Every single day, many times more than once a day, this scarlet beauty makes me the most delightful shots of caramelly rich coffee. I did a little math to figure out how much it has saved me... The figure is astonishing. I love this thing. Love it.
But because I drink my coffee iced, we do things a little differently. Each night after the kids go to bed, Jason and I do our chores. General tidying up, making lunches, etc. My non-coffee drinking husband, lovingly makes me three shots of espresso each night. He puts them in a glass and then puts the glass in the fridge. In the morning when it is nice and cold, all I have to do is add ice and almond milk. It works perfectly for my non-morning person self, and is one less thing we have to make before getting everyone out the door.
But sometimes I am running late, on vacation or need another coffee and just can't get it together enough to use the scarlet beauty. Good thing I have a dear friend who works at Starbucks and shared me the awesome that is VIA. To be honest, I had seen it in stores, read the ads, even stared at it while I was ordering my passion tea (unsweet, obvs), but thought it was weird, expensive and pointless. Also I thought that it was just for hot coffee. Because of that it was dead to me. Then at bunco one night, I saw her pour it into a water bottle and then over ice... Intrigued I asked/ begged to try it.
Wow. Just wow. It was good. Really good. Fresh, rich, flavorful. Not at all what you would imagine could come from an strange little pouch.
I was an instant fan of the VIA instant.
So when we were at Costco buying supplies for our Bass Lake trip, you better believe that a big old pack of VIA went into the cart. It was either that or bring the scarlet beauty with me. Jason opted for a week off of espresso duty, I opted for VIA-tasticness.
So here is my perfect iced coffee in five easy steps.
Gather your supplies.
*A cup with lots of ice.
*A half full water bottle
*Creamy creamer of your choice
(I simply adore almond milk. Even if you don't have dairy issues, you are must try it!!! I'm talking crazy delicious. Especially vanilla. Every girl member of this family is hooked on it. It is rich, creamy, and makes your coffee taste like a total treat. Now even Target carries it. Dreams do come true.)
*A VIA packet.
(Italian Roast is my favorite, but Costco only sells Colombian. Thankfully Colombian is quite yummy.)
Pour the packet into 8 oz. of water Shake it up nice and good so you get the foamy foam. That is what will make it taste more like what you would get if using an espresso machine.
Pour the foamy goodness over lots of ice,
add almond milk, or whatever type of creamy dairy-ish product you prefer,
Done. Icy, rich, happy coffee in less than a minute.
Not rocket surgery is it? But it sure does make crazy days a little less crazy.
If you are the type that loves sweet coffee, you can buy the actual syrups at Starbucks. It is a bit of an investment at first, but I'm told that they last a really, really long time. Just add the syrup in before you shake it up. Sugary goodness abounds.
There is chatter that Nescafe's little instant packets are going to give the VIA packets a run for their money, while saving you some money. I can't speak from experience, but they are giving samples away so you can taste for yourself. You can sign up here. I am anxiously awaiting mine, since I used my last VIA this morning. Hurry, Nescafe! Hurry.
How do you drink your coffee? If you don't drink coffee, how do you survive? I am married to a morning loving, non-coffee drinker, who actually sleeps even less than I do. I just don't get it. I was not born with the naturally caffeinated gene.
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