The Easiest Flavored Iced Coffee Recipe EVER

A frugal friend of mine (and let me be honest...most of my friends do tend to be fairly careful with their moola) told me an easy, fast and frugal way to make a delicious flavored iced coffee. In fact, it's so simple that I feel a bit silly posting it. Okay, I'm over that...here it is!

• Cold coffee (whatever you have leftover in the pot - just pop it in a container in the fridge, ready to make iced coffee whenever you want it)
• Ice cubes
• Flavored creamer - such as International Delight

All she does is throw some ice cubes into a nice glass (you might as well have your frugal coffee creation look expensive, right?), add a good dose of cold coffee, and then as much of her flavored creamer as it takes to get just the right flavor. I love this idea! It's a great way to use up leftover coffee that you might've thought of (gasp!) pouring down the drain.

Another idea for those of us who don't buy flavored coffee creamers is to simply pour the coffee over ice, and add a little splash of our favorite flavor or extract - such as almond, vanilla, or chocolate. Of course, a little bit of chocolate syrup certainly wouldn't hurt this coffee creation either.

Okay - tell me...what do YOU do with your leftover coffee?

Tim Hortons New Lattes Introduced in Canada - Have you tried one?

Okay, who has tried one of the new Tim Horton's lattes? What is your overall rating for the latte? I haven't tried one yet, and have only heard negative feedback so far - that it tastes very 'mixy' but I'd like to hear feedback from all of you.

What would you rate the Tim Hortons lattes out of 10?

A Whole Latte Love at Starbucks - Make an Easy Latte at Home

Okay, so we may never be able to completely recreate the lovely Starbucks ambience at home (oh, how I love to people watch at SB!), but I've come up with a very easy way to make a latte at home - minus all the fuss. If you're looking for a fun, and easy coffee drink to enjoy at home - give this one a try! Please note that this is my easy latte method, and is certainly not the most authentic way to create a lovely, foamy latte drink. But, if you'd like an easy to make latte, I think you'll enjoy this every bit as much as I do.

(Note: My Easy Latte uses freshly brewed coffee instead of the espresso that the drink usually requires. If you'd like to be more authentic, brew up some fresh espresso in a stovetop espresso maker - it's delicious, and less expensive than espresso making appliances. For the rest of us - delicious coffee will do the trick. If you're looking for a fantastic stovetop espresso maker, this one by Bialetti is still made in Italy and is highly rated by consumers:
)

Back to the Easy Latte Method...
What you'll need:
Microwave safe mug
Microwave
Aerolatte foamer (or other brand)
Freshly brewed coffee
1 or 2% milk (skim also works great - in fact, it foams up beautifully)
Sweetener of your choice - I use honey
Sprinkles of cinnamon, nutmeg or both

Of course, the heavenly thing about a delicious latte is the foam. I love the foam, and the latte can, I think, be judged by the success and foaminess of its foam! ;) So, the easiest way I've found to create lovely amounts of foam for my cappuccinos or lattes is by using an Aerolatte - .

Note: Aerolattes really are worth their weight in gold. Aerolatte also completely backs their products - if you ever have any problems they'll replace your Aerolatte foamer for free! Great customer service...I highly recommend this company's products.

1. Foam the milk - I've practiced this, and found that cold milk foams up nicely. I pour about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of cold milk into a microwave safe oversized mug. Use your Aerolatte or other foamer to gently create soft mounds of foam.

2. Microwave the milk - heat the mug of milk in the microwave for 20-40 seconds to heat the milk. Be careful to not overheat. By foaming up the milk first and then heating, I find that the foam stays nice and, well, foamy!

3. Top up the milk with fresh, hot coffee. Simply fill the mug with your fresh, strongly brewed coffee or espresso. The foam will stay at the top.

4. Add desired sweetener and toppings. Drizzle with honey, raw sugar, or agave. (Or, go for a really authentic Starbucks experience and use one of their flavored syrups at this point.) Stir a bit to distribute the sweetener throughout your easy Latte. Top with cinnamon, chocolate powder, or nutmeg.

5. Enjoy your Easy Latte - A delicious, latte-like drink for a fraction of the cost of a Starbucks latte.

Get creative with this basic technique! Add pure vanilla for a vanilla latte - you can even add the pure vanilla extract to the coffee while it's brewing to make it simple. And yes, purists, I realize this is hardly the TRUE way to make a latte, but it's a nice and easy way for the rest of us masses!

Do you make lattes at home? What's the technique you use? Do you have any tricks to make easy lattes at home? Please post a comment and share it with us coffee lovers!