Fun and delicious ways to make it at home- save that coffee shop money!

With my daughter coming home soon for the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ll be stocking up on coffee and coffee supplies. I’ve mentioned that I like to make a lot of things ‘self-service’ for my kids. And I also love to try and replicate recipes, working to get the taste as close as possible to restaurants; making things at home saves money and is fun to try! This applies to how I manage the coffee situation at home. All my daughters drink it, so I try to have lots of options for ways to make it that suit everyone’s tastes. At holiday time for sure, but also throughout the year when they’re around.

Here are some cool ways you can make, serve and enjoy your coffee at home.

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Making It

Cold Brew.

This has REALLY grown in popularity! Stronger than regular coffee, it has a delicious and full-bodied taste that stands up to different flavors and creamers. I got this cold brew maker that I love because it’s the easiest thing ever. You fill the filter with regular coffee, then just run filtered water thorough it until it reaches the top. This needs to stay in the fridge for at least 12 hours. By the time I use it, it’s more like 72 hours, which is great because I love my coffee strong. After this time you just remove the filter with the coffee (If you aren’t aware, coffee grounds make great fertilizer, so I always throw the grounds outside in the garden!), and it’s ready to go.

You can use regular, ground coffee (get a big container, because it calls for a lot), but I highly recommend grinding it yourself. I was on a kick with this back when we used a regular drip coffee pot. Since it is suggested you use coarsely ground coffee in your cold brew, there’s no way to really get that consistency without grinding it…unless, of course, you want to buy coffee specifically designed for cold brew use- which is not worth the expense for me. Buying whole beans is great. They come in so many delicious flavors, too. We tried a peanut butter flavor recently. It worked. Here’s an inexpensive grinder I have that works perfectly after using it for more than 15 years.

French Press. Just like with cold brew, I suggest grinding the beans if using this press. This style of making coffee is one of the simplest and purest; really preserving the taste of the beans, especially if you let it steep for a bit. I just know when they’re serving it this way at a restaurant, it will be spot-on delicious. You need a bit of patience with this method (boiling water is needed, and that needs to sit on the grounds for a few minutes), so I only use it for special occasions. I’m spoiled with getting my daily morning coffee pretty much immediately so the Nespresso works best for us and is versatile as well, making both espresso and frothed milk. But a French press is so sophisticated and a wonderful thing to have on hand for a fancier meal. I see a Sunday brunch!

Espresso. Our Nespresso machine makes two sizes- a 3/4 cup and an espresso size. So you can basically have a ‘regular’ cup with some creamer, or use the espresso. There are just endless ways to use the tiny cups of espresso. Drink it straight with a little sugar like they do in Italy!

There are so many coffee drink variations with milk, flavoring, and a couple shots of espresso; and all are so easy. They’re also great, because you can honestly use whatever milk or nut milk or sweeteners you prefer. We use almond milk in the frother with a little sugar free cream. You can also blend with ice or even ice cream in the summer to make your own frapuchino! There are more drinks you can make using espresso, but these are our favorites:

Latte. Espresso in a cup, add flavoring. Cold or warmed milk. Shaken or stirred.

Cappuccino. Espresso in a cup, add flavoring. Steamed hot milk, add frothed milk on top.

Machiatto. Milk or frothed milk (hot or cold) in a cup. Pour the espresso over the milk slowly, creating a wonderful layered effect.

Flavoring It

(Sugar free!) Syrups.

There are seasonal flavors that just make you feel warm inside. Cinnamon for Fall! And it will be time to break out the peppermint and chocolate soon! If you aren’t sure what you might like, I highly suggest getting a variety pack! Or make your own syrup!

I had a lavender latte out recently and HAD to re-create that at home. Easy to just steep lavender into equal parts sugar and water on the stovetop. Bring to boil then simmer until you have a nice thick syrup. Strain out the lavender sprigs and keep in the fridge in a sealed container. Some other ideas for flavors are peppermint leaves, vanilla beans, or hazelnuts. Or make the syrup plain and add extracts. Lots of ways to make it.

Sugars. I keep a little dish of sugars and sugar free substitutes by the coffee maker, but I love little specialty stores that sell things like this. Coffee spice? It’s actually the perfect blend of brown sugar and cinnamon…yum.

Check out the back area of a Marshalls or TJ Maxx, you know where I mean? You can find the cutest kitchen gadgets and spices like this there. Perfect for stocking stuffers. I’ll check there, but guess I’ll have to head back to Ithaca, NY, to get some more of this. What a shame 🙂

Cold Foam. This is a big thing now, too. I was surprised to find they sell it in the grocery stores. A sweet creamy taste, it goes great on regular coffee or any espresso drinks. Not as foamy as whipped cream, but also doesn’t dissolve as quickly. We always have some on hand. I get this in a can at the grocery store, but they also sell individual packets you just mix with water. A great idea if you want to keep them around for awhile.

Whipped cream. We usually go for this with sweeter drinks. Perfect with the peppermint mocha we make at Christmas that I noted above. I find some whipped cream with a sprinkle of the coffee sugar to be an adorable presentation. Or maybe crush some candy canes to put on top.

Serving It

In line with the self-service theme, I bought a set of takeout cups to put by the coffee machine this past summer.

Talk about a huge hit with my daughters! These have the nice built-in straw that are so popular in coffee shops now. My daughter would fill with some espresso or cold brew, almond milk and creamer and ice! Just like picking it up from Dunkin.

Holiday and seasonal cups.

Everyone has these in their cabinets, yes? So fun to pull them out this time of year. I place a bunch of them by the coffee maker- not just for coffee, but hot mulled cider or wine, or hot chocolate! 

Cute espresso cups. I got the cup in the first photo on this post in Italy, and use it ALL the time. But I also love any small mugs for an espresso drink. This one was my mother’s.

Glass mugs are perfect for lattes and especially hot macchiatos (check out the layers I was talking about). 

Enjoy a cup of your wonderful coffee with some adorable Fall sugar cookies. Happy Fall!