Yes, it’s October. And it’s the official season of Pumpkin Spice Everything. Actually, I’d say fall arrived early for our coffee beverages because I saw the first Pumpkin Spice Latte post on September 1—before Labor Day!
I’ll pay reverence to the beautiful flavors of pumpkin spice on Thanksgiving day, but the only caffeinated beverage I want to think about is cold brew coffee. Specifically, the kind you can get at Starbucks. If other places make it, I haven’t had it. In all honesty, it’s probably because you have to get out of your car to order.
Cold brew coffee has been around for a while, mostly as a DIY phenomenon. I’d heard about it on a mom podcast and thought it sounded interesting because my previous drink of choice was an iced Americano. But I’m not much of a from-scratch DIYer, so I went along my merry way and ignorantly continued making poor caffeine decisions.
Daily drive-thru runs aren’t my thing. I would typically let my Keurig fill my cup while I got last-minute snuggles with Anabel in the morning.
On the other hand, weekly weekend orders are my totally reasonable in my life rulebook.
One day, I bent my own rules and decided to treat myself with a rare mid-week visit. Cold brew was an option on the drive-thru menu, and though it cost a little more than my standard, I felt the urge to spice things up.
A grande. One splenda. No cream. One sip. Mmmmmm.
I was hooked.
You can’t keep something that good to yourself. Or at least you shouldn’t.
That weekend, when out with the family, I insisted my husband Justin needed to try it. He’s not one for different. But he trusts me and that I know his tastes.
He took one sip and said words we’ve since stopped saying in front of our little girl’s listening ears.
Yes, if you like coffee, it is that good.
I still don’t go through the drive-thru every day. And I don’t have to, in order to enjoy this caffeinated yumminess at home.
Starbucks also sells easy-to-make “Pitcher Packs” that typically yield enough to get me through the work week. You can get them in the stores, but they seem to be a little harder to come by these days. (I’ve tried two locations in one weekend, and ended up buying the display box off the register.) Luckily, you can also order them online, but I haven’t resorted to that yet. Instead I just scour the city. And now that I’ve shared my secret, I’ll probably just set up a subscription. Gotta love the 21st century.
In order to offset my carbon footprint from driving all over town to find the packs, I love having the ability to dispose of them in my organics bin. Bonus: they most certainly help to neutralize the odors in that thing.
If you search for how to make cold brew coffee at home, it might tell you to get special equipment. With these packs, all you need is cold water, a pitcher from the dollar store, cold water, a fridge, and some time.
The at-home stuff is good. But the in-store stuff is better. Probably because they bought the special equipment. Or more likely because they make it from scratch.
Honestly, it’s pretty much our go-to order and has ruined us from most other cold coffee drinks. When going through the drive-thru my first question is if they have the cold brew available. Because when it’s gone, it’s gone. And if I can’t get it, I don’t really want anything else.
If only I were kidding. And yes, I am aware of how ridiculous this all sounds. But I just can’t hide my feelings about something as important as a good daily dose of caffeine.
I was late to the party when I tried it for the first time this year, and while I can’t turn back time, I can make sure I don’t waste it on inferior caffeine choices.
Are you braver/craftier/cleverer in the kitchen than me? Try your hand at making your own and tell us how it goes:
