I’m not going to lie, pumpkin spiced everything, especially coffee, is delicious. However, sometimes as students, we don’t have the money to go buy a $5 drink every single day before class.
There are some coffee alternatives that we can make in our own kitchen that still give us that cozy autumn taste without the expense of Starbucks or Espresso News.
1. Coffee + Cinnamon & Whipped Cream
This first alternative is a pretty simple one, make your coffee as usual and throw some whipped cream on top (honestly optional) and then sprinkle some ground cinnamon on top. This gives you that fall feeling without adding all kinds of extra sugar in the drink. It also takes zero extra time to make in the morning.
2. Coffee + Hot Chocolate
I discovered this while working as a camp counselor this past summer. All the counselors called it a “camp mocha.” This simply means throwing pack of instant hot chocolate in your mug before pouring coffee over it. This can be enjoyed with or without milk or creamer and also tastes less like coffee for those of you who don’t particularly like it. For extra cold weather add marshmallows on top.
3. Coffee + Chocolate Milk & Caramel Sauce
As a cash-strapped college student, I’ve often run out of milk and I refuse to drink black coffee, so sometimes you gotta get creative. That’s how this last drink was created. I added sugar and chocolate milk to my coffee since I had no regular milk. Pretty good, then I added caramel sauce with the chocolate milk when I didn’t feel like adding regular sugar. Also not half bad.
4. Coffee + Egg Nog
This is my personal favorite. However, I usually can’t find egg nog until late October. The only thing I put in my coffee during fall (as soon as it’s available) is egg nog. It literally tastes like Christmas morning to me. Who doesn’t love Christmas?
5. Coffee + whatever generic fall creamer flavor you can find
Hey, some people don’t feel like being super creative and that’s okay too. There are hundreds (okay maybe a bit of an exaggeration) of holiday and fall themed coffee creamers that require no effort or thought aside from putting it in your mug.
There are hundreds of ways to spice up your coffee for fall and winter within your own kitchen. So let’s raise our mugs in celebration of all things coffee, especially on chilly mornings.