Copycat Starbucks Iced Vanilla Latte

This is the recipe we use for our home-made iced vanilla latte's. We make them nearly every day during the summer months and are more than happy to say that we enjoy them nearly as much as Starbucks without handing over a $10 bill. Having our home smell like Starbucks every afternoon is a great perk!

Ingredients:

Vanilla syrup, from Starbucks or you can make your own (we alternate)
1 cup milk of choice, we like almond, coconut and dairy
Starbucks Espresso beans, ground (decaf or regular)
Ice

We love our Cafe Roma Breville espresso maker. We have used it for several years and it still keeps pulling shots for us. Though it was pricey, we've never had a problem with it and it has saved us tons of money over the years. It was the perfect housewarming gift to ourselves.

If you don't have an espresso maker and don't mind the difference in taste, you can use instant espresso with similar results. I used instant espresso in New Zealand and though it did the job, I found it to be bitter- though that could have been the one brand I found. These look pretty good! Needless to say, I was thrilled to have my espresso maker back here in the US.

Grind your espresso beans and pull your shots. We pack ours pretty firmly, and my favorite shot takes about 20-25 seconds to pull. 30 seconds and it will be bitter!


 In your favorite cup, pump three pumps (three tablespoons) of vanilla syrup. Add one cup of your milk of choice.

Add ice. Quickly dump your shot over the ice and admire.

 


Then, stir it up and enjoy thinking of yourself as a savvy barista. 

secret tip:
 when I buy our espresso and coffee beans every 2 weeks or so, I always ask for two iced Venti cups with lids and straws. I've never had to pay for them and it's never been an inconvenience. So don't be shy!

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

I think most coffee lovers will agree that Starbucks has some pretty amazing coffee. Now that Autumn has arrived, so has their impressive line of comforting, ritualistic and expensive cold weather beverages. Whoever you are, they probably have a beverage to suit your tastes, and leave you wanting more.

photo credit: starbucks.com

I love the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate:

photo credit: starbucks.com

My husband loves their Peppermint Mocha:

photo credit: starbucks.com

We both like the Pumpkin Spice Latte:

photo credit: starbucks.com

When we went to Starbucks last week, I ordered a Soy Pumpkin Spice Latte. It's about $4 for a Grande' Pumpkin Spice Latte, and they charge an extra .50 cents for soy milk in place of cow's milk. $4.50 is a bit out of my budget for a 16 ounce drink, and if my husband had ordered a similar soy drink, we would have paid almost $10 for two drinks. If we have no other options, like when we're on vacation or a road trip, we'll splurge, but otherwise, we like to make our own at home. This is when our espresso maker comes in handy. We bought it over two years ago when we were spending $50 a month at Starbucks, and realized that if I was going to be a SAHM, we were going to have to find a way to cut back in every possible way. Starbucks visits went from necessity to luxury. To this day, I use our espresso maker daily for my Iced Vanilla Latte. Starbucks sells many of the products they use in their drinks, including syrups, flavorings and even their cups! We bought these tumblers a couple months ago for our iced beverages. It's amazing what a well stocked kitchen can do for you in place of going out!

We decided to make our own copy cat version of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, and it was so good and inexpensive that I want to share it with you! It's easily made Vegan by using soy milk. If you're a Vegan, you should know that the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, made with soy milk and sans whip is NOT Vegan. Read more here.  If you make this, please let me know how you liked it by clicking here!

Just Like Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte
recipe by David
 Ingredients:

2 shots Starbucks Espresso
2 tablespoons Starbucks vanilla syrup (or you can easily make your own)
1 cup milk (I used unsweetened soy)
1 tablespoon canned pumpkin
Pumpkin pie spice, for sprinkling

gather your ingredients

pour milk into a steaming pitcher and add pumpkin to the milk

then add vanilla syrup

and whisk until creamy and well blended

steam the pumpkin mixture using the steam wand

steam until foamy!

pour pumpkin milk into mug

add espresso

sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice

serve and enjoy!

For a soy Pumpkin Spice Latte in my area (Northern Louisiana), it costs about $4.50. Using organic soy milk(.37¢), organic pumpkin (.16¢), Starbucks espresso (.62¢) and pumpkin pie spice (negligible), the total cost of making this beverage at home is: $1.15¢

Go make it and let me know how it turns out for you!