About six weeks ago I desperately needed a little bit of caffeine to help me stay awake with Jamie during our late-night 2.5 hour drive from Atlanta to Birmingham. After an incredibly busy day, we were exhausted. So we swung into the airport terminal’s Starbucks, and I snagged the most “froo froo” drink (as Jamie likes to call it!) I could find – a white chocolate latte.
And oh my goodness. I loved it. It was a cool evening, so the coffee warmed me right up. I’m not sure how much caffeine a drink like that had in it, but regardless I felt more alert and actually wanted another one.
I told Jamie that maybe I really was missing out on some magic by not trying a little harder to enjoy coffee, so when we got home a few days later Jamie grabbed me a bottle of white chocolate creamer. I ended up putting four tablespoons of creamer and one packet of Equal in my coffee, and I loved it. I struggled with the calorie and sugar count though. As a new coffee drinker, I needed to start with a crazy amount of creamer to take away the bitterness, but I really didn’t want to drink 140 extra calories every morning.
So I decided to talk to my cell phone (a.k.a. IG stories – ha!) and see how my followers enjoyed their coffee without downing a load of calories and sugar, and gosh… I received more comments than I could respond to! I should have known; People love coffee!
Here’s just a handful of flexible concoctions others recommended to try if you’re learning to drink coffee.
- Heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp creamer + one packet of splenda + a splash of sugar free vanilla syrup
- Nut pods
- Half and half
- Flavored coffee such as Hazelnut or French Vanilla
- Collagen + coconut oil
- Unsweetened almond milk + sugar free vanilla syrup
- Almond milk creamer + sugar in the raw
- Torani sugar free syrup
- More expensive, higher quality coffee
- So Delicious Dairy Free creamer
- Premier protein vanilla shakes as a creamer (available at Walmart)
I also had a handful of followers ask if I would share my findings, so I decided to go on a little mission the last six weeks to figure out what coffee drink I liked the best and report back. I’m telling you – I previously couldn’t stomach even a sip of coffee, so it’s a bit of a miracle that I’ve found two options – a hot and an iced – that I really love. Keep in mind that I still like my coffee quite flavorful because coffee is still too bitter for my tastebuds. I’m getting there though, one tablespoon of creamer at a time. 😉
My favorite hot coffee
one brewed K cup + three tablespoons of Pumpkin Spice nutpod* + and one packet of a sugar alternative
*Pumpkin Spice is sold out across the internet but still available in Hazelnut, French Vanilla, and Original.
My favorite iced coffee
one cup of ice + one brewed K cup + one tablespoon of sugar free syrup (I like all kinds so far) + one cup of unsweetened almond milk + and one packet of a sugar alternative (<—- I watched a barista makes this for me a couple weeks ago and recreated it at home. Love it!)
Let’s chat!
- What’s your favorite coffee concoction?
- How did you learn to like coffee?
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo