Starbucks DIY Beverages for Students – Fall Edition: Make it, Drink it, Love it!

By Magdalena Knapp, Editor

I admit it: I am addicted. I cannot live without it. I need it every day, it makes me complete. I love the taste, the smell, and the cute white cup with my name on it. I am addicted to Starbucks ®. It is not a secret, well, especially now, but truly who does not love the fancy “Instagram-fashion-blogger-style” cups with their (incorrectly spelled) name on it, the unnecessary plastic lid to drink from, the artistic (complicated) beverage names, and the confusing serving sizes, tall, grande, and venti (three different languages, two of which mean big and one which means 20)? I can tell you who does not like it: my bank account. Every time I enter a Starbucks restaurant, my credit card would like to jump out of my purse in order to stop me from buying an over prized libation. Is there something we can do to inhibit my credit card from attempting suicide? The answer is: YES.

The McKendree review team suffered for you. We burned our fingers, our tongues, and just about sacrificed our blood to make the impossible possible for you; we created the three most popular Starbucks autumn beverages in our McKendree kitchen. The result was stunning: the beverages taste the same, and we spent only a quarter of what we would have spent in the actual cafe. If you would like to know how to make the popular “Pumpkin Spice Latte”, the classic “Caramel Macchiato”, and the tasty “Chai Tea Latte” stay tuned!

The first beverage we made was the classic fall drink: Pumpkin Spice Latte. If you buy one in a restaurant, it costs you between $4.25 and $5.25 – if you make it DIY style you pay around $1 per cup.

What do you need?
– Cinnamon (4 tsp.)
– Nutmeg (1 tsp.)
– Clove (1 tsp.)
– Allspice (1 tsp.)
– Ginger (1 tsp.)
– Simple Syrup

– Milk
– your favorite coffee
– Cream

How do you make it?
First, mix all the spices together and add a little bit of your syrup to it. This is your base for the pumpkin spice latte. Then you make a cup of your favorite coffee and put one espresso shot (or more, if you struggle waking up) in a cup. Finally, add 200-250 ml of hot milk to it, with 1 tablespoon of your syrup spice mix and stir thoroughly. To serve your homemade pumpkin spice latte, top it with as much cream as you would like and a little bit of cinnamon. Then most importantly, Enjoy!

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte 

The next beverage we made for you is the eternal classic, the “Caramel Macchiato”. At an actual Starbucks you pay between $3.75 and $4.37 per cup, in your kitchen can make it for less than a dollar per cup!

What do you need?
– Your favorite coffee
– Milk
– Caramel
– Caramel Flavored Sauce

How do you make it?
All you have to do is to put a little bit of Caramel Flavored Sauce in your cup, and add 1-2 tablespoons of caramel syrup to it. Then take 200ml of hot milk and add an espresso shot of your favorite coffee to it. Put it in your cup, and…enjoy!
Note: If you do not have caramel at home, you can make it yourself by heating up sugar in a pan. But be careful not to burn your fingers; they can be kind of important and the caramel can be kind of finicky!

Homemade Caramel Macchiato

Our third Starbucks experiment was the beloved “Chai Tea Latte”. If you get in at Starbucks you pay around $3.65 and $4.65, homemade you’re not even spending a dollar per cup!

What do you need?
– 150 ml of hot water
– 100g of sugar
– 2 Chai Tea teabags
– Cinnamon (1 tsp.)
– Ginger (1 tbsp.)
– Cloves (0,5 tbsp.)
– 1 Cup of Milk

How do you make it?
The first thing you have to make is the syrup: make tea with the 150 ml of hot water and the two Chai tea teabags. Let the tea cook and add cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to it. Let it cook. Then, add 100g of sugar and stir while it cook’s until you get a dark colored syrup.

Take 5 tablespoons of your self-made syrup and add it to the cup of hot milk. Then if you want to make it truly authentic, you can add some cream and cinnamon on top of it. That’s it, be sure to enjoy while it is still hot!

Homemade Chai Tea Latte   

Starbucks is great, it tastes delicious, and you can grab it on the go, but nothing is cheaper or more fun than making your own Starbucks at home! We hope you enjoy these recipes and beverages as much as we did. Show us your results on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and follow us for more!