) combination of chocolate and orange. Whoever first put those two flavors together was a genius! Lately, I’ve been experimenting with the combination myself… and having a great deal of fun in the process! This morning, for example, I treated myself to orange chocolate pancakes. Wow. Orange juice in the batter and shaved chocolate stirred in - to die for!

Mostly, though, I’ve been experimenting with an orange mocha drink, or perhaps better entitled, “Chocolate Orange Cafe au Lait“. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

The orange flavor is more of a faint reminiscence than a full-on tastebud explosion, but that’s probably a good thing considering all the other stuff going on in this drink. It starts with a simple syrup, to which is added a very basic hot chocolate, and a splash of coffee, all topped off with whipped cream (if desired). Once you’ve made the syrup, you can enjoy more Chocolate Orange Cafe au Laits for the next couple of weeks (if you don’t share! and I wouldn’t blame you.).

Chocolate Orange Cafe au Lait

Orange Simple Syrup:

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup water

rind from 1 small orange or clementine

Mocha:

1 TBSP cocoa

1 TBSP water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup brewed coffee

whipped cream, optional

To make the simple syrup, bring water, sugar and orange rind to boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steep as long as you’d like. Strain and store in refrigerator.

To make the cafe au lait, stir together the cocoa and water in the bottom of a large mug until you have a smooth paste. Stir in milk. Heat in microwave on High for about a minute. Stir until well blended; stir in coffee and 1-2 TBSP of simple syrup (or to taste). Top with whipped cream (if desired). Enjoy!

Once you’ve made the simple syrup, assembling the drink is super QUICK: quicker than standing in line at the coffee shop at any rate!

It’s very EASY, too. (That’s why being a barista doesn’t require any kind of culinary expertise!)

It’s also much CHEAPer than purchasing a fancy drink at a coffee shop (or even cheaper than purchasing store-bought orange simple syrup, especially since you’re using a part of the orange that is typically discarded).

It’s a lot HEALTHY-er than coffee shop drinks, too, because all the ingredients are natural, and you can use organic ingredients too!

You’ll have to forgive me. Coffee is a passion of mine, so it’s easy for me to go on and on about it. There’s so much to say about it, too! Seriously, there are entire blogs devoted entirely to the subject of coffee, so I think I can be excused for allowing a few posts on the topic on my own blog.

I used to drink my coffee with a splash of non-dairy flavored creamer; you know, the CoffeeMate or International Delights kind. Then, in an effort to improve my diet, I began to read books, websites and articles about nutrition, and I stumbled across a description of non-dairy flavored creamer that didn’t really sit well with my stomach. I forget now what book it was, but the description has stuck with me: flavored liquid margarine. Yuck. By that point, I had been avoiding margarine for a while already, and it struck me as rather hypocritical (not to mention disgusting) that I continued to use a margarine-like product while studiously avoiding margarine itself. Such a revelation led me to give up the non-dairy flavored creamer (although I will admit, in the interest of complete and total honesty, that when I encounter said creamer at someone else’s house or at a special event, I can’t help but indulge in a little bit) altogether, and left a rather sad and empty hole in my coffee heart.

I am not one of those people who can drink coffee black. I have, when forced to, but it’s not my favorite preparation. I even weaned myself from sweetened coffee, and can now happily drink unsweetened coffee with a splash (or two) of half and half or whole milk. However, I still like to enjoy a variety of flavors in my coffee, without artificial flavors or other unnecessary ingredients. I tried making my own flavored “creamers” or sugars but that was too much of a pain.

It turns out that the simplest way to add a little flavor to your coffee is by adding it to the grounds before you brew. People around the world enjoy their coffee this way, and it is about as healthy and natural as you can get. And tasty, too!

My favorite flavored coffee is actually a recent discovery by my sister, and it’s the one featured in the picture above: cardamom. I tasted some made by my sister and searched heaven and earth (OK, well a few grocery stores) until I found cardamom and made it for myself. Let me tell you, heaven in a cup! Apparently, this special coffee treat is a favorite in Arab countries. It’s also a nod to my Finnish heritage as Finns add cardamom to just about everything and they are prolific coffee drinkers as well.

I found the cardamom at an Amish farmer’s market for half the price it was available in the store. I believe my sister said she found it for a reasonable price at Whole Foods market.

To make cardamom coffee, all you do is add some ground cardamom to the coffee grounds before you brew. I use a coffee press, and I like to think it intensifies the flavor, but you can employ any coffee-making method with great results. A little bit of cardamom goes a long way - I use 1/8-1/4 tsp for one full French press, which makes about 2-3 8oz cups of coffee.

