We save espresso drinks for afternoon pick me ups or weekend mornings. We are definitely a weekday drip coffee fam. As I humblebragged above I own an entry level Nespresso and while we do love it, we don’t use it every day. Secondly, it really opened up the possibilities with the syrup. First, it negated the sludge which in my opinion was a huge win. I had vague memories of a similar sludge at the bottom of the Starbucks version and so decided to turn it all into a syrup. At the bottom of the cup was a little puddle of debris unsuitable for drinking. I steamed the milk and upon first sip it was great! Until I got to the bottom. I combined zest and sugar, added some spices and in went the nespresso pods (this is an at-home version…). Add some hot milk and voila! A coffee-forward, slightly sweet, pleasantly spiced beverage. These are put in the bottom of a cup and a double ristretto shot is pulled and the hot espresso dissolves the sugar and blooms the spices. After some careful googling I discovered the main flavors in the HSFW were ginger, cloves, and cinnamon– with sugar and tangerine zest. Making your own coffee flavoring is super easy, just gotta figure out what flavors you want.

You come up with something to satisfy you for the rest of the month. Your heart sinks a little because yeah, maybe you were a little more invested in the drink than you wanted to admit and because you’re pretty certain that the new drink might taste like gin (jury is still out), and is probably another ultra-saccharine offering in the lineup that has who knows what kind of sweeteners and preservatives locked inside that “pine syrup.” So. Then you hear from so and so who say they killed it and then from another that it’s still happening just not until December– and then you see the replacement.

You get mad at yourself for even HOPING it’s a rumor about a freaking Holiday beverage. When you hear the rumor, you seek answers. The thing you look forward to when they bust out their stupid fake controversial holiday cups and their marketing that is so charming you don’t WANT to go and support them but you also just can’t help but love it? You know that thing. It disproportionally affects the world of makeup in my experience (why always makeup?) but every once in awhile you’ll have the ONE thing you love at a national chain. You know how once you find your favorite lipstick or mascara they discontinue it? Every.

Holiday flat white