Drinks to Warm Your Heart

Being a barista can be really helpful during the holiday season especially since going out to buy coffee can add up quickly. Plus, creating drinks at home can help create that cozy fall feeling while still being productive on those “cozy” days. Allowing yourself to be creative with your food and drinks can often help you get to know your likes and dislikes, while also getting in touch with your artistic and creative ability. Some of my personal favorites that I’ve created are Pumpkin Chai lattes, Cinnabon lattes, Apple Cinnamon Chai, and a festive Peppermint Marshmallow Mocha.

While all these drinks do have specific ingredients, most of these ingredients are commonly found in your house or local shopping mart. A lot of these recipes are especially simple to create because many ingredients are sold grounded/pre-made in bottles/cans. One of the most positive things about making your drinks is the access you get to try as much or as little of any ingredient as you want. So don’t be shy and go crazy!

Pumpkin Chai: Pumpkin chai is a really simple drink that consists of concentrated chai (Oregon Chai is my personal favorite brand), McCormick pumpkin pie spice, a cinnamon stick, and your choice of milk. You also need a small pot to boil your ingredients in. Fill a little more than half of your cup with chai, the rest with milk (almond milk sits really well with these other elements because it’s a smoother, lighter milk which really helps accentuate the other flavors), a tap or two on the back of the spice bottle into the cup. Once you add all this, add it to the pot and begin to boil it. While boiling take your cinnamon stick and swirl it around into your drink until it’s boiled. Once it’s the temperature you like, it’s all done!

Apple Cinnamon Chai Latte: This is one of my personal favorites because you get that fruity fall element along with the tea accents. This one includes apple juice, concentrated chai, grounded nutmeg powder (McCormick), and a cinnamon stick.

I would recommend using apple juice with a more subtle taste so it balances out. Once that is in your cup, boil it over the stove. Once it’s boiling, tap the nutmeg powder once or twice and you keep the same pattern of mixing it with the cinnamon stick until you’re satisfied with the temperature.

Now getting into some of the more cozy winter drinks, we have the Cinnabon latte and a Peppermint Marshmallow Mocha.

Cinnabon Latte: This drink is perfect for that transition time from fall to winter. Personally, I like it better iced. It’s super simple to make iced or hot. Take white chocolate syrup and drizzle it around your cup. Then you simply take your cold brew or hot coffee and pour it into your cup. Tap your powdered cinnamon a couple of times then top it off a little more drizzle and your choice of milk (a thicker milk tastes better).

Peppermint Marshmallow Mocha: A marshmallow mocha is a perfectly sweet and cozy drink for the start of the Christmas season. You need chocolate syrup, coffee, white chocolate syrup, and a candy cane (you can also purchase liquefied peppermint flavoring). Drizzle both chocolates into your cup and then add the coffee followed by a little more of the drizzle. Take your peppermint flavoring or candy cane and add it to mix it. If you wanna get really fancy and creative you can add little marshmallows at the end!