Coffee Clones

            Be your own barista and you can enjoy the great flavors of your favorite coffees from popular coffeehouse chains anytime but without paying the high prices. This is great for anyone on a budget. All of my prices are based on my neighborhood grocery store and the coffee shops in my neighborhood. Prices will be different depending on location. All my prices and ingredients are based on a 16 ounce large size.

McCafe offerings, which include premium cappuccinos, lattes, and iced coffees, scored higher in taste tests according to Consumer Reports magazine, and the drinks come with a lower price tag than comparable beverages at the coffeehouse chain.  McCafe Iced Mocha at McDonald's is one of my favorite drinks costing $2.99 however an at home clone is only 44 cents and tastes just as good.

Ingredients:

1 cup coffee

¼ cup Hershey’s chocolate syrup

¼ cup half and half

Whipped topping

Ice

Make 1 cup of coffee with filtered water (Always use filtered or bottled water because tap tastes gross and isn’t good for your machine) and store in refrigerator until chilled.

 Fill a 16-ounce cup with ice made from filtered water.

 Pour the chocolate syrup over the ice, followed by the half-and-half and cold coffee.

Top with Whipped topping and chocolate syrup.

Serve with a straw.

 When you get a Cappuccino MooLatte at Dairy Queen a plastic cup is filled almost halfway with the frozen simple syrup mix that comes out of the machine used for slush drinks. Next your beverage is moved to the frozen soft-serve machine and fills the cup the rest of the way with ice cream. After a couple squirts of concentrated coffee syrup, the drink is blended on a milkshake machine. But most of us don’t have this equipment lying around our house so I will show you how to make this clone at home in a common household blender for only 80 cents instead of $3.49

Ingredients:

½ cup espresso (If you don’t have an espresso don’t worry you can use a drip coffeemaker. Use 1 cup of coffee grounds and 1 cup of water. Brew once, then run coffee through the machine again, keeping the same grounds. Run a pot of water through the machine, without grounds, to clean.)

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 ½ cups ice (made with filtered water)

1 cup vanilla ice cream

4 tablespoons whole milk

Whipped topping

 Make ½ cup espresso and store in refrigerator until chilled. Next in your blender add ice, ice cream, sugar, milk, espresso. Top with your whipped topping and serve with a straw.

To clone the mocha version reduce the granulated sugar to 1 tablespoon, then add 2 tablespoons of fudge topping to the blender before blending and top with fudge.

To clone the caramel version reduce the granulated sugar to 1 tablespoon, then add 2 tablespoons of caramel topping to the blender before blending and top with caramel.

This delicious beverage is one of my favorites at Starbucks. Macchiato is an Italian word meaning “marked.” So a latte macchiato is steamed milk marked with a little espresso. This tasty treat is $4.55 but you can clone it for 58 cents.

Vanilla Syrup

Torani Vanilla Syrup is delicious in cappuccino, caffe latte, steamed milk, iced coffee and mixed with sparkling water, but it is quite expensive at about $7 for a 24 oz. Bottle. With this recipe you can make a clone for only 50 cents a bottle.

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Combine 2 cups water and 1½ cups sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Remove from the heat and cool. Store in a covered container.

Carmel Macchiato Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vanilla syrup

½ cup fresh espresso

8 ounces milk, steamed with foam

3 tablespoons caramel sauce

Make your espresso using your espresso machine and steam and froth your milk. In a large 16 ounce cup add your vanilla syrup followed by the steamed milk with the foam, and then pour in the espresso. Add caramel sauce and stir well. Top with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Every year as the holidays come around, so does this unbelievable latte from Starbucks. Into a basic latte recipe go a few pumps of special gingerbread-flavored syrup. We can experience the combined sensation of munching on a gingerbread cookie while sipping hot, milky cup of Joe for the low price of 39 cents as opposed to $4.45

Gingerbread-flavored syrup

Ingredients:

2 cups filtered water

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Create the gingerbread syrup by mixing the water, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the syrup uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove the syrup from the heat and store in a covered container.

Latte Ingredients:

½ cup espresso

8 ounces milk, steamed

¼ cup gingerbread-flavored syrup

Whipped topping

Nutmeg

Start out by making a ½ cup of espresso and steam 8 ounces of milk, or heat up the milk in the microwave if your machine does not foam and steam milk. To make your latte first add espressos to a 16-ounce cup then add your gingerbread syrup, followed by the steamed milk. Mix well and add whipped topping and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Dunkin donuts has a delectable frozen coffee goodness with a smooth taste with a zing of frozen refreshment. I get one of these every time I take a trip to Dunkin donuts and pay $3.49, but you can clone it in your home for the mere price of 15 cents.

Ingredients:

1 cup strong cold coffee

½ cup milk

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon Hershey’s chocolate syrup

½ tablespoon hazelnut syrup

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 cup ice cubes

Brew strong coffee by using twice the amount of grounds required by your coffeemaker. Chill the coffee in your refrigerator until its cold. Combine the cold coffee, milk, sugar, chocolate syrup, hazelnut syrup, vanilla, and almond extract in a blender and blend for 1 minute on low to dissolve the sugar.  Add the ice and blend on high until ice is crushed and drink is smooth. Pour in a 16 ounce glass and serve with a straw.

Starbucks has a delightful coffee with rich mocha-flavored sauce blended with milk and ice topped with sweetened whipped cream. Mocha was one of the original Frappuccino blended beverage flavors Starbucks introduced in 1995. Now you can take pleasure in this clone recipe and pay only 42 cents instead of $4.55

Ingredients:

½ cup double-strength coffee

½ cup low fat milk

3 tablespoons Hershey’s chocolate syrup

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup ice

Whipped topping

Make double-strength coffee by brewing with twice the coffee required by your coffeemaker. Store coffee in refrigerator until chilled.  To make the drinks, combine the cold coffee, milk, the chocolate syrup, and sugar in a blender. Blend for 15 to 20 seconds to dissolve the sugar. Add the ice and blend until the ice is crushed and the drink is smooth. Pour into a 16 ounce cup and top with whipped topping and drizzle with chocolate.