Cardamom isn’t the only spice you can add to your coffee. I’ve tried all of the following in various itinerations and they’ve all been delicious:

Ground cinnamon
Whole cloves (ground cloves were a bit much for me)
Ground nutmeg
Vanilla

If you like the taste of ginger, you could try dried ginger as well.

Of course, there are other healthy ways to flavor your coffee… but I’ll leave that for another post, because it’ll give me an excuse to talk about coffee some more!

It’s QUICK: just as quick to add a spice before you brew as it is to add flavored creamer afterwards.

What could be EASY-er?

It is CHEAPer by far than purchasing the bottles of flavored creamer, or flavored syrups.

It is so much HEALTHY-er, too. No hydrogenated oils, no artificial colors or flavors, no preservatives, and most importantly, no margarine.

Picture from Autopilot at Wikipedia.

For my birthday recently, I was given quite a bit of cash, so I spent it wisely and used a portion on a new French press. I was deeply in love with my old French press when, alas, it fell off the counter and onto the floor, shattering in a million pieces. I promptly ordered a replacement online, not realizing that my replacement was only large enough to make one (espresso-sized) serving at a time. Oops. Not wanting to waste anymore money on my addiction, I settled for a regular old drip machine that I acquired at a swap party. I was happy enough, but you can bet the first thing I bought with my birthday money was a nice, brand-spanking-new large French press.

It’s a beautiful thing.

And with my beautiful new coffee press, I decided to try something new, at least new to me: cold-brewed coffee. One of my favorite hot-weather drinks is iced coffee (iced tea is a close second), which I usually make with chilled regular coffee and milk. It’s much easier, though, if the coffee is cool to begin with! Cold-brewed coffee can be kind of a tricky process, but not if you have a French press! Using a press eliminates the need for multiple jars, strainers, spoons and what-have-you and really simplifies the process.

Here’s what you do:
1. At night, before you go to bed, place ground coffee in the French press. The amount depends on how much you want to make and how strong you want it to be, but the general rule is 1 part coffee to 4 parts water.

2. Add lukewarm water to the ground coffee. Gently stir the coffee grounds and water together, and place the plunger on top (don’t push it down).

3. In the morning, push down the plunger. Pour the coffee over ice and add milk or cream to taste.

The only trouble with cold-brewed coffee is that there is no way to dissolve sugar in it. Many people find that iced coffee doesn’t require sweetener, and you might also find that the cold-brewed method results in a less acidic and less bitter coffee that doesn’t rely on sugar to render it more palatable. If it’s really not sweet enough for you, here are a few options:

1. Try stevia. It’s now sold in regular grocery stores under several different labels. It’s a natural calorie-free sugar replacement that dissolves easily in cold liquids.

2. Honey will dissolve to a certain extent in cool or lukewarm liquids, but you will probably still end up with a small pile of it at the bottom of your glass.

3. Simple syrup (try this lavender flavored kind), which is often used in iced tea, can also be used in iced coffee. It’s also easy to make: just boil equal parts water and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the desired amount of syrup into your coffee.

4. Use sweetened condensed milk to both replace the milk or cream and to add sweetness. It will also add an additional taste to your coffee, so you may not like this if you’re a coffee purist. However, many people all around the world drink coffee with sweetened condensed milk as a matter of course, so it’s a very popular option.

Is it QUICK? Well, certainly in terms of time, cold-brewed coffee is not as quick as any hot-brewed method. However, because you can put it together and let it sit overnight, all the work is done while you are sleeping, and you can wake up with a nice refreshing glass of iced coffee. If you forget or can’t set it going at night, just keep in mind it needs at least 3 hours to steep, just in time for an afternoon pick-me-up.

It’s certainly EASY! It is just as easy as making regular hot-brewed coffee in the French press. Even easier, because you do not have to heat the water. And as I mentioned, using the French press eliminates the need for dirtying extra dishes and the messy process of straining.

It’s just as CHEAP as any kind of coffee. It’s certainly cheaper than purchasing iced coffee at your local coffee shop.

The eternal debate: Is coffee HEALTHY? I have read reports of numerous studies about the affects of coffee and caffeine on the body, and despite the arguments that persist, they all seem to arrive at the same conclusion: coffee (and caffeine) in moderate amounts (no more than 2-3 cups a day) has no negative effect on the body and in some cases may have a positive effect. To your health!