If you enjoy the sweet treat and caffeine hit of a latte or mocha, you can make your own at home with better ingredients than you might get at a coffee shop. You can invest in espresso makers that automate the process of creating shots for these coffee beverages, but if your budget is tight, you may not want to splurge on these machines. Instead, you might consider a simple moka pot.
You can buy moka pots for $12 to $25 on average, and they're much more compact than counter coffee and espresso machines. These small stovetop coffee pots brew strong drip coffee that's close to espresso, and with the right quality coffee beans and grinds, you can make delicious hot and cold lattes and mochas.
To make hot beverages, you'll need to also heat up your milk in a small pot or or microwave. To make cold drinks, you can mix in milk straight from the fridge and pour the entire beverage over ice.
Homemade mochas let you control the sugar and the cost. You can make your own chocolate syrup by combining 1/4 cup of sugar or maple syrup with 1/4 cup of powdered cocoa, a little dash of vanilla and around a third cup of very hot water. Carefully stir until everything is dissolved, and store the syrup in the fridge for use in your mochas.
You can make your own cold brew for iced coffee beverages anytime at a substantial cost savings over ordering out. Start with freshly ground coffee beans — you can get a small coffee grinder for around $20 to $30 at stores like Walmart or online. You can use any brand and roast you like. Cold brew coffee requires a coarse grind, so don't grind it too fine.
Add the coarse grounds to a glass container, such as a large mason jar. Add filtered cold water — add a cup of water for every cup of coffee grounds. Stir the mixture slowly, ensuring all the grounds get wet. After that, cover the container and let it sit for up to 24 hours. You may need to taste test the beverage every so often to find the ideal time to brew to your liking. Once you get there, filter out the grounds and store your cold brew in the fridge.
You can serve up variations of iced coffee with this concentrated cold brew, adding ice, cream, milk, sugar and other flavors as desired.
If you've downsized to an independent living apartment or another small space, you may not have a stovetop or lots of counter space for coffee makers. A small French press and an electric kettle allow you to keep making your own coffee whenever you want. You can also use the coffee you brew in a French press to make lattes, mochas or other fancy coffee beverages for a fun treat.
If you want to make your morning coffee routine even easier, you might invest in a high-quality instant coffee product. As long as you can heat up water in an electric kettle, on the stovetop or in the microwave, you can quickly enjoy a cup of instant coffee, and these products come in a variety of fun flavors and different roast types.
Too much caffeine can make it hard to sleep well and increase anxiety and other mental health issues, so it's important to partake of the coffee tradition in moderation. That's especially true if you enjoy your coffee with additions like sugar, chocolate or flavored syrups, as these substantially increase the added sugars and caloric content of your cuppa. Consider setting a goal or limit on coffee intake, such as one cup a day or fancy sugar-laden beverages as a treat on the weekends.
If you find caffeine impacts your sleep quality, consider setting a time during the day to switch to decaf or cut off coffee completely. If you normally go to bed at 9 or 10 p.m., for example, you might want to stop drinking any caffeine by 2 p.m.
