If you’re anything like me or any other college student in the world, you probably rely on coffee to get through your day. Hot coffee is good, comforting and classic, but it can also get old if you have it every single day of the week. I worked as a barista at a small café over the summer and when it was slow, my mind was busy working. Here are 5 ways to switch up your coffee consumption while still getting that caffeine fix you crave.
1. Try making a homemade cold brew similar to the one Starbucks serves. This is super easy. Cold brew coffee has a sweeter, smoother taste since the acidity of the coffee beans isn’t activated by hot water. All you need is dark roast coffee, either whole beans or ground coffee, distilled water, a strainer and a 16oz mason jar. This recipe makes one serving of cold brew but you can tweak it to your needs. If you have whole beans, grind them up into grounds, and then place about a half-cup of the grounds in the bottom of the mason jar. Pour the distilled water over the grounds until the jar is full and screw the lid on tight. Give it a good shake and let the ground settle on the bottom, then place the jar in the fridge for 16-18 hours to let the cold brew goodness go. When the time is up and you’re ready to drink your homemade cold brew, just strain the mixture into a separate container to get the grounds out of the water and BOOM there you have it. Serve it over ice, adding whatever your heart desires.
2. Coffee ice cubes. If you’re one of those little devils that drinks iced coffee in January, regardless of the weather (like me) this will help to preserve that delicious coffee taste all day long. Just throw some cold coffee into an ice cube tray and freeze like you would regular ice. Once it’s done you can use this to cool down your coffee without diluting the coffee with water. This works perfectly with the homemade cold brew coffee!
3. Ever crave a frozen coffee drink but don’t want to leave your house or wait in line? You can make your own at home with things you already have in your fridge. All you need is cold coffee, ice cubes, and a blender (I find that using a magic bullet or some kind of single serving blender works really well) Just throw all the ingredients in the blender and blend it up. You can add any kind of flavor, my personal favorite is chocolate syrup, peppermint oil and chocolate chips. You have to add whipped cream on top otherwise it’s just not right.
4. Can’t let that comfort and warmth of hot coffee go but bored of the flavor? Adding spices and syrups to your coffee can really jazz it up. Cinnamon and nutmeg work great to warm up the flavor of your coffee. I even found a cinnamon sugar blend at the grocery store that I just throw in mine. If you’re a pumpkin person, adding pumpkin pie spice is delightful. Chocolate syrup is also delicious in coffee and I’ve found that adding a spoonful of Nutella in hot coffee can melt into a hazelnut-like mocha.
5. My last and most important tip to enjoy your coffee more this week is to share it with someone you love. Make them your favorite cup of coffee, turn on some music and put your phone on the other side of the room. Have meaningful conversation and make memories. Use your personal taste and creativity to make these drinks your own! Coffee on caffeine lovers!
****You can do any of these recipes with decaf coffee if caffeine isn’t your thing!****