Saving Money On Coffee- Creating Starbucks Drinks At Home?

Are you speaking the lattes served at Starbucks? There are several sites that hack the famous restaurants recipes so that you can make the same items at home. I did a search and found "theHackMenu" it is Starbucks Secret Menu and others, check it out. Good luck.

 

You may want to look into just getting a coffee machine that uses pods. I've come across a few brands and they mostly seem to be getting good reviews from consumers. The best thing about it is that you can buy multiple types of pods and you can have your drinks within minutes instead of having to stand in line, and pods are also somewhat cheaper. The machine itself costs a bit but if you drink these daily or frequently then ultimately I think you will still be spending a lot less in the long run considering the pods are lower than half the price of what you'd pay for a coffee at Starbucks.

 

You can certainly make Starbucks drinks at home, and for much less than what you're paying for them. You would just need to invest in some basic equipment and ingredients up front though. You would need a decent coffee machine, an espresso maker, and something to froth the milk. You may also want to invest in what's called a "burr mill" grinder for the coffee beans. These are different from your basic coffee grinders, which chop the beans instead of grinding them.

The coffee syrups you can often find at places like World Market (aka Cost Plus) for relatively cheap prices.

I've been thinking about getting one of those pod type coffee makers as well. I know the markup on those pods are ridiculous when compared to buying your own beans/coffee - it comes out to about $50 a pound for the pods - but I'm also having to weigh in how much coffee I waste when I brew a whole pot at a time. I'm thinking it might actually be more cost effective and less wasteful for me to just brew a pod from time to time, whenever I want a cup of coffee.

 

I think it's possible to recreate Starbucks drinks at the comfort of your own home. But you would need some machines to mimic what they can do. And those can cost you some money at first but in the end, you'll save more money by not buying those expensive frappes and lattes, lol. There are tons of recipes online that mimic the Starbucks frappes and lattes drinks. You just have to have the proper equipments and ingredients to go with it. Good luck!

 

I consider myself pretty lucky on this front because I really only enjoy coffee when it is straight black and piping hot. I do not need an of that fancy stuff, so all I need to buy is the whole beans and some filters and I am good to go. I can also buy in bulk too which helps save a lot. I applaud you for making cheap alternatives though because these places like to hike their prices up.

 

Certainly the right coffee maker is necessary, same as the correct blend of coffee flavors.

Remember that Starbucks and other coffee shops have unique blends, and therefore you need to experiment a bit mixing different beans to recreate such flavor.

There are actually several websites offering Starbucks-like recipes that you can use as foundation stone to go with your own combinations.

 

I don't think the homemade coffee can compete with Starbucks. Particularly the young generation here, what they want in Starbucks is the classy place and they have that attitude of going to Starbucks outlet just to linger (with their coffee). In other words, even if the homemade brew tastes much better I believe they wouldn't buy that since they would opt to go for a visit to the nearest Starbucks with their friends.

 

Like Corhenz says you may be able to mimic some of the brews and someone once gave me a cappucino recipe that supposedly tasted just like Starbucks, but part of the Starbucks allure is the atmosphere. Some people go to see and be seen, and some just like a quiet place to be with free internet. Even if everyone learned to make Starbucks at home, I think the site would still be popular.

 

With the money saved from not going to Starbucks everyday, you can probably get some nice coffee equipment for home use. Go to Starbucks or big name grocery stores and buy the Starbucks beans. Start experimenting with those beans and then branch out to maybe some more expensive beans. You'll eventually find some that will fit your tastes. Good luck.

 

I made some iced coffee for my (grown) kids recently, and my oldest daughter and her husband both said it tasted just like Starbuck's. I used caramel flavored coffee (from a package) and I added a packet of instant hot cocoa mix then milk.

If you get the items on sale, I'm sure it would be less expensive than going out for coffee over the long term. Just experiment a bit until you come up with something you like.

 

I have to agree that you can make a pretty nice iced coffee at home. I like to use instant coffee, sugar, milk and ice cubes. I'm not a coffee snob so I don't mind drinking instant coffee. I like to make my own coffees at home as I like my coffee weak and with instant I can control how much coffee I add. I like the idea of adding cocoa, then you have the mocha flavour. I think coffee at home is one the best ways to save money. It only costs pennies to have a coffee at home, especially if you learn to make your own specialty coffees like iced coffees and flavoured coffees.