DIY Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato

Here is the final DIY Starbucks recipe of the month! This weekend's drink is their Iced Caramel Macchiato. This is the drink I order when I'm looking for something with coffee but that is also a tad sweet. This drink is very simple to make so I hope you try it out!

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp (or less) vanilla syrup

1-2 tsp caramel syrup

2 shots espresso or 3 shots strong brewed coffee

1 cup milk

1 cup ice

 Add a tablespoon or so of vanilla syrup to the bottom of your cup. This is optional, only add it if you're looking for extra sweetness. I believe Starbucks does not add anything to the bottom of the cup.

 Add your ice.

 And your milk.

 Pour in your espresso/coffee.

 Top it all off with a (generous) drizzle of caramel syrup!

 I love the layers of this drink!

But I prefer to mix it all up to equalize the flavor.

That's it!

DIY Starbucks Iced Green Tea Latte

I've been having a ton of fun trying out drink recipes for these DIY Starbucks posts! This week's beverage of choice is the Iced Green Tea Latte. This is a bit of a different drink that you either love or hate. I personally love it. It's the perfect "in between" of a coffee drink or a tea, if you're searching for something a bit different.
The Starbucks grande drink comes to a total 290-350 calories (depending on your milk) while the homemade version is only around 196 (Depending on milk and amount of syrup)! I think it tastes just as good if not better than Starbucks and it will save you a bit of money and calories.
If you would prefer to take the easy route, I have also tried the Tazo green tea latte concentrate of this that you can shake with milk and ice to create an almost identical drink. I've found these drink bases at many grocery stores but they are a bit pricy.
Anyways, on with the recipe!

You are going to need only 4 ingredients:

- 1 cup milk of your choice (I used 1%)
- Starbucks vanilla syrup (however much for your desired sweetness)
- 1 tsp matcha powder
- Ice

I purchased my vanilla syrup right from Starbucks! I love it, it works for so many drinks. My matcha powder is from David's Tea but I've seen it many places. I ended up using about 1-2 tbsp of the syrup since the pump wasn't working quite as it should.

For a super smooth drink with no matcha clumps, try sifting it with a fine tea strainer.

To assemble the drink, add all of the ingredients into a shaker, shake it up, pour and enjoy!

This is quite a frothy drink since you shake up the milk quite a bit.

That's about it, enjoy!
xx

DIY Starbucks Iced Tea Lemonades

Continuing on with the DIY Starbucks series, next up is recreating their iced tea lemonades. These are one of the easiest drinks to recreate and they're super delicious too! As you can see, I didn't have enough Starbucks cups to show. I'll be sharing recipes for 3 drinks. The green tea lemonade, passion tea lemonade, and black tea lemonade which I think is my favorite one!

Start the day before by brewing 1-2 cups of your desired tea. I used Tazo passion tea (I've seen it at Starbucks and the grocery store), Tazo china green tips tea, and just plain black tea. Brew it, let it cool, and refrigerate overnight.

When you're ready, shake the tea with equal parts lemonade and enjoy! 

If you have a real sweet tooth, you can add a bit of sugar or simple syrup but I find the lemonade sweetens them enough.

Enjoy :)

DIY Starbucks Cool Lime Refresher

Hello! For the month of June, I thought it would be fun to do a little weekend series sharing a DIY Starbucks recipe every weekend! To kick things off, I'm sharing one of my favorites for Summer, the Cool Lime Refresher. This is the perfect summer drink with the sweet tangy lime, cucumber and hint of mint! These drinks won't taste exact, since I'm not using any syrups or anything, but I must say they are very good!

 All you will need is:
The juice of 1 lime
1 mini cucumber (about 1/2 cup) peeled and chopped
4-6 finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Water (about 1/3 cup)
Lemonade (around 1 cup)
Sugar (optional)

This recipe serves 1!
It's best to start this drink the night before, or at least 1-2 hours before (overnight is best). Start by adding your cucumber, mint and water into an airtight container and refrigerate.

 Squeeze the juice of 1 lime (leave some slices for display) in a cup.

 Next, strain your cucumber mixture and fill to the first line of a Starbucks cup. It's about 1/3 cup.

Fill the rest up with your lemonade, add ice and your lime slices & enjoy!

 I hope you try this one out! :)