Wauwatosa woman uncovers Starbucks trick

I love Starbucks.  A LOT. I do understand, though, how ridiculously expensive their specialty drinks are and as such, only go there on occasion. I’m sure our soon-to-be child will have enough reasons we cause him/her to seek therapy later in life…spending their college money on Caramel Macchiatos w/skim milk doesn’t need to be one of them.  If I could get this with Caramel Macchiatos in it, that'd be brilliant:

Anyway, this past Sunday was one of those special occasions. And by special occasions I mean those times when Eric or I need to bribe the other into doing something and do so through the promise of a Starbucks stop. Good times.

Well, we hadn’t been there in quite a while, partially because since finding out I was pregnant, I ceased my usual caffeine intake. And let’s be honest - most decaf coffee blows…even when you try to disguise it behind frothy milk, syrups and all the other goodies Starbucks sneaks in their beverages. Combine the mediocre taste with $5 a pop = not worth it.

But this weekend I decided to go the Chai tea route. And I’m not sure if it was the lack of caffeine in my system or the fact that I had just woken up 20 minutes prior, but I got all tongue tied when I ordered my drink. The final result was me ending up with a plain, boring hot cup of Chai tea. Not Chai Latte – that’s what I meant to order. UGH. (And yes, I know the Chai Latte has a small amount of caffeine in it…but it’s under the daily amount I’m allowed to have…so there.)

Now here’s where I uncovered the trick.

Upon arriving home, I was determined to not let my not-so-tasty beverage go to waste. So I got the synapses a firing in the ol' brain and decided to warmed up a cup of milk and added a few teaspoons of sugar to the tea and…voila! I swear, you couldn’t tell the difference. I had my very own Chai Latte!

And the best part…

Instead of spending close to $5 on a Chai Latte, my modified, but equally as good version was only $2. SCORE.

And yes, I know this isn’t rocket science nor have I discovered the cure for cancer, but it’s not bad for a groggy Sunday morning, right?!

~as